For me it’s the way all the various systems – the disguises, the enforcers, the security areas – combine to create a series of boxes to work your way through. It’s fun to walk their perimeters, identify loopholes, and either sneak or social engineer your way through them. The rules are really clear, everything slots together in an easily understandable way, so you can plan and execute any number of different routes to the objective.

Working out a nifty way to lure or eliminate a target is a satisfying puzzle to solve, especially when – as so often – you then get to walk out of the front door in plain sight while the ominous triumph music plays.

I think from an artistic point of view they’re also really neat. A Hitman level is – at its best – really interesting to look at and traverse, with interesting spatial arrangements and spectacular sights. And as Agent 47 you are always killing rich, horrible people. It’s a spiritual cousin to COLUMBO, in fact: these are people who are murderers themselves, who think their wealth and power insulate them from consequences, hidden away in their palatial homes and offices. You’re the spanner in the works, the grit in the oil. That makes the job satisfying on a story level, too.

Nope.

Their biggest non-realistic thing might be the use of silencers. In games, a gun with a silencer makes a gentle “puff” when used. In reality, silencer brings the noise level from 130 dB to 100 dB, which is still significantly more than shouting.

Similarly, in a stealth game, knocking out an enemy non-lethally is typically so quiet that people in the same room don’t notice it. In reality, punching someone so hard that they lose consciousness would be so chillingly noisy, AND at the same time it would be such a distinct noise that everyone will instinctively react to it with “Holy crap, someone just got murdered around here!”

You have the infamous vent-crawling (in reality, vents cannot withstand the weight of human body and would produce terrible noise if someone crawled through them), duck-walking behind enemies (in reality, this would result in shuffling, which is audible)…

Finally, these heroes can frequently hang from horizontal edges or poles for extended periods of time; in reality, adults can barely stay hanging on their hands for 30 seconds (whereas small kids can last 2 minutes relatively easily, but I digress), they can do all kinds of gymnastic stuff while carrying weapons (in reality, gymnast need to pay a lot of attention to their balance and every kilogram of balast weight would throw them off-balance).

In the Hitman series, players often cite Sapienza from Hitman (2016) as one of the most challenging locations. Here are several reasons why:

1. Complexity of Objectives: The mission involves multiple targets and requires players to navigate various objectives, including discovering hidden items and utilizing different methods to eliminate targets.
2. Open World Design: Sapienza features a sprawling, open-world layout with numerous pathways, buildings, and areas to explore. This can be overwhelming for players trying to find the best approach to their targets.
3. AI Awareness: The NPCs in Sapienza are particularly observant, making stealth and strategic planning crucial. Players must carefully consider their disguises and actions to avoid raising suspicion.
4. Environmental Interactions: The level is rich with opportunities for creative kills, but utilizing the environment effectively requires careful observation and timing, adding to the challenge.
5. Multiple Playthroughs: To fully appreciate and master Sapienza, players often find themselves replaying the level multiple times to explore different strategies and paths, increasing its overall difficulty.

Other notable challenging locations include Mumbai from Hitman 2 and Hokkaido from Hitman (2016), each presenting unique challenges in terms of layout, objectives, and AI behavior. Ultimately, the difficulty often depends on individual playstyle and preferences.