Hitman: The Complete Season 1: PS 4 Review

Hitman: The Complete Season 1: PS 4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Square Enix and developed by IO

Hitman's decision to go episodic initially divided fans, as they felt it would rob the game of suspense and craft.

But what's actually transpired over 6 episodes is just how much the Hitman franchise has benefited from a breather within each release.

With the globe-trotting Agent 47 back on course for murderously controlled mayhem, the game's moving around from Paris to Hokkaido has really tested your understanding of how to execute 47's missions.

Stealth is always the key, though occasionally rushing in ramshackle has benefited; but the game's mechanics are suited extremely to patience and stealth. Paris may have started the game off with the feeling that there was a large space to explore, but it soon transpired this was one of the smallest levels, with hundreds of larger propositions revealing themselves as the game went on.

Graphically, Sapienza was the stand out of the series, an Italian coastal town that really stood out and looked incredible, as well as made the best of its open spaces and environment.

From the wide open world, it moved to the hustle and bustle of Morocco; this is very much a series that didn't want to feel repetitive and that wanted each episode to have its own feel, as well as ensuring there was time to breathe in between each level. If all of this variety were to have been contained in one game, detractors would have slammed its insistence to continually change things up, whereas the release format followed by IO really helped the series to a successful relaunch.

Along with an ongoing thread involving Agent 47 himself, the relaunch of Hitman and IO's development plan meant this was a series that really did reach its potential.

From the NPCs that felt like they had a life rather than just being presented for window-dressing to the tricky assassination games, Hitman: The Complete First Season 1 is really an incredible restart to the series - here's hoping IO builds on these incredibly successful foundations for season 2.