Review

Hitman Episode 2: Sapienza

Welcome back, agent! We are done being a Paris runway model and now we are heading to beautiful Italy for our next pair of assassinations…

This review is solely based on episode 2 of the current episodic Hitman title. So if you wish to hear more in depth about gameplay or how this installment fits into the series, you can use the link here to take you back to my review of Episode 1.

Agent 47 has been sent to Sapienza to take down some high value targets. Silvio Caruso, a former ICA client, and his Head of Laboratory, Francesca De Santis are apparently developing a deadly virus. Once released into an area, it’ll be able to target individuals based on their DNA. Yeah, they’ll need to be taken out. Unlike our last contract though, these people are not easy to hide from; our last mission put us in a setting that was full of people that we could hide around/steal their clothes for a disguise. Sapienza isn’t the same case as the targets are on a private estate crawling with Italian guards. Off the bat, you realize how important using distractions are going to be in this mission because there isn’t going to be much “invisible” time in this area. On top of that, nearly every place is brightly lit so you have to take advantage of taking people who wonder to close to more secluded areas.

Just like the previous episode, this level is built on such a grand scale. I played this episode so many times just to find a different way to even enter the building, let alone how many different ways I could actually complete my contract. But what makes this mission significantly different isn’t just the style of setting, but the main mission itself. Of course, you are expected to take out some targets for the betterment of mankind. What makes this more of a challenge is sneaking into the deepest parts of the estate and destroying a virus that could silently kill millions all over the world. I spent so much time just actively surveying the area for people walking in and out so I could learn their patterns. There is so much emphasis on listening to NPC conversations so that you get a better understanding of not only the landscape but also the people in which we are trying to kill.

I feel like the first episode served as preparation for Sapienza. In comparison, the previous mission seemed so much more lighthearted in a weird sense. Paris just seemed like such an upbeat place because you were in a fashion show surrounded around snobs that were all just trying to get into the inner circle of IAGO. As soon as you load up, it’s pretty clear, that Sapienza was about saving the world. You can’t just walk in like your Paris mission; you must find your way into it.

Square Enix is killing it so far with level diversity and challenges. I have never played a game, in this current generation, that has made me want to play the same place repetitively without becoming tired of it. I can’t get enough of this game and how incredibly fun it is in such a precise way. I have never felt like I have had such raw control as I do when I play this game. With so many different ways to complete the episode, it’s like we’re creating our own narrative within the story itself. Hitman continues to be exceptional, proving that it wasn’t a bad idea to go episodic!