There’s no doubt that Hitman deserves a spot in any list of the best stealth games ever made. The series deserves more credit for bringing up opportunities for players to finish off targets in very creative ways. While it’s always fun to go on a rampage, there's greater satisfaction in landing the coveted kill by unique and subversive means.
Given that these are usually hidden in-game for players to figure out themselves, it means that a lot of these might never have been found, even by dedicated gamers. So, join us as we count down some of the best and most iconic kills ever seen in the Hitman titles.
Updated on January 19th, 2022 by Hodey Johns: With a strong story and a list of notorious villains, there is no shortage of memorable kills under Agent 47's belt. Many of these have more to do with the method than the character, but when the two come together, it's truly a great moment in gaming. When this list was originally made, Hitman 2 and 3 from the World of Assassination trilogy had not yet been released. And so many of those kills deserved a spot on this list. But since there is no replacing the entries that are already listed here, it felt better to add more to the list than take any away. So enjoy a list of the top fifteen kills Agent 47 has scored in the entire franchise!
15 Rico Delgado: Devoured By Hippo (Hitman 2)
The mark of a good assassin is the ability to do the job without anyone knowing about it. In this case, 47 didn’t have to do the actual killing either. In a simple but effective kill, Rico Delgado can be put into a situation where the hippopotamus does 47’s job for him.
This is achieved during one of Delgado’s visits to the creature, where he affectionately talks to it and wonders if the animal’s diet is sufficient. 47 can get behind Delgado and push him into the water, resulting in the hippo eating the target and solving everyone’s problems.
14 Silvio Caruso: Therapist Smothering (Hitman 2016)
Silvio Caruso is considered one of the targets who didn’t deserve to die because of his traumatic childhood. Still, the kill itself is too smart to ignore, with 47 donning the identity of Caruso’s psychiatrist. After entering the mansion this way, Caruso will arrive for his session.
Here, 47 dives deep into Caruso’s hatred for his mother. This is so effective that Caruso outright confesses to smothering his mother to death. Ironically for him, 47 has the same idea and quickly finishes Caruso off in the same way. With the guards left outside, nobody’s left the wiser to Caruso’s demise.
13 Sanchez: Cage Fight (Hitman: Absolution)
This skill requires only the nerve of the player. Within the story, 47 confronts Sanchez head-on in a cage fight where there are no rules. This means killing the guy during the bout is fair game, and it's exactly how Sanchez meets his death.
The player has to engage Sanchez in a match, where 47 displays his superior fighting skills despite Sanchez’s enormous size. The kill highlights how 47 has incredible conventional combat abilities in addition to his assassin background. It’s also a nice change from the norm as this kill allows the player to be as aggressive as they want.
12 Ken Morgan: Tuk Tuk Explosion (Hitman 2016)
2016’s Hitman can very well find itself on the list of best sandbox games due to the sheer number of options the open-world provides. This is one of the best, as Ken Morgan is lured over to a Tuk Tuk car without him realizing that 47 has a trap set up.
The player has to firstly fix the Tuk Tuk for Morgan to be summoned, then let out a gas leak which has to be ignited when Morgan is in the vicinity and watch him go up in flames. It’s mainly satisfying due to it being one of the few kills where Morgan can be lured away, and it also lets players see their plan successfully executed out in the open.
11 Mason McCready: Grill Burning (Hitman: Absolution)
Hitman: Absolution might not be a total fan favorite, but the game does deliver on dark comedy. For this kill, players will see the target bemoaning the fact that his favorite hot sauce is missing, something he needs in order to complete his barbecue.
To this end, 47 can find a similar bottle to place it by the grill, although this one’s actually full of lighter fluid. With the promise of a barbecue gone horribly wrong, you can relax and watch as the target’s glee at finding the hot sauce turns to horror, with him dancing around maniacally as he’s burned to a crisp.
10 Viktor & Dalia: Dropping Viktor On Dalia (Hitman 2016)
Paris is definitely one of the best locations in the series. Here, you can kill two targets with one shove and have nobody be the wiser. This is made possible by finding the controller that triggers the fireworks, which draws Dalia out on the balcony and Novikov right below her on the ground floor.
Unfortunately for the couple, their admiration of the show is cut short when 47 pushes Dalia down. As fate has it, she lands straight on top of Viktor, ensuring both targets are killed off at the same time.
9 Alexa Carlisle: A Guilty Lie (Hitman 3)
Hoping to avoid being a victim like her colleagues, Alexa Carlisle has staged her own death and is getting her family affairs in order when her brother, Zachery, is found dead. Disguised as a detective to solve the mystery, players can come to an incorrect conclusion that causes the target to eliminate herself. The truth will have to remain one of the game's many mysteries.
