Agent 47 could kill 3 men with a pencil too, you know.
Hitman 3 has without a doubt cemented itself as one of my “game of the year” contenders for 2021, even with the caveats of the game releasing in January and the uncertainty of which games with an announced 2021 window will avoid being delayed to next year. I never expected Hitman 3 to dig its hooks into me, as the previous entries in the World of Assassination trilogy failed to do so. However, the latest entry brings a special flavor to the formula, and the current generation versions help to fill the void of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S titles, which caught me at the right time.
Playground Of Assassination
One of my favorite gameplay elements of IO Interactive’s Hitman trilogy is the way that they give the player agency to tackle assassinations. The mission locations, which have all been incredibly diverse, are mostly comprised of large areas populated with NPCs, alternate routes, and story missions that will help lead the player to face-to-face encounters or special assassination opportunities with their target(s). Even as someone who wouldn’t consider themselves better than an “adequate” Hitman player, the series does a remarkable job at encouraging someone like me to attempt different ways to take down the target.
Hitman 3 improves upon this player agency by introducing larger and more densely populated maps. Whether it’s pushing through the crowds at Omar Al-Ghazali’s ribbon cutting of the Burj Al-Ghazali (The Sceptre), or sleuthing through the packed Club Hölle dance floor to avoid the ICA Agents hunting you down, this entry does a remarkable job at giving you opportunities to blend in with your surroundings for that elusive Silent Assassin playthrough. In all honesty, Hitman 3’s crowd stealth mechanics are far superior to several of the most recent Assassin’s Creed entries, the series that I first remember encountering that “crowd blending” gameplay mechanic in.
In my opinion, Hitman 3 brings the best set of levels to the table with On Top of The World’s Mission Impossible: Fallout style massive skyscraper mission, Death in the Family’s Knives Out or Agatha Christie-like murder mystery set in an English manor, Apex Predator’s German night club run, End of an Era’s Chongqing, China map with an underground ICA facility, The Farewell’s Argentinian winery, and Untouchable’s *spoilers of an incredibly cool reveal* WWII “ghost train” moving through the Carpathian Mountains.
On top of improving upon previous level design, the game introduces a slew of new items that Agent 47 can use to neutralize or kill his opponents, and maybe the unfortunate bystanders that witness his business. I mean come on, Hitman 3 even has a banana that players can use to cause enemies or NPCs to slip on the peel and knock themselves unconscious, or kill them depending on where it’s placed.
Shining Example Of What’s To Come
While Hitman 3 is a cross-generation game on console, releasing simultaneously on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X, it gives us a first look at how the new generation can improve upon visuals as well as framerate. Hitman 3 doesn’t utilize raytracing, a graphical feature that has only recently been introduced to console players with the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series in November, but it could have fooled me with the way that IO Interactive utilizes lighting and optimized the game for the new consoles. The game has stunning visuals that work in unison with the incredible set-pieces throughout each location that had me slow panning the camera around like a stereotypical E3 gameplay demo.
One thing that I believe IO Interactive didn’t get enough credit for concerning the World of Assassination trilogy was their commitment to bringing the previous installments’ missions into a “forward compatibility” for players that have purchased those games. I was impressed when I heard about Hitman 2 including polished versions of the first installment’s assassination locations, but I was excited to discover that IO would be bringing all previous locations to Hitman 3 with a beautiful fresh coat of paint with the modern engine and next generation of consoles taken into consideration. When I get burnt out on replaying Hitman 3’s locations, after unlocking most of the new planning items, you better believe I’m heading back to play through those first two installments on PS5 to fill in the gaps of the story that I’m missing.
I’m excited for the future shown by Hitman 3, not only by what AAA games can achieve in this new console generation but because of the next project IO Interactive has coming down the pipeline. IO Interactive’s 007 Project was recently announced and is a superb combination of intellectual property with an established development team. As previously mentioned, the opening level of Hitman 3, On Top of The World, is strongly reminiscent of playing a scene straight out of a spy film. While Untouchable’s entire mission setting is incredibly James Bond-worthy. Also, IO Interactive has commented on Hitman 3 being the end of the World of Assassination trilogy, but there’s more Hitman to come. Without going into spoilers for the end of Hitman 3, I can’t wait to see what changes the next installment will bring to the series from both a narrative and gameplay perspective.
Score: 9/10
To sum up, Hitman 3 is a fantastic game that undoubtedly scratches the same itch as a complex puzzle game, assuming you don’t just go into the missions gun blazing, which also has its merits. I loved stumbling around the massive locations for the first playthrough, trying to decide how I was going to complete my mission, what I needed to do so, and when to execute my strategy. This game has a ton of replayability whether it’s to complete each map’s unique challenges, earn the plethora of unlockable gear and starting points for each location, or going for a Silent Assassin playthrough. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll be returning to these previous installments to find out how foolish I’ve been by mostly ignoring the series.
LongLivePlay 