Hitman: Situs Inversus

We've already won. This is just maintenance.

Finally we reach the grand finale of 'Hitman: No Subtitle'. Before I get into it I must reiterate once again that this blog will contain pretty hardcore spoilers surrounding the ending of 'Hitman: No Subtitle'. If you have any unfulfilled desire to experience that story for yourself, then just go pick up the thing and come back after your done. Although in all honesty, the selling point of these games more revolve around the gameplay than the narrative; but that doesn't things don't start getting climactic for this level.

IOI tasked themselves with providing a satisfying ending to "Hitman: No Subtitle" and they decided to do this through the dual effort of creating a level so slick it could double as a super villain's lair and wrapping up the loose plot threads so that the next game could move forward unabashed. Set in the snowy mountain tops above Hokkaido, Japan; Situs Inversus places players in the futuristic GAMA private hospital, an advanced medical facility and spa that caters exclusively to the rich and the elite. Players are tasked with overcoming the army of private guards, the extreme high levels of security and the lack of personal equipment in order to murder a familiar target: Soon-to-be-former ICA board member: Erich Soders.

Ever since 'Hitman: No Subtitle's tutorial levels, which take place between levels in the original 'Hitman: Codename 47', the player is set at odds with this particular member of the board. He oversees your psych eval, casts constant doubt over Diana's plans to 'raise' you and even personally organizes a final examination that is supposed to be so abnormally hard that there is no way you could ever succeed. (Given how easy it was, I seriously wander about the standards of the other ICA agents.) IOI went above and beyond in placing you on a collision course with Soders, so it was with little surprise that players learnt of his involvement in a plot to sell out the ICA.

After players dragged themselves through the Colorado level, they were rewarded with a cutscene in which 47 discovers a litany of conspiratorial documents alluding to the existence of a secretive cabal of the rich; (No, not the Illuminati) 'Providence'. As it turns out, Providence has been the secret piece of connective tissue that ran through all the game's targets, they all were either members of, or had ties to, their ranks. This 'Shadow Broker' was using the ICA as a tool with which to take out members of Providence without getting their hands dirty. Obviously this comes at odds with ICA's poorly defined ethics so they must bring an end to this relationship post haste. Things get a bit more interesting, and personal, when they also discover evidence that their own Director Soders is also on Providence's payroll. (Hence his desire to bring that militia base down as soon as possible.) Now the ICA are on a good old fashioned revenge trip as they hunt down Soders.

The ICA managed to dig into Soders affairs and found he has been fast-tracked to a medical procedure at GAMA, probably at the behest of Providence, for a heart transplant. Conveniently, (Or inconveniently for him) Soders suffers from Situs Inversus meaning that he must be given an incredibly rare right-sided heart, and he is willing to sell out the ICA to get it. 47 must eliminate him whilst also setting sights on, nearby Providence official, Yuki Yamazaki; to whom Soders has promised a full list of active ICA agents. (Not entirely sure how the ICA found this out. Did Soders keep a diary or something?) To this end, the ICA have managed to sneak 47 into the facility under the usual cheeky moniker, Tobias Reiper, however they couldn't figure out how to pack his equipment, leaving you under OSP protocol. That's two targets, no gear and a high security facility run by an AI; 47 really has his work cut out for him.

Visually, IOI managed to do a wonderful job in setting the 'finale mood' with this level. It takes place at night (The single most conclusionary time of day) atop a picturesque snowy mountain-scape ('On Her Majesty's Secret Service' vibes galore) and pits you against a former employer. (The resignation we could all only dream of.) If World of Tomorrow was the level that felt the most like 'James Bond', than Situs Inversus is the level that looks the most like JB. You merely need to see the glass windows looking out over the beautiful Hokkaido landscape, or the clinical white walls of the surgery building, to get the feeling that 47 has wondered onto the 'You only live twice' set. (Hang on. They both take place in Japan. Hmm. There might actually be something there...)