Alexa does have many things to be guilty of and she did put Zachery in a position she regrets. However, he did not kill himself due to her dealings. If players fib and say that this is what led to her death, she decides to make her staged death a real one shortly after learning of the fake news.
8 Erich Soders: Dumping His Heart (Hitman 2016)
If you’re still on the fence over whether the reboot is better than the original Hitman series, then be reminded of this kill. In what’s easily the smartest way to dispose of a target yet, 47 can find the heart of Erich Soders, who’s having an operation two floors above.
After luring the guards out of the room, all 47 has to do is remove the heart from the wires that are keeping it pumping. What’s funny is how 47 so casually disposes of it by dumping the heart in a garbage bin. It’s a particularly cold way to make a kill, but it’s equally hilarious.
7 Nolan Cassidy: Deadly Tour (Hitman 2)
Nolan Cassidy won't qualify as one of the best targets of the franchise since he's most running security for a more important target. Nevertheless, his untimely end by turning on the laser mines in a private vault is one of the ages.
Hyping up this death is everything that leads up to it. Agent 47 has to disguise a real estate agent and his descriptions of each room in the home are dark enough for players to laugh at and just barely veiled enough for Nolan Cassidy to not see the danger he's in until it's too late.
6 Everybody: 47's Funeral (Hitman: Blood Money)
It might seem as if Agent 47 is too overpowered, but it appears Hitman: Blood Money was aware of this idea and ran with it. Just as the credits are rolling, 47 can be “resurrected” and then has to kill everyone at the funeral.
Things get very messy here, but it’s also very cathartic to kill antagonist Alexander Cayne. After having believed he’d outsmarted 47, finishing off Cayne is extremely satisfying as 47 wipes out his entire faction. Appropriately, all of this takes place at a funeral.
5 Tamara Vidal: The Grape Press (Hitman 3)
Sometimes missions come down to using Agent 47's best gear and gadgets. Other times, it comes down to using the enemy's resources against them. Tamara Vidal can meat her death in a number of ways, but one of the ways is too shocking to ever forget.
Going on a tour with Tamara Vidal gives players a unique opportunity to have Diana help lure Tamara into standing on a disabled grape press. Of course, all it takes to make the device enabled is to press a big button right after Diana gets off. Needless to say, this is not a child-friendly moment.
4 Alvaro & Richard: Fake Prop Gun Switch (Hitman: Blood Money)
Making things more dramatic than anyone would’ve wanted, this kill can see 47 finish a target indirectly. It requires finding a real gun that resembles the prop gun being used in the play and switching them out with each other.
Alvaro is killed during the rehearsal as the real gun shoots him mid-performance. Witnessing this, the second target will come bounding down the stairs to check on the disaster. It’s here where 47 can activate a bomb on the chandelier above, which crushes Richard and wraps up the proceedings.
3 Marcus Stuyvesant & Carl Ingram: Parachute Malfunction (Hitman 3)
Those who try to follow what seems like the canonical methods of killing opponents in Hitman 3 will likely miss out on many things to do in the game. Giving two of the game's biggest threats a proper goodbye may be the right thing to do, but there's an improper goodbye that is far more sinister.
By sounding the alarm in Dubai and ruining the normal exits, gamers can get Marcus Stuyvesant and Carl Ingram to exit the building by parachute. Of course, a quick Agent 47 just might have already cut holes in the chutes just before the two dive off of the world's tallest tower.
2 Chad Bingham: Shooting The Pool (Hitman: Blood Money)
Things have never been as simple and entertaining as this one. In this mission, which takes place in an outdoor party on a mountain, 47 can make his target plummet to his death. It’s achieved by placing the assassin on a lower platform from where the glass pool the target is lounging in can be aimed at.
A simple shot through this glass shatters the platform holding the man, sending him crashing to his demise on the rocks below. The kill requires nothing but a couple of bullets, yet it gets full marks for visual appeal.
1 Robert & Sierra Knox: An Accident At The Track (Hitman 2)
As part of a mysterious cloning program, Agent 47 is all too familiar with doubles. Double hits are always thrilling, but it can be tough to pull them off perfectly. Those who have the patience for it will get a couple of kills that players of the series will never forget.
On the racetrack at "The Finish Line" mission, a savvy player can give Robert Knox a nudge onto the racetrack below, killing him. But for this to be the most memorable kill in the series, players will have to time it just right so that he lands on his daughter's car below, killing both of them in the "accident."
Hitman 3 was released on January 20th, 2021, and is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.