Hitman 3 is here. The World of Assassination trilogy, launched in 2016 with the restart of Hitman, is one of the great achievements of modern games – but although critics love the series, it feels like the IO Interactive series will never deserve the credit it deserves. it does not deserve a wider audience. These three rogue action games make you the ultimate assassin, and give you a target in a specific place, but let you pull it out in your own way.
Will your protagonist dress Agent 47 as a waiter and poison your food from your target? Or would you pretend to be a barber and cut your target in the throat during a wet shave? Maybe you go to a racetrack and hit a target after their death on the track, and use their body to crush another target passing by with a race car. Hitman somehow makes these situations darkly funny, with significant rewards for the ingenuity of players.
While the three Hitman games are not true, they may not be true – except perhaps Colorado from the first game, which no one seems to like – some levels from the trilogy fall out above the others. Below, Samuel Roberts and James Peckham of TechRadar reveal their collective favorites from this phenomenal trilogy of games.
10. Isle of Sgail: ‘The Ark Society’ (Hitman 2)
James: Ever wanted to attend an Eyes Wide Shut party, but without the whole sexy bit? Hitman 2 makes it possible with the Isle of Sgail plane and invites you to an exclusive party that takes place in a castle on a remote island near Scotland. I initially found this level difficult to navigate with its high security areas and a large variety of outfit choices, but once you master Sgail, you will grind and execute through the large castle in the possible way.
9. Mumbai: ‘Chasing a Ghost’ (Hitman 2)
James: I’m not sure if Mumbai is the biggest Hitman level to date, but it definitely feels that way. This expansive map contains a half-built skyscraper and narrow, busy alleys. There are three targets across the map to hunt for you, and seeing how far some of them are at the beginning of the mission immediately hinders the house from how massive this background is. I spent hours every little shop exploring every inch of this city, and while it may detect the frustration of the Maelstrom on later playthroughs, it is still remarkably repeatable.
8. Berlin: ‘Apex Predator’ (Hitman 3)
James: I stood in line for the infamous Berghain nightclub on the outskirts of the city and could not succeed – Hitman 3 finally let me through its doors (or, more accurately, the Club Hölle), and even left me the DJ decks go. Berlin’s story mission is experimental – you have to take down five targets, but first you have to identify who they really are before you move. But I found this level even more enjoyable when you return for a second replay, and you can see all ten potential targets through your Hitman vision. They are all grinding around from the dance floor to the top of the club’s structure, and it’s one of the biggest challenges to figure out how to get them off quickly in a row.
Miami: ‘The Finish Line’ (Hitman 2)
James: This re-introduction to Agent 47 at the beginning of Hitman 2 could have been a weaker choice, as you’ll just be sitting in the game format again, but this is actually one of the best levels of the sequel. I feel this is the most kinetic level of the whole trilogy, with lots of moving parts to figure out. Launching a target that zooms in on the racetrack as you try to kill them facilitates the proceedings. Either that’s it, or I’m just blinded by the fact that you can dress like a big flamingo before committing a murder.
6. Whittleton Creek: ‘Another Life’ (Hitman 2)
Samuel: Whittleton Creek is a spiritual successor to a much-loved Hitman: Blood Money level and takes you to the U.S. suburbs to track down a heavily guarded former KGB operator living in witness protection. In addition to the opportunity to explore the homes of the families living in this picturesque setting – and to attend a lovely garden party – you can also inflate your main target by planting explosives in the mole holes that spoil the grass of his backyard. The sense of place in this place is fantastic, and the suburban Americana atmosphere is very different from anything else in the three Hitman games.
5. Hokkaido: ‘Situs Inversus’ (Hitman)
James: What a way to end the first part of this trilogy. Everyone loved the big open spaces like Sapienza and Paris that were full of NPCs, with large scale public events and lots of space to run around. At this level, IO Interactive completely changed and swapped them with corridors with difficult access points and very small interconnected rooms to explore. Hokkaido is one of the most difficult levels to navigate in this entire series, but once you click through with it and you understand how it all works, it can also be one of the most satisfying things.
4. Dartmoor: ‘Death in the family’ (Hitman 3)
Samuel: It’s still too early for me to say if this one is as repeatable as some of the others lower on this list – I do not suspect so, although I look forward to trying the escalation contracts in more detail – but your first turn to this Hitman level is almost unbeatable. Most players will rightly take on the role of a private eye from the start, helping to find out who killed an old, withdrawn member of a wealthy British family – before killing the matriarch. Finding the clues around this gigantic estate is something you can only enjoy once, but it is perhaps the most memorable mission beach of the entire series. I would play an entire game that was just focused on this detective work.
3. Mendoza: ‘The Farewell’ (Hitman 3)
Samuel: I personally think this is the best Hitman 3 level for repeatability because it is such a massive location that differs in different areas. It’s basically the only thing in the new game that feels comparable to people like Sapienza, Miami or Mumbai in how expansive it is. You actually live a party in a massive vineyard that hides a villainous James Bond style – and some of the ways you can kill two targets here are really hilarious. It feels like a victory round by IO Interactive to look forward to the trilogy, a perfect example of what this sandbox simulation approach to stealth game design has done to enhance the adventures of Agent 47.
2. Paris: ‘The Showstopper’ (Hitman)
Samuel: The first Hitman level released in the World of Assassination trilogy, and probably the most intense when it comes to the right timing. I like this level – this large mansion in Paris where a fashion show takes place, is beautifully realized with beautiful ceiling textures and casual props around the mansion. Upstairs, an auction takes place, with a room of total bastards offering sensitive military secrets. It sets a high standard for other levels to come, and gives you numerous fun ways to infiltrate the space – including becoming a male model and taking to the catwalk.
1. Sapienza: ‘World of Tomorrow’ (Hitman)
Samuel: The king of Hitman levels, even though I know some diehards consider it a bit overrated these days. The Sapienza Plain is a small Italian coastal town, where the mission area in question is mostly confined to a single large mansion with an underground Bond villainous style – apart from the various opportunities on the map that give you good reasons to explore. Though the last step for each run may be repeated a bit, it is my favorite place to visit miles away in the Hitman series. It’s a beautiful part of an open world, with a ridiculously ambitious ten mission stories to choose from. Sapienza is basically a whole game in itself.