At the time of this review, there have been four levels released in total. Two intro levels along with Paris in the intro pack, and Sapienza.

Hitman took a quick nosedive after absolution. The game was panned by critics and fans alike, for not being a very good hitman game. It was story focused instead of the pseudo-sandbox like game like Blood Money, which had you try to kill targets in a level in a variety of ways.

This game, I'll just call it Hitman since it for some reason doesn't have a title (I hate when an established franchise does this, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stop it) is trying to return to its roots. The main reason most people give this game a miss is the business model, along with the always online. I'm not a fan of the online part, honestly. It doesn't bother me too much, servers seem stable and my internet is the same but I'd like the option to go offline. With denuvo, this game shouldn't worry that much about pirates.

The part where they release one level each month (Which you can buy separately, though you need to have bought all the previous levels to play the latest one AFAIK) is a source of controversy, but in my opinion if the levels keep the same high standard as Paris and Sapienza, it's justifiable. If you're not hooked, i'd suggest waiting for all levels to come out before making a decision about buying it or not.

Now, for the actual game. The performance, at least on Sapienza, is a bit lackluster. It doesn't look amazing but it does have a lot going on, the framerate hovers on about 50 for me (FYI, my setup is a 980, i7 4790k and 16gb DDR3 RAM) which is definitely playable but could be better. This is on very high settings.

The gameplay is reminiscent of Absolution, there's the same way to subdue, throw things at people and interact with objects, but it has been very much refined. The shooting is more satisfying, the objects give a nice "Thud" when you hit people with them, and the movement is good, although being in cover can at times be a bit finnicky. Luckily you don't spend that much time in cover, since hitman is all about hiding in open sight using disguises.

The level design is honestly some of the best I've seen from any game so far, sprawling, big levels with every area having something of interest. NPCs having conversations (sometimes with useful information, others mostly funny), a lot of very small but great details that adds to atmosphere (A guy greets you differently depending on your disguise for instance) and over all it feels so very living. Pretty much everything makes sense, although you know, there are sometimes things that were obviously made for gameplay reasons. Which is fine, it works great.
Lots of paths, lots of interesting ways to kill your target. Opportunities are the easiest ones, I strongly suggest turning them to "Minimal" in options, or you'll find your first playthrough very droll as you are stringed along a series of objective markers. Though there's always very creative ways to get your target which isn't necessarily suggested by the game.

There's also a story going on, though it's not that pronounced, mostly background dialogue along with a cutscene at the end of each mission.

Hitman is shaping up to be amazing so far, and I REALLY hope that the next couple of levels keep the same or higher standard. Because if so, I would go so far as to say that it outshines blood money,

At the time of this review, there have been four levels released in total. Two intro levels along with Paris in the intro pack, and Sapienza. Hitman took a quick nosedive after absolution. The game was panned by critics and fans alike, for not being a very good hitman game. It was story focused instead of the pseudo-sandbox like game like Blood Money, which had you try to kill targets in a level in a variety of ways. This game, I'll just call it Hitman since it for some reason doesn't have a title (I hate when an established franchise does this, fucking stop it) is trying to return to its roots. The main reason most people give this game a miss is the business model, along with the always online. I'm not a fan of the online part, honestly. It doesn't bother me too much, servers seem stable and my internet is the same but I'd like the option to go offline. With denuvo, this game shouldn't worry that much about pirates. The part where they release one level each month (Which you can buy separately, though you need to have bought all the previous levels to play the latest one AFAIK) is a source of controversy, but in my opinion if the levels keep the same high standard as Paris and Sapienza, it's justifiable. If you're not hooked, i'd suggest waiting for all levels to come out before making a decision about buying it or not. Now, for the actual game. The performance, at least on Sapienza, is a bit lackluster. It doesn't look amazing but it does have a lot going on, the framerate hovers on about 50 for me (FYI, my setup is a 980, i7 4790k and 16gb DDR3 RAM) which is definitely playable but could be better. This is on very high settings. The gameplay is reminiscent of Absolution, there's the same way to subdue, throw things at people and interact with objects, but it has been very much refined. The shooting is more satisfying, the objects give a nice "Thud" when you hit people with them, and the movement is good, although being in cover can at times be a bit finnicky. Luckily you don't spend that much time in cover, since hitman is all about hiding in open sight using disguises. The level design is honestly some of the best I've seen from any game so far, sprawling, big levels with every area having something of interest. NPCs having conversations (sometimes with useful information, others mostly funny), a lot of very small but great details that adds to atmosphere (A guy greets you differently depending on your disguise for instance) and over all it feels so very living. Pretty much everything makes sense, although you know, there are sometimes things that were obviously made for gameplay reasons. Which is fine, it works great. Lots of paths, lots of interesting ways to kill your target. Opportunities are the easiest ones, I strongly suggest turning them to "Minimal" in options, or you'll find your first playthrough very droll as you are stringed along a series of objective markers. Though there's always very creative ways to get your target which isn't necessarily suggested by the game. There's also a story going on, though it's not that pronounced, mostly background dialogue along with a cutscene at the end of each mission. Hitman is shaping up to be amazing so far, and I REALLY hope that the next couple of levels keep the same or higher standard. Because if so, I would go so far as to say that it outshines blood money,