Agent 47 much like Mario, Lara Croft or Solid Snake, should be held in high regard as a gaming icon, with his series having spanned over 20 years, evolving with each passing entry and being a pioneer of a genre. The last few years have been interesting for the Hitman series, with the 2015 reboot coming from the ashes of 2012’s Hitman Absolution, and each of the 3 Hitman games since then having peculiar releases. The first Hitman was released in episodic format, to changing publishers and the final chapter coming out at the tail end of the pandemic. It’s been a rather interesting ride, but finally, we can enjoy the way these games were meant to be … as one massive, immense package of globe-trotting murder and mayhem.
Welcome to the World of Assassination.
What is Hitman: World of Assassination
Hitman centres on the bloody career of one Agent 47, a perfect creation born from the DNA of the world’s most dangerous men and shaped into a bald-headed killer clone. He is an elite killer, who works for the ICA, an underground organisation that hires killers to take out various figures of interest, to keep the world’s balance. From Drug Cartel bosses guiding as Wine connoisseurs, political figures deep in child trafficking rings, terrorist masterminds and much, much worse. World of Assassination is the gathering of Agent 47’s most recent ventures from the Hitman games released in 2015, 2018 and 2021.
Now I always felt (and I gather a few other fans did as well) that each of the new Hitman games, while very rich in detail, world-building and with an immense amount of interactivity, always felt a little short in length. By the 3rd game, you could see the number of levels didn’t feel quite enough to be considered a “full Hitman experience”. But there was always something there which hinted that these games were meant to be combined. And finally, now they have!
Not to say that each game isn’t without merit, or worth the asking price, as they do have so much packed in within a limited-level roaster. Yet now we have 3 games combined into one, which now feels like the biggest step forward in the Hitman series. Blood Money perfected much of the mechanics and offered a great selection of thematic elements and set pieces, and Absolution, while with flaws, was so grand in scale and presentation. Now Hitman WOA is the big Hitman game we fans have always dreamt about and it’s really the perfect package.
Every bullet tells a story
The Hitman games have never been one for complex storytelling, but often deep-dived into compelling thematic elements, exploring the concepts of death, religious existentialism, what it means to be human, and comprehending evil in its truest form. From the very beginning, Hitman has had style, solid narratives that feel akin to the best spy thrillers and filled with interesting characters in beautiful places.
Hitman: WOA is no different and brings us another epic venture through the shady underbellies of politics, criminal underworlds, and much worse, to take out various figures of power and corruption. This time however we get more into the backstory of Agent 47, and more importantly his trusted handler Diana Woodburn. We see how 47 became part of the ICA, and completed his most infamous hits over a 20-year span. We enter the present day, where again Agent 47 takes on another series of hits, although they seem oddly connected. Soon it is revealed that a mysterious individual known simply as the "Shadow Client" has secretly coordinated the contracts to dismantle a secretive organization called "Providence". An organisation that has control over global affairs and are the true ruler of the world.
The three games span over 47 taking on his new assignments which kickstart the whole ordeal, finding the Shadow Client and why he is doing this, and the end of “Providence”. There is a lot of story here as you might expect with three games being rolled into one, but overall the plot flows together rather well, with WOA becoming a massive, bold three-act spy thriller, in the grandest sense possible.
The intensity of drama in WOA has been magnified from the previous games, as they were mostly just a series of murders, connected by a simple, yet solid narrative thread. There’s a good amount of escalation, rising steaks and a plot that evolves with meaningful twists, in locations that have purpose. It’s all incredibly engaging from start to finish.
The older games were more focused on assassinations and locations, which were the strengths and what made them stand out. And generally, the narratives were fine and usually had one or two very compelling story beats. Whether that be 47 killing his clone brothers, or 47 killing off members of a secret rival to the ICA at his own funeral. These are great moments, and while there are some really cool level concepts, targets and set pieces here and there, WOA never really pushed out the weird or surrealistic deviancy of the old games. If there was a Clone brother involved, I would have lost my s*** as that would be cool. But nothing too weird or darkly bizarre.
But as I said there are some terrific moments and set pieces which really stand out in the series. From disguising yourself as a private detective and weeding out a murder from a rather erratic rich family at their manor home in the heart of Surrey. To killing a corrupt investment banker hiding out at a US embassy during a full-scale riot/protest, to venturing through and outside a moving train. Or my personal favourite mission, which involves taking out a father and daughter arms dealing duo at a Formula One racing event/weapons lab. There are some great moments here and plenty of interesting, high-profile targets to take out.
