Hitman

There is a lot to hate about what has been done to the rebooted Hitman series that lead to WOA, and for all that, it is really important to know how much of a masterpiece the first entry was. When I bought HITMAN 2016 (HITMAN 1), it was only because it was sold for a massive discount bundled with HITMAN 2. Despite having spent much more on the second game than the first one, all of my hours playing Hitman were on the first game. I have fallen in love with HITMAN 1 in a way that makes me just hate the entries that came out after.
The biggest thing that I want to point out is the UI and menus. From the start screen to the main menu, to the mission selection, difficulty selection, and even the transition from the menu to some of the intro cinematics, the visual and audio design in the UX was masterfully crafted. The music and colour palette of the entire interface exudes the kind of calm, cold, clinical and professional feel and philosophy that is so characteristic of what the game and main characters are about. In the sequels, this design philosophy was abandoned in favour of a more intense, thriller-esque, dark and grim feel. This also means that it does not blend well with the HITMAN 1 levels, since the music was not only the same as the menu, but was cut in a way that transitions perfectly with the menu track. The emotional transition of the grey and white interface to the cinematics is also part of the experience through emotional progression. In the newer interfaces, it almost feels like the menus were more dire and intense, and transitioning to the HITMAN 1 missions from the menu feels like a de-escalation. Because of the calmer and cleaner feel of the HITMAN 1 interface, the developers could play around with simple techniques to convey strong emotional impact - changing to professional difficulty in HITMAN 1 came with a rumbling hard thud and the music dropping in pitch and having reverberation, using audio to masterfully make you feel the dramatic intensity immediately punch through. At the end of the mission, the way the five 'stars' would immediately pop in with a slicing sound one at a time until it hits the max, followed by the choppy sound of a simple red 'Silent Assassin' banner slide in, standing out sharply from the while background, never gets old. In the newer games, this has been forgone in favour of a convoluted interface that bombards you with way too much information, feeling more like an online multiplayer game that prioritises fast pacing and maximum stimulation, rather than the minimalism in the first game that fits the stealth and clean-job mentality that is characteristic of Agent 47. HITMAN 1 actually made you feel like a real professional, while HITMAN 2 and 3 (now WOA) almost wants to be more of a Hollywood blockbuster action movie, or at least that's what the UI seems like it's conveying. I actually caught myself booting up HITMAN 1 just to look at the grey wall of weapons slide up, and the grey world map with the tiny lines flying across it slowly as the cold space-age music plays, or selecting professional difficulty just to hear the sound shift so dramatically, even though I didn't want to play on that difficult (yet).
Despite how much of a scam artist the developers are trying to be, constantly ripping us off by making us pay over and over again for the exact same content that we already have, just to make it accessible in every new title they release (they made us pay for HITMAN 1 levels in HITMAN 2, and when HITMAN 3 came out, they did it again, while de-listing the previous games and their DLCs), I hate to admit that if they released a UI overhaul that re-introduced ALL of the UI elements from HITMAN 1, and I really mean all, to make it indistinguishable from HITMAN 1, I would unfortunately pay money for it. I shouldn't have to, but it is that good.
Now, moving on from the UI, I'll talk a bit about the maps, but not much, since the maps are still available in the sequels, and so this is not as much of a concern. The first 2 maps in the series are peak HITMAN, and the rest of the maps are pretty good as well, with many people loving Hokkaido. Colorado wasn't anyone's favourite, but I did appreciate the variety that we were given. If anything, I'm less of a fan of Hokkaido (controversial, I know). To me, it's really in the inconspicuous settings of Paris and Sapienza that really made me fall in love with the game-play, the storytelling and the environment. While Miami is widely praised as being of the top-tier maps, the hype-edit introduction put me off, compared to the, once again, calm briefing-style introduction of the maps from HITMAN 1. Once again, assuming you're willing to pay again to access the content in the newer games, this isn't an issue since it would be available to you. I'm more concerned about the elements that made the first game a masterpiece that we CANNOT get back.
So far, you can see that the things I'm harping on aren't exactly what most would consider part of the gameplay, since most of what I'm saying comes down to the UI and the cinematics. Trust me, even I didn't think that this would ever be a big deal. That's why it took me so many years before I finally realised just how much all these details mattered to me. I'm still booting up HITMAN 1 all the time, despite having HITMAN 2 for just as long, and having bought WOA with all the base game maps unlocked from all 3 instalments. This means that I could have had the option of playing HITMAN 1 maps with the improvements in HITMAN 2 and 3, of which there definitely are improvements, such as the way cameras work, the difficulty system, placing objects, equipment variety, etc. What we traditionally consider gameplay elements in games are better in the sequels, though just barely, not even enough to warrant a DLC, and that's probably why I feel like the huge difference in UI and presentation matters so much more to me than trivial things like whether or not I can see where cameras are looking or whether I can gently place objects on the ground instead of dropping them.
This is why I wanted to make this review. I feel like the attention given to presentation and interface is sorely lacking, and we all completely missed the fact that we abandoned a masterfully crafted presentation sequence that was contiguous throughout every frame in HITMAN 1. Whoever was in charge of designing the UI in HITMAN 1 is/was a genius and a master of the craft, and if we can't have that back in the newer games, I would at least want to have a way of making it available through the first, which is currently de-listed. I don't even know if anyone would see this review.
If anyone is reading this and feels what I feel, please spread the word. It's more than just UI and music, its art direction, it sets the tone for what the game is going to be about and how the developers are going to approach designing the game. Games are just as much about the pacing, style, music, voices, menus, loading screens, graphical settings (SMAA is the best AA ever but also got abandoned), etc. as much as it is about what your character can do, what items he/she has, what enemies you can fight, how much damage your gun does, etc. Also, it's about preserving old games, and having the right to the games that we paid for, not de-listing the old titles and making us pay all over again for the exact same thing except worse just to be able to access it in a different and worse interface. (Why can't I carry over my progress?)
If nothing else, this is my love letter to HITMAN 2016. It never fails to immerse me in its world, even after all these years, just with its grey-and-white menus and dead-simple sound design (by which I mean how it is integrated with the game-play, obviously I don't just want a video of it looping and not play the game once I'm done admiring it). It still manages to capture my imagination, and I will always be grateful for the unforgettable experience.

