Best Hitman Stories, Ranked

The plots and stories of the mainline entries in the Hitman series have seldom been basic. On the contrary, some of the best Hitman stories have contained stunning revelations, shocking twists, and all sorts of events that have turned the already-compelling stealth-action series into a rollercoaster ride of sorts over the years.

The quality of these main releases, however, does notably vary from game to game. The writers of Io Interactive were not too shy when it came to taking things into more complex territories as time went on, and the improvement in technology over the years became more than apparent. This is a series that is well worth diving into for stealth lovers, and their storylines are a big part of that.

8 Hitman: Codename 47

Io Interactive had a fresh IP on their hands with Hitman: Codename 47. When it comes to the storytelling, the dialogue and visuals haven’t aged well. There’s no forgetting classic lines like 47 uttering: “Columbia… from what I’ve heard, even the butterflies are corrupt and smuggling drugs.”

Otherwise, most of the storytelling is told via cutscenes that play, once again, after certain missions, including a mysterious figure that is initially heard during the tutorial. The twist is a good one, but the whole thing is just ridden with campiness. Meanwhile, the big bad guy’s monologue (basically revealing 47’s true origins, plus some filler) in the final mission plays throughout the level for the first two minutes or so, and it’s such a slog to digest. At the least the ending cutscene is badass.

7 Hitman (2016)

When Hitman (2016) dropped, it seemed welcoming enough for new fans of the series as it didn’t require any knowledge of prior games to understand. In fact, how it handled 47’s rise as one of the world’s deadliest contract killers was masterfully executed.

Unfortunately, what counterbalanced things is how the story struggled to compel players to comprehend the gravity of the escalating situations at hand. Why care about this mysterious Providence that hasn’t been touched on at all? Who’s this bearded Brit who claims to know 47? Yes, the visuals, writing, and acting were all fantastic, and, as a full-length narrative with the rest of the Hitman: World Of Assassination trilogy, it all ties in together nicely. Yet, on its own, it just comes across as disjointed and messy.

6 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

The attempt to humanize 47 as a character who is aware of his unnatural creation was a really clever decision made in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. Befriending a Sicilian vicar and living a life of solitude to atone for his life of murder, his early retirement comes to an end after Father Vittorio is kidnapped under the command of a shadowy pair…

From here on out, Vittorio’s capture is mostly ignored or just briefly mentioned here and there, while a series of contracts in various locations throughout. The big reveal of the villain (who has some hilariously bad voice acting) isn’t impactful, either. At least 47’s dialogue is a bit more punchy and deeply reflective here. His monologue during the final cutscene is simply brilliant.

5 Hitman: Blood Money

Things became very tense during the events of the highly-regarded Hitman: Blood Money. The problem is that it all comes tumbling down with the presentation. Not the writing or the animations; they were very good for the time.

Instead, it’s a lot of long-winded, boring chats with the villain and a reporter, with the baddie slowly feeding information about how he wanted to get that pesky 47. There’s no denying his very shady tactics are at least understandable, if not justifiable. Alas, being an unreliable narrator who is deliberately sprinkling misinformation in his copious amounts of exposition, it sadly comes across as dull and confusing - especially to new players who aren’t fully aware of certain key details.

4 Hitman: Contracts

There is not much to say about the story in Hitman: Contracts, simply because there is hardly one present. It’s very simple: after a half-completed contract in France, 47 gets shot. Consequently, he passes out in his apartment.

What follows are a series of flashbacks to previous, unrelated contracts, like a masquerade party in a meat packing plant. The transitions brought on by his hallucinations in his critical state, however, are simply fantastic. For instance, a doctor opens 47’s apartment door, and wind and snow pour through while the walls are blown away, transitioning to a level set in Siberia. Anyway, it doesn’t deserve to lose points for its minimalist approach to the plot, even if it could’ve tried to take things a bit further.

3 Hitman: Absolution

As divisive as Hitman: Absolution was, what Io-Interactive delivered for a plotline was really impressive. Excellent visuals, fantastic voice performances, and plot twists galore - it was Hollywood-esque. Without spoiling too much, seeing 47 be hunted down by his former handlers while chasing after a big-shot businessman who’s after a very important teenage girl, helped characterize him further as a badass protagonist who is not without humanity.

Admittedly, some of the cutscenes do go a bit over-the-top (does anyone remember the leather-laden nuns with guns?), and there were a few moments that made 47 look sloppy. Still, even if the gameplay wasn’t as great as it could’ve been, its story certainly remains as such.

2 Hitman 2 (2018)

There was a bit of a compromise when it came to the development of Hitman 2 (2018). Unfortunately, the cutscenes were reduced to still shots with little-to-no animation. It was a real shame, but understandable, considering the financial struggles Io Interactive found itself in.

It certainly didn’t affect the writing negatively, though. Finally, more of the mystery is unraveled. Led by 47’s overly-curious handler who is itching to find out his mostly-unknown origins, he’s sent off to do the dirty work of Providence, before eventually defecting to the rebels. With more backstory to uncover, the bond between an elusive shadow from 47’s begins to develop, while Diana’s relationship is gradually pushed onto thin ice. It’s all incredible stuff.

1 Hitman 3

The conclusion to the trilogy ends on a high note. Finally, animated cutscenes were back! Not as good-looking as before, but it was wonderful to have those again. Plus, to see the plans to get the Illuminati-esque Providence bumped off for good get derailed in a series of shocking and startling twists.

In Hitman 3, there are betrayals, surprising revelations, more glimpses of 47’s thought-to-have-been-suppressed humanity, and so much more that are packed into this one. And the whole thing is wrapped up in such a satisfying way (or murky, depending on which route is chosen in the epilogue) that the whole experience feels so gratifying. This is easily the best story in the series to date.

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