I will say there are some oddities with the presentation between games, in particular, the cutscene quality taking a nose dive in the second part of WOA (Hitman 2), due to the cutscenes being nothing more than still images with dialogue over them. It’s a very odd choice, and I gather it was done due to time constraints or budget, and it’s really aged poorly. Especially as the other games have beautiful, high-quality cutscenes. But overall the story is pretty solid, with some good twists (some naff ones as well), exotic locations, memorable targets and a couple of neat easter eggs hardcore fans will love (a certain choice at the end in particular).
Tools of the trade, and the dealer of death 
Over the years, the Hitman series has stuck to a simple, yet engaging formula for a gameplay loop, where players go from one beautiful location to another, and figure out how to kill a single or multiple targets with as little drama as possible. Each location presents a multitude of ways to explore the environment, gather tools and gear to complete various actions, and of course, many ways to take out your target, whether it be in a quiet, restrained manner, or the most violent way possible.
Players are dropped in with very little knowledge of the environment and left to figure things out for themselves. It’s up to players, and plenty of trial and error to figure out the right way, or the many right ways (or even the wrong way, but it pans out) to complete your assignment. The levels tend to be massive, multilayered mazes of obstacles and learning curves, with plenty of means and methods of getting the job done. It’s a case of finding out about the level and target bit by bit and revealing opportunities for 47 to follow and take advantage of. There are a multitude of ways to take out your target, but first, you must get to them, learn about them, and their weaknesses and exploit what you can at each level.
Do you disguise yourself as someone the target is meeting in secret at the top of a construction site? Be a shame if they “fell” to their death when the security isn’t looking. Or gathering a few choice chemicals and poisoning the target’s favourite bottle of wine. Or even better, using the photo of the target and rigging a super AI robot to shoot said target in the face during a demonstration at their lab (in Gary Oldman from the Fifth Element voice “My favourite”).
There are so many ingenious ways to explore, gather clues and kill your targets, and this is what Hitman such a gripping and enjoyable series. Seeing the evolution of the hits to this point is quite astounding and as a massive fan, this is quite possibly the best it will ever be. While it does seem quite intimidating, Hitman WOA does gently ease you into how everything works, and what you should be looking for. Overhearing a conversation will open a lead, and you can track it to the very end, promoting a successful hit. It doesn’t handhold, but there is enough information here if you need it to guide you through some of the ways. The game expects you to fail, especially early on, but from here, it’s all about learning and learning is made easy in the modern Hitman games.
Getting to grips with 47 is quite easy, with a clean-cut UI, a nice amount of accessibility features, and a simple framework you can learn and master quickly, you’ll be a professional in no time.
The detail and density of the levels, the discoveries, and the feeling when you pull off a hit is just as good, as completing a hugely difficult boss in a Souls-Borne game. And there are quite a few great levels together in one neat package from all 3 modern games. I will admit, not every level matches the opera house from Blood Money, but even the weakest levels are still very gripping and thoroughly enjoyable in some way. With some of the best being the Surrey Manor, the formula one race/arms lab, the Paris fashion show, Mumbai, and Marrakesh. I will admit, Hitman 3 is a bit of a mixed bag, as it has some of the best levels in the 3 games, with a final mission taking place on a train which is cool, but also others which aren’t bad, but nothing as thrilling as the previous two games. Still, combined with the other two games, it’s pretty good nonetheless.
What makes all the levels even better, is the new dynamics which come about every time you play them.
Once you’ve finished a level or completed a certain objective, or found an item of interest, you gain a new way to start the mission, be it another entry point, starting with a disguise or critical item, making the hit easier. And you can go in as a pro, with limited information, items and more tense security, but reap better rewards. IO have really gone all out to enhance the reliability factor and ensure you can play to whatever assassin style you’re going for. Be it stealthy, looking for the right moment to attack after gathering clues and tools. Or just break out the mayhem and carnage with guns, and bombs while dressed up as a samurai (yes, you can do that).
There are a couple of things which does hold back Hitman WOA from being the ultimate package for fans and newcomers. First, not every level from the 3 main games is included in the base package. Over the years, there have been quite a few additional chapters and locations added into the games to flesh them out, with new story elements and lore. What is good, is that some of these are included, including Patient Zero and the final chapter of Hitman 3.
