The Hitman series has had a rocky road for the last decade, especially after the noticeable rise and fall from Hitman: Blood Money, to Hitman: Absolution. Modern times aren’t fairing better either, with the newest series reboot focusing on more intricate stealth, that’s plagued by episodic pricing controversy. Yet, there’s one game fans and aficionados always seemed to skim on, called Hitman GO. A more casual oriented approach to the Hitman series, Hitman GO was praised by critics and more devoted gamers who wanted to see what Square had up their sleeve. It’s surprisingly addictive and cerebral consulting puzzle action was a hit, yet failed to reach a wide enough audience. With a new digital release, it’s clear Square is willing to invest in it one more time.

Nearly two years after it’s original release, Hitman GO is a mesmerizing masterpiece. It’s done assassination like no other game in the series has done before, and other more contrived mobile spinoffs such as Hitman Sniper have failed to be as interesting as it. It’s almost crazy that a franchise with so many recent flops, managed to keep it’s cool in an majestic and almost underground way. With this kept in check, let’s take a peek at just why Hitman Go should be so wholly respected.

Gameplay:

Hitman GO’s chessboard-like system takes away all contemporary qualms

In Hitman GO, you un-alarmingly play as the series staple Agent 47, brandished tie and all. Although in this game, you rely on your wits instead of an arsenal, cursing through designed setpieces and paths to trick your enemies. With a more simplified approach, Hitman Go has managed to routinely remove all the nagging traits (Big and Small) expected of a more-recent Hitman game. The game urges you to experiment and take risks nearly as much as the main series, but in an innovative and authentic way.

These experiments mostly deal with the diverse amount of fodder distraction, opponent types, and collectibles. Some are more essential than others, but it feels incredibly successful on a personal scale to achieve all of these in one go. You may be cursing at your television as you just messed up the third move you weren’t supposed to, but if anything, this makes the accomplishment all the more gratifying.

Story/ Design:

Each level is split into board game chunks

For a game like Hitman GO, nearly everything could have floundered if there was lazy level design, or a hastily presented difficulty curve. While Hitman GO does have traces of some of these flaws (more individually surrounding the difficulty curve) the main bulk of the game is well put together in numerous ways, thanks to an element of level design that allows for a way greater range of opportunity and the occasional failure.

This is more explicit in the final levels of certain chapters, and even more evident in the themed ones. Failure is something you’ll come across a lot in Hitman:GO, but it’s the levels like these that kept me going. Each one feels sort of like a giant jigsaw puzzleboard. You’ll need to figure things out on the way if you want to excel.

My one knock of Hitman: GO is how essential this makes itself at times. This doesn’t really have to be a bad thing, but later difficult stages and game-chunks completely rely on you to do every side objective, that it’s less than welcome. Some players just want to breeze through the game and not have to suffer a headache or two, and Square Enix Montreal should be well aware of that.

Presentation / Visuals & Audio:

For a nice change of pace, the game abandons the darker side of 47’s persona

With Hitman: GO already taking away the more gritty and gory side of Hitman’s distinction as a series, the art style and placid music settle this theme. They are both extremely calming and set a nice aesthetic, so you don’t get too frustrated by an aggravating tune or art decision. Better yet, the game also has very nice menu layering and an options menu, enticing you more to repeat and finish missions.

Conclusion:

Hitman: GO is a partly flawed, yet refreshing take on the other, unexplored side of a classic gaming franchise. The exquisite level design, good controls, and unique presentation all settle it to be a fantastic puzzle game, and a dedicated present to fans who have stuck around for so long. It’s been worth it, folks.

Hitman GO: Definitive Edition gets an 8 /10. (Very Good)

We’d like to thank Square Enix PR for sending us a code for this one!

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