“Hitman 3” Review – Why Is Hitman 3 A Trending Thing Now?
Hitman 3, developed and released by IO Interactive, is a stealth game for 2021. It is the eighth major installment of the Hitman series and, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the series, the third and final installment in the World of Assassination trilogy, after Hitman and Hitman 2.
In an assortment of dense, deadly, and deeply varied murder playgrounds, Agent 47’s unique brand of slow-paced stealth has reached a marvelous crescendo in Hitman 3. While it does not stray from the killer chord combination developer IO Interactive designed for Hitman in 2016 and continued to use Hitman 2 in 2018, it is abundantly clear here that the studio has mastered its act well and truly.
Hitman 3 can feel largely identical with its two most recent predecessors, with some of the most shocking and inventive levels in the series so far, but just thinking about the hours and hours of mayhem, carnage, and cruel comedy that each of its six amazing new maps can produce makes me giddy.
This final chapter of the trilogy of IO’s ‘World of Assassination’ that started with the Hitman of 2016 may be best conceived of as an expansion than a continuation. If you have bounced off Hitman before, particularly in the last five years, know that in Hitman 3 there has been no significant reinvention of the bald bloke’s blueprint. In their stiffness, the interface and controls have remained unchanged, and the variety of uses for your arms and objects is not radically different, either. A camera that can be used to hack or inspect switches and objects, which is useful but not really a game changer, is the most noteworthy new toy in Hitman 3.
The true power of Hitman 3, then, is seen in his charts. All six of Hitman 3’s gorgeous and strikingly well-lit levels are among the best in the game, so much so that it’s hard to pick an excellent favorite. Things get off to a very spectacular start, 47 parachuting into the world’s tallest building in Dubai and infiltrating its opulent interior, yet the high standard is retained throughout. Follow-up mission is a nod and a grin to Contracts’ Beldingford Manor map and takes 47 to an equally huge UK country manor where an entertainingly ironic path to murdering your target entails acting as a detective who’s there to solve a property murder. From there, it’s going to the massive German rave for a mission that exudes atmosphere and puts an interesting twist on hunting down your five targets among the throngs of sweaty, 24-hour party people, and then to Chongqing, China, where the glow of neon lights, the reflections in the soaked streets, And the rain trickle down 47’s jacket combines for perhaps the most visually impressive mission of the series so far. The next stop is an Argentinian vineyard that reminded me of Blood Money’s excellent vintage year map, only vastly larger; then the final is a great surprise unlike any Hitman mission to date, and one that I sincerely hope isn’t spoiled for you.
Among Sheep, a Wolf
As often, these games’ slow-burn excitement comes from planning, persistence, and hiding in plain sight. Finding the best costume for discovery, listening and searching for options is the secret to success, and having the timing just right to pull off the ideal crime and escape unnoticed. It is a one-player experience without apologies that encourages logical thought over rushing, while it is versatile enough to deal with all extremes. Those who like to pursue the multilayered mini-stories playing out to render invisible, surgical attacks and vanish without a trace inside the stages, and those who like to improvise and leave behind mountains of dead and unconscious men piled like cordwood in their underpants.
You will get away with all this because it is always as easy as ever to trick the sometimes hilariously inexperienced AI. Of course, with unforeseen distractions and suspect things, tricking the dopey guards and civilians has arisen as such a fundamental part of the puzzle solving in the new Hitman trilogy, and over the years, I have really learned to love these stupid bastards. Such people would not even blink an eye at a serious-faced stranger who wears the clothes of a man with whom they have had a chat quite recently and, while that often robs stealthy wins of legitimacy, this kind of suspension of disbelief is simply important for Hitman to work. This has always been a cheekily self-aware series that delights in a general degree of silliness and gallows humor, as bleak as the murder-for-hire idea sounds on the surface.
The Judgment
Rich, rewarding and highly re-playable, Hitman 3 is a superb stallion of IO’s idiosyncratic but much-loved stealth series. The fundamentals have not changed since 2016, but its collection of outstanding maps is a refined, reliable and robust curtain closer to the current Hitman trilogy. Six maps may sound slim, but each one is huge and designed to be played over a number of times – and even then it’s very unlikely that you’ll have uncovered all its creative and surprising assassination opportunities. There’s really not a weak man in the bunch. This barcoded butcher has made a lot of appearances over the last 20 years, but Hitman 3 is definitely one of his best.
