First Runner Up: Hitman
Square Enix really changed things up for the release of the new Hitman game, splitting it up into a “First Season” consisting of six different episodes. The first episode debuted in March, called the “Intro Pack,” it featured a prologue and the Paris location. This prologue functions as a prequel to the Hitman series, while the rest of the entries take place seven years after Hitman: Absolution.
You once again take control of Agent 47 and are given a target to kill within huge sandbox environments. With each episode IO Interactive gave players a huge amount of freedom to approach the kill how they wanted, and get creative with some interactable objects in the environment. Additionally, the game received a constant stream of updates and new content. Elusive Contracts were time limited missions to complete, and if you lost the target they’d be gone forever. On the other hand, you have also had Escalation Contracts, which are multilayered stages that require players to complete specific objectives.
Online Contracts also returned, allowing you to pick up to five NPCs as assassination targets, set kill requirements and then share them with other players. Square Enix and IO did a nice job of keeping releases consistent, with a stream of new content, and new episode only taking roughly a month each to release.
