It feels like an annual tradition at this point, but Hitman: World of Assassination is out now on a new platform—the Switch 2. Given its pick-up-and-play nature, IO Interactive’s magnum opus stealth game seems perfectly suited for a handheld platform, and for the most part it's done a bang-up job. But it does come with a few asterisks.
If you’ve ever played a Hitman, you should know the drill by now. But if you haven’t, here’s a quick rundown: You play as Agent 47, one of the world’s deadliest assassins, who travels the world taking on contracts and eliminating lots of bad people.
How you approach your mission is up to you, whether that’s infiltrating the enemy base through a series of elaborate (and sometimes comedic) disguises, or using your sneaking skills to get in unnoticed, or even running in guns blazing. IO Interactive gives you a massive amount of freedom in choosing how to do this.
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Hitman: World of Assassination comprises the three games in the trilogy, which were released between 2016 and 2021. In terms of content, this new release is pretty much on par with the other versions of the game. There are over 20 locations, each with their own associated story mission, as well as a countless number of escalations, contracts, elusive targets, and bonus missions.
Unlike the recent PlayStation VR2 and Meta Quest 3 releases, the Switch 2 version also comes with Hitman: Freelancer, the bonus roguelite expansion which brings a near-infinite amount of new content to the game once you’ve wrapped up the story.
This makes this version feel like one of the more meaningful releases IO Interactive has done in years, given the potential hundreds of hours you could spend in this mode alone.
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Of course, the joy of the Hitman games comes via experimenting with the various systems on display. Bringing different items with you on your mission, from hand grenades and bananas, to lockpicks and explosive ducks, can result in your playstyle being altered each time you play.
It can lead to you never having the same experience twice, as you’re constantly trying new things in your pursuit to finish the mission.
It gets to the point where you find fun in performing the most outlandish feats imaginable, such as carefully luring several guards out of a room one-by-one, and knocking them out once they’re alone. Or perhaps you set off a nearby distraction that results in the guards evacuating the target to a safe place… one that you’ve booby-trapped with explosives.
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This aspect of Hitman: World of Assassination translates to the handheld experience well. It’s got a style of gameplay suited for quick sessions, and since the Nintendo Switch 2 is a hybrid platform, this game is best played while using handheld mode.
Unfortunately though, the experience is worse when you take the Switch 2 out with you. While it’s great to finally have a proper working native version of this game working on a Nintendo handheld (compared to the cloud-only version on the original Switch), it’s pretty clear that some fundamental features of the game simply aren’t suited for handheld devices.
For example, to access most of the content, Hitman: World of Assassination requires a constant connection to IO Interactive’s servers at all times. If you disconnect, you lose access to your saves, challenges, progression, and bonus missions. Technically you can still play the main story missions, but it feels rather barebones without being able to unlock new items or complete challenges.
This also extends to saves, where files are separated between online and offline saves. So if you begin playing while connected online, then take your Switch 2 out of the house, you can’t pick up that save later until you’ve reconnected.
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The issue of having an always online requirement has been a criticism of Hitman: World of Assassination ever since the first game in the trilogy launched in 2016. It was iffy then, but the problems have only become more apparent when using this on a handheld console.
After all this time, it’s clear that IO Interactive doesn’t intend to change this. It’ll be a dealbreaker for some and won’t bother others, but it’s ultimately frustrating when you’re travelling and just want to knock out an Elusive Target or do a few challenges while on the train.
As for performance, Hitman: World of Assassination has an uncapped framerate. However, it’s clear that the Switch 2 can’t handle a lot of what the game throws at it. Quiet, small rooms will bump the framerate close to 60FPS, while big rooms with lots of NPCs put it closer to 30FPS.
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It might have been better if IO Interactive had put a 40 or 30FPS limit option here, as you can feel the whiplash of whirring between two extremes on the framerate scale.
It’s also a large drain on the battery, where one minute of play drains roughly 1% of the battery. Not much that can be done about it, as battery life is going to be a low ceiling for handheld consoles over the next few years, but being able to use an FPS cap might have saved a bit of extra battery life.
The best comparison you can make is with the Steam Deck experience of Hitman: World of Assassination. The game performs very similarly on Valve’s handheld, as it also rarely hits 60FPS. However, that platform gives you many more options to tweak the performance of the game, allowing you to squeeze a bit of extra battery life or visual fidelity out of the game.
Speaking of which, for those who have played a lot of Hitman: World of Assassination on other platforms, there’s no support for cross-platform progression. It’s a shame that I’m unable to bring over my 1000+ hour profile from PC to Switch 2, and therefore must re-unlock all the hundreds of items and weapons from the beginning.
Considering IO Interactive has implemented an optional account linking feature that pops up when you load the game, I’m not sure what’s stopping you from linking progression between platforms.
Although the constant need to be connected to the internet feels at odds with the Switch 2’s nature, when you manage to stay connected to Hitman: World of Assassination, it can be just as enjoyable here as it was before. With it now in its fifth year of regular content roadmaps and monthly updates, it’s got me excited for IO Interactive’s upcoming 007: First Light, which will be a perfect fit for the studio.
Pros: Near endless replayability, high level of freedom, unique stealth gameplay
Cons: Most content locked behind internet connection, performance issues
For fans of: Thief, Dishonored, Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, Sniper Elite
Score: 8/10
Hitman: World of Assassination is out now on Nintendo Switch 2 (version tested), and is also available on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Meta Quest 3. Read a guide to our review scores here.
Topics: Reviews, Nintendo Switch 2