Hitman 2 Critic Reviews

No other game this year celebrates or rewards player agency like Hitman 2. This isn’t a summer blockbuster that relegates its coolest moments to the cinematics. Yes, most deaths will be shown with an abrupt cutscene, but it’s you that causes them. You’ll never see a target die and wonder how it happened. In all cases you’re the sole orchestrator of doom, and it’s a genuinely empowering feeling.

As with the 2016 reboot of Hitman, Hitman 2 is one of the best games of the year and is so far my personal Game of the Year.

That’s the heart of Hitman: giving players the power to create their own stories. And that’s as big and powerful as ever in Hitman 2. So I don’t care if it’s not the newest thing in the world. It’s still one of the most solid and rewarding games you can get. And it’s an ideal antidote to games that are more obsessed with looking immersive than playing great.

When a game rewards players for having fun and being creative, there’s little to be unhappy about. Hitman 2 offers that in spades and promises further additions and events down the line. And even after all those targets have been pushed off this mortal coil, I dare you to dive back in and complete every challenge the game has, you won’t be bored.

Even if the lavish detail, excellent writing, and world of possibility within vivid levels mostly just refine what came before, that’s because IO Interactive have all but perfected what they set out to achieve in Hitman: Codename 47 nearly 20 years ago.

Hitman 2 may just be more Hitman, but it's somehow even better than before. The levels are all fantastic, the assassinations possible are all clever (and silly), the satirical writing is at its best. The assassination sandbox has never been more satisfying, and its slight technical hiccups and lackluster multiplayer do little to hold back the baldest assassin of them all. Even in your sixth or so time prancing through a map, you're bound to discover a new opportunity, or a new potentially-weaponized surprise, around the corner.

Hitman 2 is the series at its very best — players can play with a razor sharp edge and cut surgically through a level or take a blunt approach and make hilariously bad decisions and deal with the brutal outcome.

As it is in life, perception and consideration go a very long way here, and players who are willing to put in the proper amount of time and effort will see just how perplexing, engaging, and rewarding stealth action games can be. Hitman 2 will undoubtedly serve to define the stealth genre for years to come, and I can't wait to see where IO Interactive takes the series next.

I just really, really want to play more.

Masterfully crafted and impeccably designed, Hitman 2 is quite possibly the most excellent stealth title of our times and overall a perfect example of what a good single-player videogame must be. That it is also quite generous with its content is a wonderful bonus.

With limited-time elusive targets being added over time, and user-created hits, Hitman 2 is a platform that should have more to come. What’s here is superb but we’re already asking “what’s next?”

Hitman 2 continues the fun assassination sandbox gameplay that was in the reboot, with scant few details changed in the single-player campaign. The levels on offer are some of the largest, and certainly the most detailed for the Hitman franchise. Cutscenes may disappoint, but Agent 47 hasn’t been slacking at the job. He now has more options at his disposal than ever before.

Hitman 2 is an absolute masterpiece of emergent, sandbox game design. Retaining all the key elements of the 2016 original, developer IO Interactive has instead restricted itself to a handful of minute but important changes. Streamlining the overall experience and producing what is, hands down, one of 2018’s most entertaining and satisfying titles.

Hitman 2 is suave, amusing, and delightfully silly. It has all the blockbuster sensibilities and refinements, but a willingness to be different and, critically, laugh at itself. And, like I said at the start of this review, it doesn't treat its players like idiots. There's no forced path or endless pile of hints to the point that the game almost plays itself. Hitman 2 lets you play your own way, and it's all the more rewarding as a result.

Hitman 2 feels like a macabre collection of dominos falling and eventually toppling one final piece in a gloriously “accidental” death that can best be summed up as an act of god when the dust has settled. A game that’s more about the journey than the destination, Hitman 2 is lengthy, gruesomely charming and still hiding plenty of secrets up its immaculately dressed sleeves.

Hitman 2 stays true to the series foundations, while also building on the core systems that make its unique stealth gameplay peerless. Some minor story stumbles do little to hold the game back from being the most refined entry in the series to date.

Hitman 2 is exactly like Hitman, but better. The more-of-the-same feeling is strong, but IO Interactive delivers an interesting and well-crafted experience that makes this new evolution in Agent 47's life feel like the natural progression in this franchise.

Hitman 2 is for people who liked the episodic Hitman and wanted to see maps that were more even and consistent, have access to additional equipment for Agent 47, and generally get more of what they wanted. It does have some issues where it can feel disjointed, but this is really most noticeable in the campaign and will not be an issue for folks who want to take on contracts, hunt down Elusive Targets, complete challenges, and learn everything they need to know about each of the locations in the game. The Ghost Mode has potential for those who feel like they are going to put upwards of 30 hours into it, but I feel like it could be a while before Sniper Assassin hits its peek. If you are an Agent 47 fan, it is time to grab your briefcase and put on your suit again.

Hitman 2 is everything I wanted after the preceeding episode. More creative, more imposing, even if the basic structure remains very similar.

With Hitman 2, IO Interactive didn’t take much risk. The team simply and smartly refined its formula, rubbing away some of the first game’s flaws. And it works: Hitman 2 is a generous and fun game.