Steam User 6

Reviewed last year

I've already written a review of the trilogy that is Hitman: World of Assassination.
Check it out here!
This is the first released standalone game out of the three games made in the trilogy. This game and all of it's content is included in the trilogy. This game itself is unobtainable and has been delisted since a few years back on Steam, but it's still a great game.
Same experience and access to all the content that Hitman has to offer can be had within the trilogy, available here!
Steam User 4

Reviewed last year

Very fun game with lots of replayability, but if you want the DLCs you have to purchase all three Hitman games (even though you already own this one) as part of Hitman: World of Assassination. Pretty low for the devs to delist this and make people rebuy games they already own.
Steam User 3

Reviewed last year

I took the time to 100% this game (Steam achievements only, not in-game). It holds up really well, and has the bonus of being the only (so-far!) WoA game ported to Mac. The mechanics, maps, and graphics are still breathtaking and enjoyable 9 years after release. I wish this game were still for sale on the Steam store. It's a reminder of how far this trilogy, and really, the whole franchise has come, and the strong foundation that it lays on.

Time to 100% - roughly 35-40 hours+, depending on whether you use guides for certain missions/speedrun escalations, etc. The great thing about a sandbox game is that you choose your own play-style.
Steam User 3

Reviewed 01.2025

As good as Hitman 1 is, it is eclipsed in quality by its successors Hitman 2 and especially by Hitman: World of Assassination due to gameplay upgrades like UI and gameplay elements like much more visible camera ranges. Since Hitman is no longer easily purchasable on the Steam storefront, you should go for World of Assassination instead.
Steam User 7

Reviewed last year

The maps are huge, the graphics are great and especially well optimised, it's worth buying.
Steam User 3

Reviewed last year

Added to the pile of shame in 2018. Loved Hitman Absolution (got it 5 years before). Played Hitman 2 instead later on. After being delisted decided to show my love for the 1st season doing the achievements in the original game. I loved every second. The game aged well. Plays on Steam Deck.
Some of the challanges are not available in Hitman World of Assassination and some of the languages.
Steam User 3

