Hitman: World of Assassination is arguably the best way to play the current Hitman series. On paper, it’s a very serious franchise about very serious international spy agencies playing very serious mind games with each other. Agent 47’s travels take him to locations all over the world, where he encounters (and murders) all manner of people. In practice, it is simultaneously the best and goofiest game in the entire stealth genre. And, weirdly enough, its characterful NPCs and lack of traditional skill point mechanics are a huge part of the reason why it’s such a fun (and funny) ride.
World of Assassination is a stealth-lover’s paradise. Although its NPCs are extremely distractable, they’re also extremely versatile, which forces players to think on their feet. But the game also provides plenty of tools for sneaking past NPCs or getting them out of your way. 47 may be able to fool some characters with a disguise, but others will immediately notice that the guy with the freaking bar code on the back of his head is a threatening stranger. NPCs respond differently to items thrown from cover versus items they see you throw or drop — they’ll also pick these items up, so if you want them back, you’ll need to knock out the NPC carrying the item, or snatch it up before they get to it. While most games are content to have you throw a brick or a bottle to sneak by the bad guys, Hitman’s guard NPCs will often refuse to investigate a distraction themselves, and instead radio for backup instead of wandering away from their posts. Now you have two people to try and slip past (or knock out).
Moments like this force players to think ahead and use the plethora of tools at their disposal to get the job done. World of Assassination’s NPCs are more than just sight cones and patrol routes — they push players to try new things. Yes, they’re admittedly very unobservant (a well-placed banana peel can easily take a target out), but they’ve got more life than most, and they nudge players into honing skills in their own way — whether that means following the mission story to a T, or breaking the game’s physics with a violin. 47 has access to a variety of tools including lockpicks, silenced pistols, and poison. Poison is especially interesting, because while it can be used to kill a target, it can also be used to make them fall asleep, or make them vomit. The emetic poison is especially helpful for getting targets alone — rather than vomiting right then and there, NPCs hit with emetic poison will deviate from their standard route to find the nearest bathroom, making it easy for 47 to slip in behind them and give them the world’s deadliest swirly.
Even weapons can do more than just kill. Gunshots make for a great distraction, as when a weapon is fired, it creates an invisible sort of “noise bubble” around the spot where it was fired from. Upon hearing the noise, guard NPCs will come running, but as long as 47 is no longer inside the noise bubble when they get there, they’ll never suspect him. Firing a few shots to lure guards away, stepping out of the noise bubble, and watching them completely ignore 47 as they run to the location the weapon was fired from never gets old.
While you can certainly butcher your way through the game, the goal is usually to kill a specific target (or targets) as inconspicuously as possible. Hitman’s NPC versatility shines here, too. There are many ways to take down a target without laying a finger on them, and 47 can often get the job done without even entering the room they’re in. Hell, with enough planning, he can sometimes convince NPCs to kill each other. But he doesn’t have to pass a speech check to do it, or save up perk points to be able to knock someone out with his briefcase. World of Assassination hands players the tools and trusts that they’re intelligent enough to use them.
As much as I enjoy character builds and perk points, I love that Hitman doesn’t limit stealth abilities with a point system or predetermine them with a skill tree. World of Assassination is a blast because it doesn’t rely on a skill tree or special stealth build to make sneaking around fun — it relies on player creativity.
