While each stage is thematically unique, they are all essentially isolated puzzle boxes with none of the narrative thread to link them up which their older, more expansive series stablemates can boast of. Still, while the developers of this spin-off clearly show a learned and practised hand for all things Hitman, the one element which cannot possibly survive the transition is any sort of narrative. It’s only when all these elements are brought together that an epiphany occurs this just isn’t any puzzle-stuffed turn-based affair, this is a Hitman themed puzzle-stuffed turn-based affair and the introduction of such gameplay mechanics arguably infer a closer to kinship to the core franchise than the substantially offbeat appearance of Hitman GO might otherwise suggest.
Naturally, this being a Hitman game, disguises also figure heavily into the proceedings, with our shiny domed killer able to walk past like-coloured guards without harassment so long as he is wearing matching threads, while other environmental objects such as bushes and trapdoors provide manage to provide additional opportunities for concealment.
Stationary guards prove to be the simplest foil as they are easily flanked, however the roaming guards which follow a set route, knife-wielding thugs that spin around every turn and soldiers that cover each others back soon increment the difficulty of every scenario. Elsewhere more pedestrian objects such as rocks and cans can be used as distractions to lure groups of foes away for either a mass kill or as a means to skulk on past in every case though, these items, whether they be murderous or mundane in nature, are finite in their use and so must be employed frugally in order for the player to succeed.įurther layering the proceedings are the different enemy types that must be planned for. Likewise, our protagonists penchant for dealing long-range death from sniper-rifles is present and accounted for in Hitman GO, with these firearms able to target one or more foes who find themselves sat on specific sharpshooter squares dotted around the board. Conversely, Agent 47 is able to take other pieces off the board by stealthily approaching them from behind, the side or by using a number of different items that lend further sophistication to each stage while fondly recalling the core series that Hitman GO is spun from.Īgent 47’s twin ballers for example, when collected allow him to remove any pieces from the board that exist in a straight line in all directions from where the guns are picked up from. Thankfully, as with all the best puzzlers, a restart is just a single button press away and this together with Hitman GO’s bite-sized missions means that frustration is kept to an absolute minimum.
Chiefly, if Agent 47 moves directly into a space that an enemy piece is both adjacent to and looking at, he’ll be knocked off the board, resulting in mission failure. You see, this being a board game there is a bespoke ruleset in place that dictates what the suave slaughterer can and cannot do. Each turn permits our balding assassin to shift one space in a direction dictated by a series of preset lines on each board, the catch though, is that with every action Agent 47 takes, so too do the opposing pieces on the board also make their move, resulting in the player having to devise increasingly more sophisticated stratagems based on their movement patterns in order to succeed. In ascribing to a well-judged difficulty curve Hitman GO starts gently enough, getting the player used to navigating the barcoded butcher around the board before slowly introducing additional elements into the mix.