Reviewed last year

There is a lot to hate about what has been done to the rebooted Hitman series that lead to WOA, and for all that, it is really important to know how much of a masterpiece the first entry was. When I bought HITMAN 2016 (HITMAN 1), it was only because it was sold for a massive discount bundled with HITMAN 2. Despite having spent much more on the second game than the first one, all of my hours playing Hitman were on the first game. I have fallen in love with HITMAN 1 in a way that makes me just hate the entries that came out after.
The biggest thing that I want to point out is the UI and menus. From the start screen to the main menu, to the mission selection, difficulty selection, and even the transition from the menu to some of the intro cinematics, the visual and audio design in the UX was masterfully crafted. The music and colour palette of the entire interface exudes the kind of calm, cold, clinical and professional feel and philosophy that is so characteristic of what the game and main characters are about. In the sequels, this design philosophy was abandoned in favour of a more intense, thriller-esque, dark and grim feel. This also means that it does not blend well with the HITMAN 1 levels, since the music was not only the same as the menu, but was cut in a way that transitions perfectly with the menu track. The emotional transition of the grey and white interface to the cinematics is also part of the experience through emotional progression. In the newer interfaces, it almost feels like the menus were more dire and intense, and transitioning to the HITMAN 1 missions from the menu feels like a de-escalation. Because of the calmer and cleaner feel of the HITMAN 1 interface, the developers could play around with simple techniques to convey strong emotional impact - changing to professional difficulty in HITMAN 1 came with a rumbling hard thud and the music dropping in pitch and having reverberation, using audio to masterfully make you feel the dramatic intensity immediately punch through. At the end of the mission, the way the five 'stars' would immediately pop in with a slicing sound one at a time until it hits the max, followed by the choppy sound of a simple red 'Silent Assassin' banner slide in, standing out sharply from the while background, never gets old. In the newer games, this has been forgone in favour of a convoluted interface that bombards you with way too much information, feeling more like an online multiplayer game that prioritises fast pacing and maximum stimulation, rather than the minimalism in the first game that fits the stealth and clean-job mentality that is characteristic of Agent 47. HITMAN 1 actually made you feel like a real professional, while HITMAN 2 and 3 (now WOA) almost wants to be more of a Hollywood blockbuster action movie, or at least that's what the UI seems like it's conveying. I actually caught myself booting up HITMAN 1 just to look at the grey wall of weapons slide up, and the grey world map with the tiny lines flying across it slowly as the cold space-age music plays, or selecting professional difficulty just to hear the sound shift so dramatically, even though I didn't want to play on that difficult (yet).
Despite how much of a scam artist the developers are trying to be, constantly ripping us off by making us pay over and over again for the exact same content that we already have, just to make it accessible in every new title they release (they made us pay for HITMAN 1 levels in HITMAN 2, and when HITMAN 3 came out, they did it again, while de-listing the previous games and their DLCs), I hate to admit that if they released a UI overhaul that re-introduced ALL of the UI elements from HITMAN 1, and I really mean all, to make it indistinguishable from HITMAN 1, I would unfortunately pay money for it. I shouldn't have to, but it is that good.
Now, moving on from the UI, I'll talk a bit about the maps, but not much, since the maps are still available in the sequels, and so this is not as much of a concern. The first 2 maps in the series are peak HITMAN, and the rest of the maps are pretty good as well, with many people loving Hokkaido. Colorado wasn't anyone's favourite, but I did appreciate the variety that we were given. If anything, I'm less of a fan of Hokkaido (controversial, I know). To me, it's really in the inconspicuous settings of Paris and Sapienza that really made me fall in love with the game-play, the storytelling and the environment. While Miami is widely praised as being of the top-tier maps, the hype-edit introduction put me off, compared to the, once again, calm briefing-style introduction of the maps from HITMAN 1. Once again, assuming you're willing to pay again to access the content in the newer games, this isn't an issue since it would be available to you. I'm more concerned about the elements that made the first game a masterpiece that we CANNOT get back.
So far, you can see that the things I'm harping on aren't exactly what most would consider part of the gameplay, since most of what I'm saying comes down to the UI and the cinematics. Trust me, even I didn't think that this would ever be a big deal. That's why it took me so many years before I finally realised just how much all these details mattered to me. I'm still booting up HITMAN 1 all the time, despite having HITMAN 2 for just as long, and having bought WOA with all the base game maps unlocked from all 3 instalments. This means that I could have had the option of playing HITMAN 1 maps with the improvements in HITMAN 2 and 3, of which there definitely are improvements, such as the way cameras work, the difficulty system, placing objects, equipment variety, etc. What we traditionally consider gameplay elements in games are better in the sequels, though just barely, not even enough to warrant a DLC, and that's probably why I feel like the huge difference in UI and presentation matters so much more to me than trivial things like whether or not I can see where cameras are looking or whether I can gently place objects on the ground instead of dropping them.
This is why I wanted to make this review. I feel like the attention given to presentation and interface is sorely lacking, and we all completely missed the fact that we abandoned a masterfully crafted presentation sequence that was contiguous throughout every frame in HITMAN 1. Whoever was in charge of designing the UI in HITMAN 1 is/was a genius and a master of the craft, and if we can't have that back in the newer games, I would at least want to have a way of making it available through the first, which is currently de-listed. I don't even know if anyone would see this review.
If anyone is reading this and feels what I feel, please spread the word. It's more than just UI and music, its art direction, it sets the tone for what the game is going to be about and how the developers are going to approach designing the game. Games are just as much about the pacing, style, music, voices, menus, loading screens, graphical settings (SMAA is the best AA ever but also got abandoned), etc. as much as it is about what your character can do, what items he/she has, what enemies you can fight, how much damage your gun does, etc. Also, it's about preserving old games, and having the right to the games that we paid for, not de-listing the old titles and making us pay all over again for the exact same thing except worse just to be able to access it in a different and worse interface. (Why can't I carry over my progress?)
If nothing else, this is my love letter to HITMAN 2016. It never fails to immerse me in its world, even after all these years, just with its grey-and-white menus and dead-simple sound design (by which I mean how it is integrated with the game-play, obviously I don't just want a video of it looping and not play the game once I'm done admiring it). It still manages to capture my imagination, and I will always be grateful for the unforgettable experience.

Hitman

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