These optional objectives are just as much a boon as they are a way for IO to push you out of your comfort zone. Hitman’s Freelancer mode is something rare: an intoxicating blend of challenge and approachability But as far as choosing which four syndicates to pursue on any given run - that’s on you. Series mainstay Diana Burnwood is still here (and still voiced by the phenomenal Jane Perry, of course) to offer a guiding hand, praise successful missions, and bemoan your fuck-ups. Hence the need to build the safehouse and arsenal from scratch - but also the need to sift through intel on your own. Whereas Agent 47 had the backing of the International Contract Agency in the vast majority of the trilogy’s missions, the reticent assassin has since gone. But while that corner of the underworld is replete with friends and family members, in Hitman World of Assassination’s Freelancer mode, Agent 47 is more alone than usual.Ī sense of isolation is paramount in Freelancer, not only in tone, but in function. The safehouse, unlike your tools, missions, or targets, does not reset between runs, and improving it is nearly as satisfying as fleshing out Zagreus’ house in Hades. By rising through the mastery ranks of Freelancer mode, you can unlock new rooms, earn more decorations, and fill in the gaps on those weapon walls that every spy worth their salt seems to have. Agent 47’s bunker-beneath-a-house is sleek, utilitarian, and, for the world’s foremost assassin, surprisingly cozy. Hitman 3 is absurd and hilarious, like trying to return a dead parrotĪs the obsession with video game “ hub worlds” only continues to grow, IO has crafted a fortress of solitude to rival the best of them. (If it sounds complicated, don’t worry: IO made a pre-brief tutorial video, which you can watch here.) In total, you’re looking at 18 locations. To complete a run, or “campaign,” you need to kill all four syndicate leaders without dying. At that point, you drop into the final location, identify the leader by patiently watching for “tells,” and eliminate them. The first syndicate requires completing two missions before luring out its leader. This new gameplay loop revolves around taking down four syndicates across increasingly lengthy series of missions. You plan a mission with what limited intel you have, improvise in the field, and move on to the next location. With its newly released mode, one that fully earns the roguelike moniker, it has almost achieved perfection.Īs free DLC goes, Freelancer mode is less “additional content” and more “sweeping reimagining.” Whereas the base trilogy encourages replaying the same mission over and over - the better to execute more ingenious and hilarious kills - Freelancer prohibits repeats. įor more than 22 years, developer IO Interactive has honed its talent for extracting joy from repetition. If you want curated lists of our favorite media, check out What to Play and What to Watch. When we award the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the recipient is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games, movies, TV shows, comics, tabletop books, and entertainment experiences.
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