It Knows What It Is
Hitman is a game, through and through. It knows this. It EMBRACES this. Almost all the NPCs have the same voice and accent. Where this might come off negatively elsewhere, it plays as charming in Hitman, especially when the game is so constantly throwing jabs at itself and the real world. Of course it’s unrealistic to have a rubber ducky proximity mine. Of course it’s absurd that Helmut Kruger looks near identical to Agent 47. Of course it’s almost impossible that any of the schemes in Hitman should work. But work they do, in a way that embraces being a supremely silly and fantastic thing.
Constant Content
Hitman’s unbelievable stream of new content is the glue holding the works together, and is why episodic worked so well. Each map offers a completely absurd amount of challenges, assassinations, and feats to accomplish, the descriptions of each dangling the carrot and making you wonder ‘how the hell do you do that?’ Figuring it out is supremely satisfying. The maps by and large just don’t ever get boring, and a lot of that has to do with the number of ways they’ve been reconfigured post release. Escalation contracts, DLC missions, bonus mission, Elusive contracts. All these things work to reveal the world class design of Hitman’s maps, and WILL keep you coming back for more.
Season 2
Yeah, a whole new season of content is coming. This makes me giddy in a way that is ultra rare. Details are slim so far, but if they can replicate the excellence of season 1… hoooo boy.
It’s Fun
That sounds like a cliche, but it’s true. Hitman is the kind of game where a few hours disappear without you noticing, and that you hear calling your name when real world duties are supposed to be happening. You’ll wish you were disguising yourself as a plague doctor, or the vampire magician, or laying in wait with a fire axe. You’ll keep firing it up, long after you’ve completed the missions, just to see what kind of mischief is afoot. Hitman was my 2016 game of the year. Unfortunately, no one else on staff was really paying attention. If they were, it would have contended for COG’s game of the year.
So play Hitman. Do it.
