For the longest time, the Hitman franchise has been one of the best stealth games on the gaming platforms. The series has been around for almost 2 decades, and has gone through a lot of changes as compared to when it first started out.
Possibly the most consistent thing about the Hitman series is our sharp dressed protagonist named Agent 47.
There is something very mysterious about him that makes him one of the best protagonists in any game.
The sullen, quiet behaviour, the sharp dress, and the beautiful ensemble of weapons. In summary, without Agent 47 there would have been no John Wick.
I mean, just take a look at both of the characters and you will see the heavy inspiration that Wick draws from 47.
However, the main difference between both characters is that John Wick has the human element on his side, while Agent 47 portrays himself as the cold, calculated killing machine with no backstory whatsoever.
Even though they revealed parts of their origins in the Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, many people are still under the impression that Agent 47 is just as mindless as we first saw him in the original back in 2000.
Considering how Hitman made its remarkable remake back in 2016, this game shifted the focus onto the stealthier roots that people loved and adored so much as compared to the action oriented route the game took in Hitman: Absolution, the one thing that people did not like as much was the fact that the game actually was available in episodes that were released periodically, rather than being released altogether.
Now that Hitman is returning again as Hitman 2; we decided to take a look at the best Hitman games that we have played. We are ranking the list from the least favourtie to most favourite, and one more that you need to know is that these views are our own, and no way do they portray the overall ranking.
With the disclaimer out of the way, let us go ahead and have a look, shall we?
1. Hitman: Codename 47 (PC)
Hitman: Codename 47 was the first Hitman released on the gaming platforms back in 2000.
This was also the first Hitman that introduced the gamers to the cold blooded, bald, and sharp looking Agent 47.
In many ways, the original was seen as a revolution in the gaming industry, that presented players multiple methods of completing their missions.
The Codename 47 was a perfect combination of some of the finest stealth gameplay, as well as shooting mechanics.
It actually felt good to see Hitman taking inspirations from games like Thief, and Deus Ex.
We can almost say that Hitman was the perfect stealth game of its time, and while the game play, along with graphics were amazing for its time.
The game did suffer from some flaws like poor controls, as well manual saving, and on top of everything, ridiculously high difficulty that made people think thrice before making a decision.
There is no denying that Hitman: Codename 47 was a revolutionary step in the right direction, a direction that has so many amazing entries that we will be looking at in this article.
2. Hitman: Sniper (iOS and Android)
While Hitman: Sniper was not a direct sequel or prequel to the games that were released on the gaming platforms.
It was more of a spinoff that was released on iOS and Android back in 2015. As the name suggests, the game only focused on a single facet of the Hitman franchise, and that was taking down your targets with a high powered sniper rifle.
The game did not stress on the narrative all that much, you would be in the shoes of Agent 47, who is going through a rather posh looking neighborhood located in Montenegro.
His purpose is to kill high profile targets, and you can actually shoot some of the other people who are attending the event. There is honestly no reason for you to do that, but hey, it’s Hitman.
The good thing about Hitman; Sniper is that aside from some interesting sniper gunplay, the game also has some really good puzzle elements as well.
For instance, you can lure guards by triggering car alarms, and in addition to that, you can find some creative ways to environmentally kill your enemies too.
However, the biggest problem of the game was that it only takes place in one location, and despite the game having a great production value. Still, it is a great entry that does feel good to a Hitman veteran.
3. Hitman: Absolution (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Hitman: Absolution was probably the biggest change in the entire series that players had witnessed.
The game changed the entire essence of the series and transformed it into an action game. Sure, there were stealth elements, but the game was largely focused on the action of the game, and in addition to that, there was a lot of focus on the narrative as well.
That being said, Hitman: Absolution introduced more elements such as instinct mode, as well as slow motion shooting mechanics, that worked really well, but some of the fans were actually annoyed over that because this was digressing from the actual essence of the game.
However, the great thing about Absolution is that the game had some of the greatest production values, and the game looked stunning with every single element of the game brimming with detail.
4. Hitman: Contracts (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, and Xbox)
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is considered one of the best games in the series, and Hitman: Contract had a lot to prove.
The good thing is that it was one of the best follow-ups to the second Hitman, and it offered some of the best stealth gameplay with some excellent assassination methods as well.
In Contracts, you were tasked with traveling some of the finest locations such as Romania, and Rotterdam.
Although the game didn’t offer much improvement over the 2nd Hitman, but the good thing is that the game was a lot more polished, and you had some clever methods of executing people in the first place.
5. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Xbox, and Game Cube)
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is still is the best-selling Hitman game in the series.
The developers learned a lot from the first game, and improved it in every possible way.
One of the best things about the game was that you had a cabin of your own, and earning Silent Assassin rank in every single mission would grant you a new weapon, and allow you to complete your entire cabin with weapons. This would give you a lot of replay value.
6. Hitman Go (PC, PS4, PS Vita, iOS, Android and Windows Phone)
Hitman Go was basically a spin-off, and the most unique part about the game was that it was turn-based game play.
It actually plays a lot like a board game, and I will be honest, the game play actually works really well. You would get to assassinate a lot of targets based in different locations.
The thing that you need to know about this game is that it offers you a lot of freedom but in a different way. However, Hitman Go, is not a game that is built for everyone in the market, but still offers a really great level of gameplay.
7. Hitman: Blood Money (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and Xbox)
Hitman: Blood Money can be considered the most aspiring Hitman games to date.
All of it because of the excellent production value that the game offered. In addition to that, Agent 47 was more gruesome than ever.
Players would get the chance to visit different locations all around the world, and assassinate targets of all sorts.
The best part about the game is that there were so many different methods of assassinating your targets, that it was entertaining on a whole different level.
8. Hitman (PC, PS4 and Xbox One)
Deciding between this and Blood Money was one of the most difficult situations I had to face.
The Hitman reboot was everything a Hitman fan could have asked for. Sure, the episodic approach was not met with as much of a positive response as the developers had hoped for, but the episodic route allowed the developers to reach the heights of their creativity as they introduced episodes that were better than the previous one.
In addition to that, the game also offered stunning visuals, and great production value.
Conclusion
Since Hitman 2 is coming out, later this year, this is the right time to revisit the list and look at some of the finest games in the series.
We are sure that the list would allow you to choose the best possible games in the market, and you will truly be able to enjoy the experience of all of these Hitman games.
