Hitman is the only series that is doing the sequels well

One of the by-products of the current trend of diminishing returns is that games don’t age as fast as they used to. A four-year release like 2016’s Hitman still has the look and feel and gameplay of a 2021 debut. So what should a studio like IO Interactive do with Hitman and Hitman 2 as it prepares to release Hitman 3 for Xbox, PlayStation 5? , PC and next-gen consoles on January 20? Well, IO’s plan is to continue to improve on those older games as it incorporates all of the content into one unified experience.

When you start Hitman 3, you will automatically get all the new levels and missions that come with that game. But if you also have Hitman and Hitman 2, you can access the levels of those games within Hitman 3. IO did the same with the levels of Hitman within Hitman 2.

On the ResetEra gaming forum, a verified IO Interactive developer with identifier A Path Finder wrote about what this ongoing support for existing stages means when it comes to features like new reflection technology.

“We updated the engine with reflections in screen space,” writes the IO developer. And it is backward compatible with the previous two games in the trilogy and many surfaces [have been] updated “.

You can see how it looks in the Game Informer gameplay video.

Hitman’s 2016 Paris fashion show level, for example, now has flat highlights combined with reflections in screen space. This allows you to see the entire room reflected in the glossy surface of the walkway.

IO also found ways to reduce the file size so that all content for all three games is about 100GB. That’s a huge improvement, as Hitman 1 and 2 currently have 150GB.

Hitman 3 is how you make a sequel

IO’s strategy here is to use your legacy content to develop your new release. This basically turns every new Hitman game into an ongoing remaster. And that’s how I want a game like this to handle new content.

Hitman and its sequels are essentially brand new seasons. It’s mostly the same game fixed with some new features, and the main attraction is the levels. But the reality is that it is more lucrative to launch a new “season” as a full sequel. And even as a gamer, I prefer the full sequels.

Sure, a $ 60 set is often more expensive than a $ 30- $ 40 expansion, but a full set feels like a clean break. It’s the difference between trying to get back to a game you left and starting over.

But the Hitman series has the best of both worlds. The games still feel like a new beginning because of the way IO Interactive places them. And yet I can also go back and play any of the stages of the first games.

On top of that, Hitman has a progression system that carries over from game to game. So if you’ve unlocked Hitman gear 1 or 2 and are still on the same platform, you can keep that progress.

All of these elements combine to make Hitman a model for how a series should work. IO offers a constant stream of new content. Each game feels like a full new sequel, but you don’t have to leave anything behind. That includes the levels as well as your overall progress. And when a new sequel comes out, the old content gets some visual enhancements. This is how more games should work.