Developer – IOI

Publisher – IOI

Platforms – PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC, Stadia, Nintendo Switch

If I asked a handful of people to name gaming’s best franchises, or name some of gaming’s most memorable characters, I wonder how many would name Hitman, and 47.

IOI has been creating a world of assassination, not just for this latest trilogy, but ever since the series inception. 21 years of 47’s stoic, bald, barcode attitude wearing disguises and smoothly or clumsily taking out targets.

Despite over two decades of sequels, reboots, successes and failures, IOI has truly perfected a vision of stealth and open ended sandbox gameplay with Hitman 3.

Building on the success of this new trilogy, Hitman 3 continues 47’s adventure into his past, and the forces above his head using him in their global game of cat and mouse.

To those who don’t know, the latest Hitman trilogy has essentially rebooted the franchise with an extreme focus on huge, open ended mission design with a big focus on 47’s bag of tricks and lots of replay value.

Whether you follow each stages meticulously crafted story paths, or decide to dress up like a mascot and throw a can of tomato sauce at lethal velocity, your imagination is the only thing holding you back.

IOI continues the trend with the end of this trilogy. From a narrative point of view, they really go all out with blending the story into the missions themselves.

They also do a fantastic job of playing up the beauty and spectacle of the environments. The opening stage in Dubai is a perfect example of this, as music swells and the camera pans when you enter new areas to create stunning shots. It truly adds a cinematic flourish the previous two games were missing.

The 6 new locations are also some of the best in the history of the franchise. Even when a couple are a tad subdued, it serves a purpose as the flow of levels tell a story.

The highs and lows are balanced so the end game really stands out. The previous games suffered a bit as later levels felt a notch below the opening experiences.

Hitman 3 also consolidates the entire trilogy. IOI has refined the engine and uses new compression techniques to shrink all three games to a fantastic 67gb file size.

Even better, all the new engine refinements carry backwards into the previous two games.

All unlocks from Hitman 2 all persist, and the mastery system has been streamlined for a more concise leveling experience.

This streamlining and carrying forward of the previous games is fantastic. Hitman 3 is both the best entry point in the series, while also being the climactic and exciting end of a great legacy for long time veteran players.

Hopefully, this new chapter in IOI’s marquee franchise cements Hitman, and 47 as iconic gaming figures, because it’s well deserved and earned.