But some additions are not here, including the New York bank level, and a few Sniper levels. It’s very odd as to have some of the DLC chapters, but not all of them. I felt with the package being so immense as it was, why not just have everything?
But seeing as there are 21 missions here, along with other cool modes (coming up in the review), then it’s not so painful to bear. But it would’ve been nice to just have everything in one place.
A never ending business of death 
But what makes the modern era of Hitman truly exciting and dynamic, is due to IO Interactive’s commitment to adding new frequent content, expanding the Hitman games into something more. At this point, Hitman WOA is massive with the main campaign, additional chapters, its live mode featuring Contact Creation, Arcade mode and the new game mode Freelancer, all of which are excellent additions next to the single-player campaign. Although very sadly the fan favourite Ghost Mode is no longer active. This was a great way for friends to play together in Hitman and the true means of online multiplayer.
While much of the content including Arcade mode is remixed content from the campaign, there are plenty of interesting modifiers to spice things up and keep the Hitman experience fresh and exciting. The live content is a nice touch, for those competitive assassins looking to obtain some sweet loot, and contact creation allows players to modify and adjust any of the campaign levels. It’s a simple yet nice mode which grants you the power to change things up yourself and make the hit more to your liking, and to have beaten by others.
However, the standout mode is the newly added Freelancer mode, which is a rogue-like venture which sees players take on a multitude of contacts, with failure being a heavy setback. Players will have to work their way up a chain of command, assassinating low-tier bosses, before they can find and kill a main leader of the Syndicate in a showdown. There are several leaders to find and kill, with plenty of lower-tier bosses between them. By killing, and pulling off successful hits, you’ll obtain new weapons and gear for the next job.
However, if you fail, there are repercussions, such as losing the weapons and items you’ve taken with you on that mission and being deducted a bunch of cash. So, the aim is to perfect your skills, be careful and pull off the perfect hits up to the showdown, to keep as much gear, weapons and cash as possible. Failing a mission won’t restart your progress in the campaign, but failing a showdown will, and even if you fail right at the end, you’ll be starting over again. Harsh and brutal for sure! And in each mission, there are some neat new features, such as suppliers who sell you weapons and tools which can help out immensely.
I really enjoyed Freelancer mode and feel it’s the most compelling and fitting game mode for the modern era of Hitman. It’s brutal and challenging, yet incredibly rewarding and gripping from start to finish. Just like any other good rogue-like, it has all the right elements and pacing to keep you invested until the very end. It is quite devastating to get to the 3rd or 4th showdown, only to slip up and have to start all over again, but this is the nature of roguelikes. Plus, during the campaign, you can pick and choose which contract to play, meaning the campaign is never the same for you or other players.
And the cherry on top of this fine cake is the ability to customise your safehouse after unlocking new items by completing missions. It might be a small thing, but I’m a sucker for that kind of thing, and I’m sure any other hard-working assassin will appreciate coming back from a hard day’s work to chill in their fully customisable home!
Overall Hitman is a series which deserves more love and respect, but I understand many of the older games aren’t for everyone due to their high bars of success and slow-burn nature. The modern era of Hitman games has brought new life into the series, reforming and refining the foundations into pretty much a trio of perfect stealth/action game games. The scale is immense with grand level designs, immense depth and interaction, compelling problem solving, and the vast amount of reliability due to the multilayer nature of the campaign, game modes and features which will surely keep players invested for years to come.
Hitman WOA has only a couple of missed opportunities, but overall is a phenomenal package that any true Hitman fan should pick up, and anyone looking for one of the most intelligent and gripping gaming experiences. Hitman WOA is an easy recommendation from me, and while we may not get another Hitman game for a while, I’m incredibly confident with IO’s upcoming James Bond game.
++ An immense campaign with plenty of locations, and interesting target
+ Huge amount of replayability and tons of content to play
+ Highly accessible to newcomers
+ Freelancer mode is among the best new additions to the modern Hitman
+Pretty good story
- Not all levels are made equal, with Hitman 3 being hit or miss
- Some missing additional content, I was hoping to be part of the package
- No Ghost Mode …
A review code for Hitman: World of Assassination was kindly provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. There will also be a physical edition of HITMAN World of Assassination for the PlayStation® 5 System releasing on August 25, 2023.
