During last week’s State of Play event, IO Interactive revealed that the entire Hitman trilogy is going to be getting VR support. They did this with a brand new trailer for Hitman 3, which was entirely in first person. The trailer then ends with confirmation of the amazing sandbox murder trio getting VR support.
Whilst there are plenty of VR games out there that make the most of the technology, I think that the Hitman trilogy will be the games to bring it to the next level. At least when it comes to PlayStation VR. Right now PlayStation VR has a fairly limited set of games that make the most of what you can do with it, because PC is really where VR is flourishing. Still, there are some games, like The Persistence, that give you a really thrilling game to work your way through.
The Hitman trilogy is different though. Each level is designed as a specific sandbox that you’re able to murder your way through, and the community around it has never been stronger. When you add in the huge number of user-created levels, the Hitman trilogy is a potentially endless game. Providing you’re happy to play through the same sort of environment day after day.
I think that VR will bring a brand new spin to each level though, because you’re seeing them from a brand new perspective. This also means that you’re interacting with everything in a completely new way. You can’t sneakily look around a corner in third person, you actually have to peek using Agent 47’s head. It’s a dynamic that Hitman purists won’t be used to, and I think that’s what’s going to make the games so damn special when this support launches.
I think that IoInteractive will probably launch VR support for Hitman and Hitman 2 when they release Hitman 3. That’s because they upgraded every Hitman level when they launched Hitman 2, giving players something new to do even in well-trodden areas. It’ll give people a reason to revisit those older areas of the series, and quite honestly I think it will convince more people to spend money on the games. This trilogy has been the best Hitman experience since the franchise was established. Whatever happens after this, I hope that VR is a part of the series moving forward.
