Hitman 2

IO’s rejuvenated stealth series continues to work the crowd

Of all the stealth-action series in videogames, only Hitman could make a suitcase exciting. One of a handful of new props in IO’s first Hitman game since buying the IP back from Square Enix, it serves as both a portable hiding place for eye-catching toys like foldable rifles, and as yet another way of turning each level’s complex AI script against it. You might, for example, drop the suitcase somewhere for a civilian to find, much like a weapon in the 2016 instalment, but where a weapon would probably be taken to a safe room (where you might later recover it), the suitcase is comparatively innocuous. Perhaps the civilian will take it to a guard, who might then ask another guard to watch her post while she figures out what to do with it – opening a tiny hole in the map’s defences. Perhaps the suitcase contains a bomb. Perhaps somebody will carry it closer to the target, allowing you to bag your prey with minimal legwork.

It’s a cliché to say that little details make a game, but Hitman’s details generally go a long way – especially in the hands of an unsuspecting bystander. Admittedly, many of the additions here are quality-of-life improvements, a sharpening of Agent 47’s act following 2016’s well-received return to sandbox action. There’s a new picture-in-picture HUD feature, which makes it easier to work out what a CCTV camera can see or which NPC specifically has noticed that something’s amiss. The combat AI is said to be more coordinated, less prone to galloping one-by-one into a chokepoint, though we’ve yet to put it through its paces.