While many interesting video games are slated to hit shelves next year, it’s clear Hitman 3 is high on many gamers’ wish lists for 2021.
Ever since the game was showcased at Sony’s PlayStation 5 event this June, Hitman 3 has become one of the most eagerly anticipated video games arriving next year, something which makes sense taking into account how popular the series has been since the first Hitman game hit the shelves back in 2000.
Hitman’s 2016 reboot wowed many players thanks to its superb open-ended gameplay and beautiful location design, plus the game also featured some pretty impressive motion captured cinematics which told its story. For the 2018 sequel, though, Danish developer IO Interactive resorted to a storyboard format (still frames) for the game’s cinematics.
While these looked good, they were not on a par with what was seen in the 2016 game, and likely a consequence of the fact that IO had to make the game with a lower budget as a result of its split with Square Enix back in 2017.
IO Interactive has now revealed the entire opening cinematic for its upcoming Hitman 3 game on YouTube (see below). This animated cutscene, while not being cutting-edge, is more in line with the stunning videos seen in the 2016 game, and similar to the animated cutscenes seen in 2018’s season pass for Hitman 2.
Hitman 3’s opening cinematic shows that the game will continue Hitman 2’s story, with Agent 47 (who’s once again voiced by English actor David Bateson) teaming up with colleague Lucas Grey in order to take down the partners of Providence.
Providence is a secretive organization which Grey was trying to pit against the ICA (the International Contracts Agency, which Agent 47 works for) in Hitman 2016. This is because he had a score to settle with the ICA. He later rejoins the ICA, though, and agrees to help Agent 47 and Diana Burnwood, Agent 47’s long-time handler, to take down Providence.
Like Hitman 2016 and Hitman 2, the upcoming Hitman 3 looks likely to feature some pretty stunning locations. A skyscraper in Dubai, a manor in England and Chongquing, China, could make some great killing playgrounds and could rival some of the best locations in the earlier games such as Miami, Thailand or Sapienza, arguably the best we’ve seen so far.
This will also feature the open-ended gameplay seen in the last two games, letting you kill a series of targets all over the world in any manner you please – using poison or a sniper rifle are possibilities here, amongst many others.
And taking into account that 2016’s Hitman reboot and Hitman 2 are some of the best video games of the last console generation (see here for a ranking of the best Hitman games), it’s hard to think that IO Interactive won’t get things right with Hitman 3 and deliver a great finale to the “World of Assassination” trilogy when this arrives early next year.
Plus, the recent Hitman games are arguably the most James Bond-like games made to date (aside from the official James Bond games, that is) and Hitman 3 being very good will surely inspire confidence in 007 fans who’re hoping that IO’s upcoming James Bond game will be the best since 1997’s fantastic Goldeneye.
Note: Hitman 3 will be released on January 20, 2021. Available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X (and S) and Google Stadia (will also be playable on Nintendo Switch via streaming).