After spending over 100 hours across IO Interactive’s “Hitman: World of Assassination,” I can confidently say this is one of the most rewarding stealth experiences ever crafted. The more you play, the deeper it grips you. Every mission — from silent infiltrations to chaotic improvisations — feels handcrafted to test your patience, strategy, and creativity in the art of assassination.
Hitman: World of Assassination delivers a deeply engaging story with rich moral layering that truly encapsulates the essence of the franchise and provides a satisfying conclusion to Agent 47’s saga. The narrative follows 47 and his handler Diana Burnwood as they confront shadowy global powers, secret societies like Providence, and confront their own complex histories shaped by genetic engineering and manipulation. Throughout the trilogy, the story explores themes of loyalty, identity, and the consequences of living as a professional assassin in a morally ambiguous world.
The plot weaves a compelling arc where 47 is not just a cold killer but a character grappling with the burden of his past and the heavy ethical dilemmas posed by his line of work. The culmination of the story’s threads in World of Assassination brings closure to longstanding conflicts while leaving space for reflection on justice and power. This rich narrative depth adds significant weight to the gameplay, making each assassination mission feel more purposeful beyond mere contract fulfillment. It sums up the franchise’s blend of stylish action and thought-provoking storytelling perfectly, satisfying longtime fans and newcomers alike with a resonant emotional payoff.
Overall, the story’s engagement and moral complexity complement the game’s vast stealth challenges beautifully, heightening the experience and rounding off the trilogy with thematic and narrative resonance.
Each of the trilogy’s maps, now bundled into one seamless package, still feels fresh and distinct. The level design is unmatched, giving players the freedom to sculpt their own murderous masterpieces. The Berlin map, for instance, completely absorbed me — I managed to eliminate every target by methodically luring them to secluded spots, one by one, before executing them all in a masterfully timed sweep. The Carpathian Mountains mission, though more linear, serves as a playground of chaos and closure, offering the perfect finale for those who thrive under pressure.
The sniper challenges stand out as some of the game’s most focused and mechanically satisfying side content. Of them, Hantu Port quickly became my favorite — a tense, atmospheric test of marksmanship and precision that distills the essence of Hitman into pure skill and timing.
As with any puzzle box, once you learn the patterns and systems beneath, the mystery begins to fade. Maps like Chongqing, while initially overwhelming, become surprisingly straightforward upon understanding their flow and objectives. Still, that first discovery phase is exhilarating. Other stages — Dartmoor, Mumbai, and Whittleton Creek — manage to maintain their charm far longer, thanks to layered design and compelling challenges. Dartmoor, with its detective-story twist and intricate mansion architecture, remains one of the most creative missions IOI has ever built. And for me, Hokkaido was easily the toughest to master, pushing my stealth instincts to the absolute limit.
World of Assassination features brilliant graphics that masterfully blend the iconic aesthetic of the original Hitman games with modern technological advancements. The environments are richly detailed and atmospheric, immersing players in diverse locations that feel both realistic and creatively designed for intricate stealth gameplay. The lighting and ray tracing especially elevate the visual experience, enhancing the mood and tension in each mission. It truly captures the spirit of the classic Hitman formulas while embracing the power of today’s hardware.
That said, there is a certain cinematic quality from Hitman: Absolution that I find myself missing. Absolution had a distinct stylistic flair and storytelling approach that brought a different kind of polish and dramatic intensity to the franchise. While the current trilogy’s visual storytelling is excellent, it leans more toward realistic stealth sandbox environments than cinematic spectacle.
The soundtrack in World of Assassination is well-crafted and effective, setting the right tone to complement the game’s tense, stealth-driven atmosphere. It’s not overly sophisticated or grandiose, but it does its job well by heightening the sense of suspense and urgency during missions. For me, coming from the era of Blood Money and its iconic Ave Maria theme, the music here feels less refined and occasionally makes me a bit anxious, which, in a way, adds to the overall feeling of unease and danger that the game wants to convey. This subtle anxiety fits well with the high-stakes world of a professional assassin.
Despite its familiar rhythms once the systems reveal themselves, Hitman: World of Assassination remains a triumph of emergent storytelling and mechanical depth. The escalation contracts bring new life to older levels, and the steady ramp-up of complexity keeps the experience engaging even after dozens of hours.
This is a game that rewards patience, observation, and experimentation — a sandbox where every failure teaches you something new. It may not be flawless, but the sheer craft and creativity at play make it indispensable for stealth enthusiasts.
Final Verdict: A masterclass in design and replayability. Highly engaging, endlessly creative, and deeply satisfying — 4/5.
