a surgical to the point of slender sequel

How do you keep things fresh after tinkering with the same game the last eighteen years Well, for starters, by keeping what works and not breaking it. Add more of the good stuff and refine it in the process.

I t wasn't long ago that we had no idea if we'd ever see another Hitman game from IO Interactive. After the Danish developer was cut loose by Square Enix in 2017, it was unclear what the future would look like for the long-running franchise.

Unlike stealth series such as Dishonored or Thief, Hitman is all about hiding in plain sight. Instead of completely going unnoticed, you can walk right in front of a target with them being none the wiser if you're wearing the right disguise.

Beautiful environments; Satisfying progression; Amount of freedom; Replayability

Identity crisis; Underwhelming and short story

The execution isn't the best part of Hitman. Listen, garroting your target whilst soon-to-be suspicious guards are within spitting distance is as worryingly exhilarating as a Shaggy/Sting collab.

2016's Hitman is best remembered for its episodic format, but the experimental reboot also served up some of the assassination-sandbox series' absolute best missions. The sequel shelves its predecessor's business model – offering a full campaign over bite-sized content chunks – but otherwise retains...

Hitman 2 is a deep, enjoyable stealth sandbox with hours upon hours of content that will keep you coming back for more.

Tons of replayability; Ridiculous assassinations; Cool online mode

Trial-and-error gameplay can be frustrating; Cumbersome controls

Hitting it again, man Hitman really got its groove back in 2016 despite the initial uproar against its episodic format. Amazingly it actually stuck to its schedule ( a rarity ) and gave us all six main maps (with bonuses) throughout the year: a virtue in this age of frequently delayed, experimental...

Been waiting ages, can't wait to get into this once the downloads finished. Went for the steel book edition cause I'm a huge Hitman fan, but was upset to find that it was a bit dented, most likely in transit.

If you're a Hitman fan, then it's an easy buy. It's also a much better game if you're willing to try new things, replay levels, aim for obscure mission paths and complete challenges