Before we go any further, let us warn you that Hitman GO is not what you might be expecting.
Traditionally, the Hitman franchise has been about stealth - planting you in a level, giving you a target to assassinate, and asking you to find your own way to complete your objectives. It’s a series that holds a special place in many a gamer’s heart, and while many bemoaned the direction taken in Absolution by developers IO Interactive, that game at least stuck to the core principles of the series.
Not so with Hitman GO, a new mobile title that is less about stealth and all about brains and.A turn-based puzzle game developed by Square Enix Montreal, Hitman GO takes the bald assassin we all know and love, and transplants him into an absolutely gorgeous series of dioramas, populated by figurines and separated into a series of different levels spread across five distinct “sets” - wonderfully presented in the menu as a series of chunky board game boxes.
Movement takes place on a fixed layout with multiple branches along the way. Swipe the screen in the direction you want Agent 47 to travel, and his little diorama figure will scuttle across to the next node, representing a single turn. Enemies on the map will then take their turn, though their behavior is predictable - each type of guard follows a fixed pattern. Yellow guards will patrol up and down along a straight line, blue guards stand watch over a certain area, while later on in the game soldiers patrol a certain route and guard dogs stand ready to doggedly (sorry) pursue you, should you come too close.
Get too close to an enemy and it will knock you over, requiring that you restart a level - and this will happen frequently. Make no mistake, many of the levels in the game are very tough, and will have you pondering how to solve them until you finally have a moment of genius and stumble across the solution. But there’s never just one solution to each level; almost every stage features a number of different objectives, such as completing it in a set number of turns, killing all the enemies on the map, not killing anyone at all, or collecting a briefcase that is almost invariably tucked in a difficult-to-reach and well-guarded corner.
Your main goal in most of the game’s levels is simply to reach the exit, but how to achieve that goal is where the game will have you regularly furrowing your brow and scratching your head. Assassination missions do take place, scattered across the map of each level set - but they’re rare. When they do occur, the familiar sound of Ave Maria plays as a backdrop to your exploits. It’s a lovely touch.
That isn’t to say that Hitman GO isn’t faithful the series, however. As you progress deeper through the levels, familiar elements begin to appear. You can disguise yourself as different guards to avoid their attention, you can pick up rocks and throw them to distract guards and make them alter their patrol routes, and later on you are even able to pick up the iconic silverballers. Doing so will eliminate any enemy in range on both your horizontal and vertical axes, making it a valuable tool. You’ll also use sniper rifles, which allow you to eliminate guards in certain predetermined spots on the map, indicated by a cross hair on the ground. While the gameplay might be very different to what fans of the series are used to, it still feels like a Hitman game.
Visually, it’s utterly gorgeous. Each level is presented beautifully as a diorama, right down to having each map laid out as if it is set on a mahogany plinth, complete with an identifying brass plaque. Animation is practically non-existent, but the various playing pieces which represent each character move with the slightest of wobbles. Environments are sharp and attractive, and there’s an attractive use of light and shadow. It’s surprising just how real the whole thing looks - it’s as if you could reach in to your screen and pluck the little figurines out of the level. Many turn-based mobile games struggle to make themselves visually appealing, but Hitman GO is never less than a feast for the eyes.
The sound work is similarly accomplished. From the aforementioned background music of Ave Maria during the game’s assassination missions, to the light jazz that plays in the map screen, the aural accompaniment is subtle, but welcome. There are pleasant ambient touches too, such as bird tweeting in the background during outdoor levels, or the clatter as playing pieces hit the ground after being eliminated from the game.
If there’s any complaint to be made, it has to be with the hint system. At $4.99, Hitman GO isn’t the cheapest mobile app out there, and its steep difficulty will put a lot of players off. You can view hints to help you out with each level’s objectives, but it feels a bit greedy that Square Enix has decided to lock them behind a paywall - and they’re not cheap. You start the game with 5 hints provided to you for free, while further hints need to be purchased in bundles. You can unlock infinite hints, but at $14.99 you might be better off simply hitting google for the solution if you’re that stuck. Still, the game never forces you to pay for anything and with enough perseverance you should be able to work out the solutions for yourself - it’s just a little disappointing that in an otherwise superb package, the specter of corporate avarice makes itself felt.
With a generous amount of content and plenty of challenge, Hitman GO will certainly keep you going for quite a while. Its wonderful presentation and superb gameplay elevates it to the premier league of mobile puzzle games, and it’s pleasing to know that there is plenty more content planned further down the line. It’s let down ever so slightly by a hint system that falls just on the wrong side of feeling greedy, but it never threatens to sully your enjoyment of what is a fantastic puzzle game.
Hitman GO may not be the game that fans asked for, but it’s most certainly the game they deserve. Delightful, cerebral and wonderfully inventive, it deserves to be played by any self-respecting puzzle-game fan - whether they’re a fan of the franchise or not.
Dale Morgan
@spamdangled
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