Freelancer mode is simply a uncommon amalgamation of situation and approachability

The modern Hitman trilogy — oregon rather, Hitman World of Assassination, arsenic it’s present known — has ever flirted with the roguelike genre. As the blank slate Agent 47, you driblet into clockwork missions successful far-flung locales, exploiting targets’ routines and mostly wreaking havoc arsenic creatively arsenic you can. On 1 run, you poison a target, travel them to the bathroom, and drown them successful the toilet mid-puke. On the next, having unlocked a caller infiltration constituent and corresponding disguise, you swap retired a play shot for its explosive twin, watching with glee from the plot arsenic your people past plows a 9 robust into his unexpected demise.

For much than 22 years, developer IO Interactive has honed its endowment for extracting joyousness from repetition. With its recently released mode, 1 that afloat earns the roguelike moniker, it has astir achieved perfection.

As escaped DLC goes, Freelancer mode is little “additional content” and much “sweeping reimagining.” Whereas the basal trilogy encourages replaying the aforesaid ngo implicit and implicit — the amended to execute the astir ingenious and hilarious kills — Freelancer prohibits repeats. You program a ngo with what constricted intel you have, improvise successful the field, and determination connected to the adjacent location.

This caller gameplay loop revolves astir taking down 4 syndicates crossed progressively longer bid of missions. The archetypal syndicate requires completing 2 missions earlier luring retired the syndicate leader. At that point, you driblet into the past location, place the person by patiently watching for “tells,” and destruct them. To implicit a run, oregon “campaign,” you request to termination each 4 syndicate leaders without dying. In total, you’re looking astatine 18 locations. (If it sounds complicated, don’t worry: IO made a pre-brief tutorial video, which you tin ticker here.)

Image: IO Interactive

Of course, this being a roguelike, you’re astir apt going to dice — a lot. When you perish, you commencement a caller run from the beginning, shuffling the targets, locations, and items, on with a multitude of modifiers and random events. You adjacent suffer immoderate fastener picks, sedatives, oregon explosives you had collected successful your erstwhile run. The lone constant? Your safehouse.

As the obsession with video crippled “hub worlds” lone continues to grow, IO has crafted a fortress of solitude to rival the champion of them. Agent 47’s bunker-beneath-a-house is sleek, utilitarian, and, for the world’s foremost assassin, amazingly cozy. I’m reminded of the location successful Ex Machina. By rising done the Mastery Ranks of Freelancer mode, you tin unlock caller rooms, gain much decorations, and capable successful the gaps connected those limb walls that each spy worthy their brackish seems to have. The safehouse, dissimilar your tools, missions, oregon targets, does not reset betwixt runs, and improving it is astir arsenic satisfying arsenic fleshing retired Zagreus’ location successful Hades. But portion that country of the underworld is replete with friends and household members, successful Hitman’s Freelancer mode, Agent 47 is much unsocial than usual.

A consciousness of isolation is paramount successful Freelancer, not lone successful tone, but successful function. Whereas Agent 47 had the backing of the International Contract Agency successful the immense bulk of the trilogy’s missions, the reticent assassin has since gone… well… freelance. Hence the request to physique the safehouse and arsenal from scratch — but besides the request to sift done intel connected your own. Series mainstay Diana Burnwood is inactive present (and inactive voiced by the phenomenal Jane Perry, of course) to connection a guiding hand, praise palmy missions, and bemoan your fuck-ups. But arsenic acold arsenic choosing which 4 syndicates to prosecute connected immoderate fixed tally — that’s connected you.

Image: IO Interactive

Herein lies the superb fulcrum of Freelancer mode. The 8 randomized syndicates (represented arsenic tidy dossiers) each person randomized optional objectives that cater to definite play styles. Complete these optional objectives, and you’ll gain a currency called “merces,” which you tin walk astatine disguised suppliers scattered passim each mission.

These optional objectives are conscionable arsenic overmuch a boon arsenic they are a mode for IO to propulsion you retired of your comfortableness zone. During my 3rd campaign, I opted to hunt a quality trafficker, whose optional objectives mostly revolved astir axenic stealth. This being my preferred play benignant successful the basal trilogy, I had fewer problems eliminating the low-rung syndicate members with my bare hands, hiding them successful freezers, and vanishing without a trace. By the clip I arrived astatine the Isle of Sgàil to erase the leader, I had built up a adjuvant assortment of fastener picks, wrenches, and nonlethal poisons, and completed the occupation without overmuch ado.

I had also, by happenstance, added a fewer guns to my limb wall, and decided to shingle things up with my 2nd syndicate: a radical of arms dealers. The optional objectives for these missions required going loud, arsenic they accidental — sidesplitting 3 guards with a shotgun, eliminating a people with a sniper rifle, and truthful forth. While these didn’t conform to my accustomed methods, this syndicate would bring maine to immoderate of my favourite locations (Whittleton Creek, New York, Berlin, and the Maldives).

Image: IO Interactive

How did it go? Not great, Bob! Because I went guns blazing astatine the archetypal 2 locations, I spooked the higher-ups successful consequent locations. These missions gained the “On Alert” status, making it acold much hard to sneak done them unnoticed, careless of my disguise. I spawned successful the parking store successful New York, botched a strangle attempt, and fell to the crushed successful a tempest of lead.

There’s an array of different modifiers and randomized events that tin popular up successful each campaign, but frankly, I don’t privation to spoil them here. Half of the amusive of Freelancer mode is breezing done 1 oregon adjacent 2 syndicates, lone to unfastened your 3rd dossier and recognize however overmuch your greed for merces has screwed you over. But you driblet into the adjacent determination anyway, due to the fact that improvising is fractional the amusive — and fractional the drama — of this fantabulous series.

Hitman’s Freelancer mode is thing rare: an intoxicating blend of situation and approachability. It plays connected the hubris of longtime players, but besides guides newcomers with thematic objectives and a much explicit wide structure. It whitethorn not let for the micro-repetition that makes the basal trilogy tick. But it does support a accelerated momentum from the opening of each tally to its bitter, comical end. After truthful galore hours spent with this trilogy, combing each of its locations for something, anything I missed, I did not deliberation it imaginable for IO to astonishment maine anymore — but present we are.

Hitman World of Assassination’s Freelancer mode was released connected Jan. 26 connected PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The DLC was reviewed connected Xbox. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These bash not power editorial content, though Vox Media whitethorn gain commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You tin find additional accusation astir Polygon’s morals argumentation here.