I’ve never played a Hitman game before but Hitman GO: Definitive Edition made me want to pick one up. If you haven’t heard of Hitman GO it’s a diorama-style, turn-based strategy game that requires you, as Agent 47, to stealthily navigate your way across a board littered with enemies, retrievable cases and more. The Definitive Edition has been updated since its mobile predecessor with improved graphics, integrated achievements and new control schemes that optimise it for the PS4 and PC. I have to admit; the team at Square Enix Montreal have done a fantastic job.
The Definitive Edition runs almost flawlessly on PC and despite it being a mobile port, it plays as if it were intended for PC all along. It therefore showcases truly impeccable game design, translating across all platforms seamlessly. I’ve played other mobile ports and most of these don’t even come close to this game. My usual complaint with mobile ports is that I often get bored and want to watch television in order to occupy myself. With the Definitive Edition I didn’t feel like I needed to do anything else. I felt engaged at all times and the glowing sense of achievement that I experienced after conquering each level really encouraged me to continue chipping my way through the game.
Presented as a board game, each of the seven worlds are depicted as board game boxes that encase ninety-one grid-based levels. Both Agent 47 and his enemies have been transformed into attractive figurines which will move around the board via the gridlines. Each level also reveals a stunning diorama displaying various scenarios, including iconic scenes from Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. Although this game has been stripped down to just its core values of stealth and strategy in comparison to traditional Hitman games, I thoroughly enjoyed most of the situations that I had to play through. There are plenty of levels to progress through and they are so well-designed and unique that they don’t feel repetitive at all. It’s very clear that each level has been carefully considered and skirting around various enemies and taking out marks felt exhilarating: a feeling that I don’t usually associate with a puzzle game. Experiencing this feeling in a different way through another Hitman title feels incredibly appealing so I can only imagine how fans will feel when they relive some of their favourite scenes in this style.
Furthermore, the game looks absolutely stunning. Despite its neat and simplistic style, the game does not lack in detail, filling enough of the diorama to tell a story, whilst avoiding any clutter.
Simplistic yet stunning.
This suits the game perfectly as it makes it much easier to keep track of your enemies, of which, you’ll be confronted with many. One of the things that I loved about the Definitive Edition is that it introduces you to new enemies and mechanics at a comfortable pace. The game does not have a proper tutorial and does not bombard you with information about new mechanics every time one surfaces. Instead, it respects the players’ intelligence, enabling them to get to grips with new enemies and mechanics by starting with a few easy levels before increasing the difficulty. This works perfectly as you come to understand how each mechanic works very quickly and feel a great sense of accomplishment when you master them.
I really enjoyed throwing cans and stones to distract enemies and taking others out with single-use weapons. The mechanics just seemed to become even more useful as I progressed through the game, too. For example, on some levels you will be able to wear coloured jackets that will enable you to blend in with enemies wearing the same colour jacket. Later on in the game, Agent 47 will also spawn with a coat that gives him a well-needed perception filter against enemies until you eliminate one; alerting the others of your presence.
One of the points that I would like to stress is that this game is quite challenging in some places. However, a hint system has been implemented for when you need a bit of extra help. Alternatively, if you are remarkably persistent you may not even require hints: I didn’t feel like I needed them at all. Sometimes the route that you will take around the board will evolve into a complicated string of movements – all of which will have to be timed perfectly as to avoid you getting caught by guards. There were a number of occasions where I found myself having to guide Agent 47 back and forth between two spaces on the board just to ensure that they would not block or catch me. This is where the controls slightly hindered gameplay. Using the mouse to drag my figurine around the board felt a bit overkill so I played a lot of the game on a Dualshock 4 and at times this proved to be problematic. On a few occasions, the board turned at an awkward angle so selecting a direction on the d-pad would not register. I can understand that this issue could lead to confusion and could also lead to the player making a mistake, forcing them to restart the level.
Watch out for those lasers!
As mentioned above, when you make a mistake, you’ll have to restart the level. This is something that you will have to do often but don’t worry, its reasonably quick, displaying a short loading screen between each restart and the music remains constant whilst this is happening. I found this to be a nice addition as any pressure or frustration that you might feel from restarting a level is removed. Rather than fixating on how many times you’ve had to restart a level and stressing yourself out, you end up focusing on acing the level.
Overall, I would say that I found the game extremely relaxing to play as a direct result of this. However, if you do play the game for a long period of time the music can become quite repetitive after a while. In addition, most levels have three objectives such as, ‘complete in X number of moves’ or ‘no kills’. As a result, the game has a lot of potential for replayability. It took me roughly five hours to finish my first play through of the game, but I still have lots of objectives left to ace and I definitely want to go back.
HITMAN GO: DEFINITIVE EDITION VERDICT
This game has made a very successful transition to PC. Its levels are well-designed employing interesting mechanics that make it challenging, yet equally rewarding to play. It’s a game that will deliver a great experience, whether you choose to dip in and out of it, or play it for long periods of time. I also feel as though it would appeal to you even if you haven’t played a Hitman game before, although it’s probably even better if you have. With a few tweaks to the controls on certain levels, this game is very near perfect for its genre.
TOP GAME MOMENT
Taking out a mark by loosening the fittings of a chandelier over their head and watching its descent.
Good vs Bad
- Interesting mechanics that are brought in at a good pace.
- Levels are really well-designed.
- Lots of potential for replayability.
- Controls don’t always work perfectly.
- Music can become repetitive after a while.
