Hitman: Episode 4 - Bangkok

Editor's Notes

Digital PS4 Version Reviewed.

Introduction

The fourth episode in IO's 'Hitman' reboot sees Agent 47 travel to a resort hotel in Bangkok where he must assassinate the lead singer in a popular indie band as well as a corrupt attorney.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

'Hitman' has been one of my favorite examples of how well the episodic model can work when done right. In this game's case, it's led to IO placing a crazy amount of focus on the little details of each mission that makes these games so special, and I've really loved every part of it so far. Episode 4, sadly, feels like a bit of a lull, but even when this game is at its worst, it's still a remarkable experience.

I really love the plot setup of this episode. 47 is tasked with killing Jordan Cross, the lead singer of fictional indie band The Class, who has been accused of killing his girlfriend and covering it up as an accident. While all the previous targets have been pretty explicitly evil people, it's not made clear at first whether or not Jordan is actually a killer, and while he's definitely not nice, he hardly seems as bad as the targets that have populated the game so far. There's a second target who is a lot less interesting, but still has some very cool moments revolving around him, though it's clear he's not a central focus.

While 47's line of work isn't exactly noble, there's always the feeling that you're committing evil acts to prevent far worse things from taking place, so you don't exactly feel like much of a villain. Here, things are far more morally ambiguous, and the tone of the game swings even further into dark comedy than it has before. IO is also clearly having a ton of fun with the indie band setup, having recorded full songs for the band and really gone to town with making it feel authentic. It speaks to IO's attention to detail overall, and it's what stops this episode from feeling dull. One of my favorite moments was the realization that Jordan himself has actually appeared in this game as an NPC before, and going back to check the episode he's from after I'd completed this one was a lot of fun.

It's just unfortunate that Bangkok itself feels so underused in this level. The entire mission takes place in a resort hotel on an island, so it ultimately ends up feeling like a slightly emptier version of the Paris mission. There's far less crowd density and less going on overall, and while it's still fun to find all the secrets the hotel hides, it feels like a bit of a dearth of creativity compared to how great the game has been so far. The opportunities here are a bit less interesting than usual, and finding some items I needed to really pull a lot of them off successfully was a bit of a nightmare. I ended up feeling a lot more lost and helpless than I ever did in previous episodes while I tried to find key items that tie into a few too many of the scenarios available here. 'Hitman' often feels more like a great adventure game than a stealth game, with every assassination resembling a complex puzzle, but some of the content here feels more like a pixel hunt than anything else.

Marrakesh before it felt a bit constricted due to that area's high military presence, but this feels blocked off almost entirely because of locked doors that can't be picked and objectives that feel a little more confused than usual. When I dove back into the episode with new gear available to me, I had a terrific time, but my first run through was more frustrating than I would have liked.