GOTHIC WEB SITE

KlausMikalson

Hello everyone,,

Hitman games have always been amazing, my favorite before playing this one was Contracts due to how floppy the NPCs were, which made things 10 times more fun.

I heard a lot of bad things about this one before playing it. Some said the story was bad, some said they didn't like the instinct system (I'll get to it) and some hated how dissimilar it was to the other games in tone, so I didn't have my expectations too high.

Needless to say, after playing, I strongly disagree.

The Story

The game's story is something I wouldn't be surprised to find in a Hollywood movie. The scope, the setting, the atmosphere, the buildup, the voice acting, everything works together perfectly!

This game has what is, quite possibly, my favorite video game ending of all time. Nothing, and I mean, NOTHING beats that final chapter.

The story never feels like a drag, but it is a slow burn and there's a lot that you won't understand at first, but rest assured, everything ties together beautifully in the end.

I always look for this level of meticulous writing in games, and I'm happy to see that this game delivers on it fantastically.

The Characters

Agent 47 is made a lot more human in this game, which is something not everybody liked. He isn't presented as this callous, unempathetic, killing machine like he usually is. Or at least less so. Which is why I think this game serves as a brilliant conclusion to his story, and it's the reason why I didn't enjoy the recent sequels.

I won't talk about the villains in an effort to not spoil them, but I can guarantee you one thing, they're fucking deplorable. I enjoyed hating each one of them and I'm sure you will, too.

The side characters are done very well, too. But talking too much about them is also a huge spoiler.

The Gameplay

Let me start by saying that I'm really bad at stealth games. I have a shit sense of direction and am as subtle as a loud creaking door. This game accommodates that, though.

You have 5 difficulty levels which I'll break down for you.

Easy : The one I played the first time. You'll probably never die, resources and bullets are abundant and you have plenty of room to experiment and make mistakes.

Medium : Not significantly harder than easy, but enemy AI is surprisingly formidable in some parts.

Hard : This has earned its name. Hard is way less forgiving and expects you to know what you're doing at every turn.

Expert : This one fucking broke me. It might as well be called "frustratingly terrifying".

Purist : Fuck off, nobody's this good at the game. Even Agent 47 can't win this shit.

The interface is different in that there's a HUD, but no map, but you have this thing called "instinct" which nudges you in the right direction. I loved this change as it made me feel like I didn't know more than 47 and was exploring these places just like he was. It can be somewhat confusing, but dammit, it works. It also does wonders for immersion.

The shooting is fantastic and the movement feels really smooth and fluid. You can blend into/manipulate your environment as much as you want and complete missions in a myriad of different ways, in typical Hitman fashion. All the features you know from previous games are here and some are greatly improved upon.

The Visual Style

The graphics here are way too good. The cutscenes are especially impressive, but the ones in-game also feel very real and every area you visit is distinct and memorable.

It's also quite cinematic in nature, which helps give it this grand, blockbuster movie feeling.

In Conclusion

This is a game I couldn't possibly recommend more. It has stayed with me ever since I played it over a year ago and I've played a lot of games since.

It will keep you hooked and entertained for all 12-13 hours of gameplay. It's worth experiencing even if just for one aspect of all of those that I mentioned.