At this point in my life, the picturesque village of Sapienza feels like a holiday home, full of happy memories. Youthful, tanned bodies lining the beach. Gently pushing through the heaving body of tourists in crowded alleys. Hiding unconscious bodies in cabinets to ensure a clean and quick getaway. Yes, a lot of these memories involve bodies but they are some of my fondest times in the Hitman universe. Having played HITMAN World of Assassination on three other formats, I’ve become intimately bonded with the sun-drenched streets of this quaint Italian town and its myriad ways to murder. Having another excuse to don the suit and tie once again? Well, it’d be rude not to.
For all three of you that are unaware of what Hitman entails, you are donning the guise of Agent 47: a stoney-faced, cold-blooded assassin with a whole list of locales and targets to work your way through, all wrapped in a thrilling narrative full of revenge and intrigue. Oh and lots and lots of murdering in ever more ingenious ways, often involving a ludicrous costume and quite possibly a tuna to the back of the head. And that’s just the start of it.
This collection includes all three base games (they were originally separate) as well as premium content from previous releases of the game. There is an absolute ton of gameplay on offer here, including the main campaign missions from all three games, Contracts Mode (user-made challenges to master), Freelancer (a rogue-like mode), Escalation missions (more unusual targets to be taken out in a specific manner), Elusive targets (timed exclusive single attempt missions with unique rewards), Sniper Assassin (I’ll let you guess that one), timed live service content (the current James Bond themed missions are excellent), as well as the Hitman 2 expansion and the Hitman 3 deluxe pack. Should you want more, there are even more packs of missions and cosmetic goodies to be purchased as DLC. Should these have been included in the package? I think that there’s enough here for literally hundreds, if not thousands of hours of gun-toting gameplay as is, but the completionist in me just wants everything in one place, without the need of spending even more.
Graphically, the Switch 2 edition looks good but certainly not great, even without direct comparison to other current gen console editions. With a seemingly uncapped frame rate, there are dips and fluctuations all over the place. Whilst I’ve become used to the performance, I can’t say that it’s not a little disappointing to not have an option to fix the frame rate for a more consistent experience, as at present, there are no graphical options in game to choose from. This seems to be even worse when docked, a larger screen exacerbating the situation even further and the HDR being slightly blown out, giving a slight faded look to what should be a vibrant and rich world. As such, playing this game whilst docked has been a bit of a let-down and I’d recommend playing this in handheld mode for a better experience all round.
Another issue here is that, despite being a handheld port, the game requires an online connection to access all features and the progression that you have worked so tirelessly for. Should you wish to play offline, there’s a separate save file meaning you’ll be starting over, scuppering any plans of banging out a few challenges whilst out and about. Whilst not a deal-breaker for me personally (God forbid my shiny new toy leave the safety of these four walls), it’s far from ideal, and I’m hoping that a patch is on the horizon to rectify this in the near future.
Not to be all doom and gloom, a standout feature has been the implementation of the virtual surround sound from the Switch 2. I’ve stood in the crowded markets of Marrakesh, slowly spinning to take in the sounds of all the hustle and bustle around me, street vendors calling out in the distance, crowds murmuring and shouting as I slowly advance toward my intended target. I love it and I can’t get enough of just how well this performs, it’s just so immersive no matter the environment.
Gameplay wise, Hitman is still as amazing as ever. Stealthily stalking your prey in ever more inventive ways through hostile territory always feels fantastic. Whilst initially daunting, this is a game that genuinely rewards time investment. From initially picking your way gingerly through each locale, grabbing any disguise that you can to inch closer to your victim, after a few hours of exploration you’ll be confidently striding toward your mark, suited and booted, without a care in the world, confident in your every move. You’ll look almost clairvoyant as you pass unnoticed behind hapless guards and side-step surveillance cameras, all before putting a single silenced pistol shot in the back of your victim’s head with nary a witness in sight. All that’s left to do is stash the body and have a casual stroll to the nearest exit. You are a ghost: a well-dressed angel of death, leaving no trace you were ever even there and damn does that feel good.
With literally hundreds of challenges to complete and master, story based killing opportunities to discover, memorable dense environments, and laugh out loud moments of insanity, all spread across 26 unique and varied locations, this is a completionist’s wet dream and worst nightmare all rolled into one. With progression systems that unlock even more opportunities for inventive play and new equipment with which to take out your victim, there’s always an incentive to have just one more go and that’s not even mentioning the online leaderboards that allow you to test your skills against the best in the world. Whilst each attempt isn’t quite bite-sized, it’s just so easy to pick up and play you’ll want to sink your teeth into it again and again.
The Nintendo Switch 2 port of HITMAN World of Assassination isn’t perfect but for a portable edition of the game, it does a fine job of bringing the semi-open world killer thriller to a whole new audience. There are literally hundreds of hours of content to dive into should you want them, immersive environments to thoroughly explore and master, and the potential to express your creativity that is unmatched by anything else on the console.
It’s not the best way to experience the game if you are playing on the big screen and yes, there are issues with the online/offline save files but despite this, the gameplay is still just as fantastically addictive as it’s ever been and it’s still up there as one of my all time favourites. Putting you in the shoes of a cold-blooded killer has never been so well executed.
