Hitman 3 (Xbox One/SX)

Hitman 3 wird für längere Zeit wohl der letzte Ableger der Reihe sein, dafür haben die Fans zum Abschluss nochmal großartige Stealth-Missionen, ausgezeichnetes Leveldesign und eine packende (wenn auch für Neueinsteiger verwirrende) Story erhalten. Zusätzlich lassen sich Hitman & Hitman 2 in den neusten Titel integrieren, um ein schönes Gesamtpaket zu schnüren.

Without straying far from the successful sandbox formula, it’s an excellent final part of IO’s trilogy. While the increased freedom and level variety won’t be for everyone, Hitman 3 boasts some of the best locations and stories the series has ever seen, and there’s so much to uncover in each and every one of them.

Every mission in the final arc is a statement, demonstrating a mastery of level design and a willingness to subvert expectations laid out five years ago.

Coupled with extra gadgets (some of which can be imported - though not as swimmingly on PC), Hitman 3 is really fun to dive back into; or introduce someone to for that matter, just to see what they come up with. It's the little things that add up and really make Hitman 3 special. Hats off to IO Interactive for really sticking with this series and getting it right.

What's good about Hitman--its level design and the creativity, experimentation, and exploration that affords--is great in Hitman 3. It closes out the trilogy by brilliantly playing off everything that came before it, making use of and then subverting expectations, and rewarding players for their willingness to master the complexity of both its individual levels and the series as a whole.

Rich, rewarding, and highly replayable, Hitman 3 is one of the barcoded butcher's best appearances.

Charting the series’ progress since that 2016 Paris debut has been a fascinating journey. IO have learned a lot over the past five years and that really shows in Hitman 3. It’s a flashier, more fluid evolution of IO’s original template - a rewarding conclusion to one of the most unique video game franchises around, and one we’ll continue playing for many weeks and months to come.