47 is, however, a lot more discrete then that classic British icon, at least canonically; so players will spend less time punching folks in brightly coloured jumpsuits and more time stalking their targets. IOI made this a lot easier than Colorado did by reverting back to the tried and tested Hitman formula of having one target mingling with the patients whilst the other lounges about in high security. This is a particularly appreciated olive branch as Hokkaido was the first map to introduce an entirely new obstacle to infiltration: Electronic locks. (Okay, so technically Marrakesh had one too but it was so out of the way that I'm sure most people never even knew it was there.) The trusty lockpick was all but useless in this mission, forcing players to really put their mind into figuring out methods for breaching the deeper levels of GAMA.

Luckily, IOI introduced a new gimmick in this level that offsets this new complication. Because GAMA is all about automation, (To the point where they let an AI run the place.) the staff have an alternative to making their way from one room to another. Every outfit is fitted with a chip that allows them to enter rooms that they are authorised to enter. (Handy for the world's most enthusiastic cosplayer.) I always loved this little mechanic and the way it stilted your progression through the level until you found the right disguise to push on further. The gameplay challenge that IOI introduced here felt really unique whilst still complementing the skillset that Hitman players had built up to this point.

The Easter eggs of the level are fun too. IOI threw in many fun lore hooks and injokes into this level that called back to earlier levels or games, as though they knew this would be the last level they made for a while and wanted to make it good. There was Jason Portman who wanted plastic surgery in order to resemble famed supermodel Helmut Kruger (Who flies into a rage if he sees you, assuming you stole his idea.) and Amos Dexter, a cowboy-hat totting patient who's name seems to hearken back to Hitman: Absolution's cowboy: Blake Dexter. Then there is the cameo from series regular Carlton Smith, who managed to get himself captured whilst investigating an organ smuggling ring.

Hokkaido also managed to bring opportunities and narrative threads together in that way I love so much. In fact, Soders' Situs Inversus actually opens up the ability for 47 to eliminate the man without killing him, a first for the franchise. Simply destroy that super rare right sided donor heart that he is waiting for and you can walk out and leave in the knowledge that he won't receive a replacement in time. Diana even commends you for your '"elegant solution." My favourite assassination, however, has to be the one in which you kill the man by giving him a heart attack. Just sneak up to his surgery bed in your suit and you can give him the shock of his life once he recognizes you. Seeing as how this was the grand finale, it was imperative that IOI managed to nail the storytelling of this level, and I personally think they pulled it off with style.

Looking back after the end of 'Hitman: No Subtitle', I think it was truly amazing what IOI managed to pull of with an episodic game. Due to the reliance on replayability, fans were able to keep themselves entertained whilst IOI could take their time to deliver these fantastic levels one by one. It was heartening to see a developer utilise the, often misused, episodic model to benefit their overall game rather than as an excuse to fleece customers. I may sound like a little bit of an IOI shill right now, and that's because I kinda am. (Although out of love and respect rather than contractual obligation.) In every interaction I have had with this company's products, IOI have managed to impress me with either their skill or their conduct, similar to CD Projeckt Red; therefore I am willing to cut them a lot of slack for the odd dud level here and there.

Hitman season 1 was an incredibly fun journey to play through, (and, incidentally, to write about.) and it provided an experience that few modern games do. Whilst modern developers seem fit to load their games up with microtransactions, daily challenges and recurrency incentives; IOI simply sought to treat their fans with a steady stream of content and unlockables. (Gosh, who remembers 'unlockables'? IOI did.) I played an excessive amount of Hitman back in 2016, and I have put even more time into Hitman 2, and it was all because the core game was solid and the developers actually treated us consumers as human beings instead of bottomless piggybanks. I fully intend to pick up this series with Hitman 2, after a short break. Until then, I'll urge you, once again, to give this game a try if you haven't already. It managed to win me over (Evidently) and it may just win you too.