Hitman Go's combination of darkly whimsical setup and deep understanding of the core of the mainline Hitman games results in a mobile title that seems uniquely aware of its place in a bigger picture. Wrap Up: Hitman Go is a great minimalist take on the series' big ideasĪs skeptical as I was about Square-Enix's perceived attempts to "dumb down" Hitman for a mobile audience, I'm happy to have been so wrong. These objectives are just difficult enough to make them worth completing, which is good, since you have to complete a minimum number of objectives to unlock new boxed sets. Once I understood a level enough to "beat" it, it was even more gratifying to bend events further to my will to accomplish more difficult objectives, like finishing a board in a minimal number of turns or without killing anyone. However, Hitman Go does build a silver-lining into this disappointing sour note: almost every stage in the game features multiple side objectives that beg for multiple playthroughs, which I was more than happy to do. The limited grid of each level means there are only so many different paths to take and strategies to form, and more annoyingly for me as a Hitman veteran, you can't play through Hitman Go without substantial blood on your hands - some levels cannot be completed without killing non-target guards. This setup has one chief drawback, a deviation from the ideas core to the Hitman series. And the only person I could ever blame for that was me.
Hitman Go artfully takes the macabre Rube Goldberg machine that powers the series and makes you just as likely to be the next victim ground up in its gears. And knowing that I would likely fail several times to complete each board, I viewed every death as a note on what to avoid on the next attempt. Instead of sulking over the absence of proper action gameplay, guns and other tools became another move in my ultimate goal to finish each board.
And in perhaps the most surprising compliment I can pay to the game, this trial and error isn't a problem. It's easy to make a couple of wrong moves and find yourself trapped between a guard who doesn't move and a guard who is only moving closer, the only solution to restart the mission and try again. This setup creates tense scenarios that require thinking two or more moves ahead in many cases, as Hitman Go is inclined to give you just enough rope to hang yourself with. Teal-jacketed guards rotate 180 degrees each turn, changing the angle from which you can safely approach, while elite guards patrol a loop on each board, and so on. Each new guard type added creates new considerations. But Square Enix Montreal deftly folds in new challenges regularly. Enemies stand in place or move on a specific line back and forth, one space at a time. This continues until 47 has completed his objectives, or is killed by security.Īt first, Hitman Go seems simple. Complicating the situation even further, equipment must be used on the turn it's activated - there's no hoarding options til the perfect time.Īfter 47 moves, remaining enemies on the grid take their turn. Weapons only have very specific applications. A rock can be used to cause a radius of noise that will draw enemies to it, but it can only be thrown within one move up, down, left or right, and only at points that aren't occupied by another character.
Some boards include rocks or even weapons for 47 to use, though even these can only be employed with careful consideration. The mechanics of distraction and murder have been cleverly translated to the board game setup as well.
Moving into an enemy in any direction other than the one they're facing will kill them, depicted in game by knocking their figure over and moving it off the board.Ĥ7 isn't without other options. 47 can move one space up or down, right or left per turn.
This is done via a turn-based system that plays out on a limited grid for each level. Hitman Go takes the overarching concepts of the Hitman series and draws up for a thousand foot view - every environment is a puzzle to solve via navigation, every hit a methodical application of problem-solving skills.