The Hitman games have had their ups and downs, but maintained a relatively consistent flavor with each new entry. With 2016's Hitman being a soft reboot of the franchise and 2018's Hitman 2 altering the formula a bit, fans' eyes have now turned to Hitman 3, one of the first major games of 2021 and a stunning example of top-tier level design mixed with superb stealth gameplay.
Fans shouldn't head into Hitman 3 expecting radical gameplay changes, as the updates here are refinements over the last two games more than big overhauls. There are some key new additions, specifically Agent 47's new camera, but even that isn't a dramatic shakeup. It's clear, however, that IO Interactive's time with the Hitman franchise has been a learning experience, as the new levels and assassination methods are the most interesting the trilogy has seen to date.
A big part of Hitman 3's beauty lies in its simplicity. Players are unleashed into an open level with weapons and opportunities scattered everywhere, the only objective being to eliminate targets and occasionally recover data or destroy something. On a surface level, that seems like it would get boring quickly, and there were times where Hitman 3's openness felt more like a curse than a blessing, but IO Interactive's willingness to let players find solutions for themselves pays off. Few feelings are as rewarding as uncovering a unique way to eliminate a target and pulling off a plan without a hitch, and skilled players will get that dopamine hit regularly.
Players can soak in everything a level has to offer or book it straight to their target, but exploring is the most rewarding option by far. It's entirely possible to make one's way to a target, eliminate them with a silenced pistol and a flashy disguise, and then exit the level, but doing so is a waste of what IO Interactive has created. Hitman 3's in-mission story threads will lead players down far more interesting paths, and typically reveal more information about who that target is and what their motivations are. More often than not, that makes the kill feel a lot more rewarding, but these methods are in no way forced upon players.
Hitman 3's missions are meant to be savored, not scarfed down. Rushing through the campaign will only take 6 or 7 hours for most people, but a big part of Hitman 3's value comes from replaying each stage. There's a long list of challenges for players to take a crack at, which can make assassinations feel entirely different despite taking down the same targets. Beating a mission will improve the player's mastery rank, a clever way of getting players to enjoy a "standard" playthrough of a level before giving them more options to tackle it. Increasing a stage's mastery rank unlocks new weapons, items, starting locations, and a few other modifiers for players to try out. Each unlock is capable of shaking up a mission, all the way down to a single piece of gear drastically changing an approach to a level.
Visually, Hitman 3 is one of the sharpest games available on next-gen consoles. Nearly every level pops, and most of them for drastically different reasons. The most impressive is easily Chongqing, a cyberpunk-style Chinese city with rainy city streets and neon lights. The neon lights add vibrant colors to an otherwise gloomy setting and elegantly reflect off of puddles to create one of the most pleasantly styled levels of the past decade.
The impressive level design doesn't stop there, however. While Chongqing looks the sharpest, Dartmoor is the most interesting. It tasks players with unraveling a murder mystery, similar to what one would expect from Clue or Knives Out. Diving any further into the narrative around it would spoil some of the surprises, but it's a clever twist on Hitman's formula. Expanded correctly, it could make it as a standalone game.
The game also offers players the chance to create their own contracts, allowing them to tag their own targets at a destination for new challenges. These can be shared with the Hitman 3 community, though we were only able to test out our own during our playthrough. The possibilities are essentially endless here, and it's easy to see how community contracts could extend the life of the game almost indefinitely.
Hitman 3 does have a few issues, though none are severe enough to ruin the experience. NPCs can be a bit fickle when players need to follow them to a certain location, sometimes doubling back a short way before course-correcting and going where they're supposed to. Additionally, targets will sometimes have scripted meetings with disguised players, but never break from their routines to go to those meetings, leaving players to pursue alternate methods to assassinate them. Neither issue occurred that frequently while tackling Hitman 3's six destinations, but they were a nuisance when they occurred.
The only major problem with the game is the narrative. Hitman 3 isn't a game to play for the story, and new players to the trilogy will almost certainly be lost in its flurry of secret organizations, names, and abrupt jumps between locations. There are recaps to get players that skipped – or forgot – the last games caught up, but the game's levels are barely woven together in any meaningful ways. For many, that likely won't matter, as the story isn't the main draw here; in fact, it's far down the list. But those hoping for a well-woven tale about high profile targets may walk away disappointed with what Hitman 3 has to offer.
All told, though, Hitman 3 is one of the best stealth games ever made. Those that have enjoyed the last two games in the rebooted trilogy will find more to appreciate here, while newcomers to the franchise will get a highly replayable romp through expertly crafted levels. The disjointed narrative may be off-putting to some, but those willing to overlook the shortcomings of the story are getting an otherwise near-perfect stealth game with exceptional replay value and astounding visual fidelity.
Hitman 3 releases January 20, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided an Xbox Series X code for this review.