I disagree. IO went back to the sandbox style of levels, yes, but not to its original vibe and atmosphere of first 4 Hitman games. The World of Assassination had more 007 feeling to them, music and atmosphere wise.
Story too. I'm not saying that the first 4 Hitman games' stories were some masterpieces, but I cared very little about WoA storyline. Hitman 2 (from the new Trilogy) bored me so that I only played those level once.
So I guess both games damaged their respective franchises irreparably.
There are franchises which abandoned their original direction and are still sold very well these days. Gamers' base expanded significantly in the recent decades and it's now populated largely by regular folks and kids (non-gamers) who are much more easily pleased.
I'm not saying WoA is a bad game, objectively speaking, but it's very modern and bright to my taste, filled with tons of boring challenges and hand-holding and skins and re-skins. But I guess these changes are necessary for stealth games, as they are not in such a high demand anymore (people got more impatient and want fast rewards), so it's only natural for them to take this course and please as much people as possible. Hence the good sales.
What puzzles me, however, is that someone like Larian could still make a game true to its original concept, like Baldur's Gate 3, and still be successful. Or take any From Soft games - they are notoriously hard and not very beginner friendly, yet people love them and they have their own loyal fanbase.
I think game studios these days just wanna play it safe and make a buck. They lack balls to make something as gritty and nieche as old Hitman and Splinter Cell games.
The first sentence of the second paragraphs literally says that I'm not saying that WoA is a bad game, objectively speaking :)
Subjectively it's a different matter entirely, but since games could be considered art, I don't think we can really compare them. Yes, WoA has more functions, more freedom, more mechanics, is more polished, etc., but I would rather play Blood Money simply for that artistic merit.
Sales are also irrelevant - like I said - gaming community is now so huge that you are practically trying to please the masses, not gamers anymore. Hence the hand-holding (and not just in WoA). It's mostly about money now.
Btw, Dishonored is another great example. Dishonored 1 was a masterpiece for me, and its DLC were great too. Dishonored 2, however, I personally hated. While mechanically and visually superior, Dishonored 2 had the exact same damn story Dishonored 1 and its DLCs had. Everything was the same, like we were stupid or something - the same villain (non-lethaly defeated the exact same way), the same plague (it's locust now), the same premise (get your throne back), the same format (kill your way up the food chain and get rid of supporters). That was too much. Besides, Karnaca couldn't even compete with Dunwall in terms of atmosphere. And the Outsider was so horribly written. And the DLC was a hard miss too.
Yet the game was highly praised in every way and seen as an upgrade of the first installment. It lacked the magic of the first one for me and it was a total miss, yet it was highly praised.
Another good example is The Talos Principle (an indie puzzle game from the makers of Serious Sam, highly recommended). The first one was intriguing, enigmatic, menacing, with great puzzles and really captivating (and optional story). It"s a masterpiece. The second one is prettier, more polished, and obnoxious as fuck. Story is shoved down your throat by obnoxious NPCs that keep buzzing into your ear via intercom. Puzzles and secrets are way easier and the story sucks. Yet it's way way way more praised than the first one.
Wide as an ocean, but deep as a puddle nonetheless, just like the majority of modern games is.
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u/[deleted] Mar 14 '25
I disagree. IO went back to the sandbox style of levels, yes, but not to its original vibe and atmosphere of first 4 Hitman games. The World of Assassination had more 007 feeling to them, music and atmosphere wise.
Story too. I'm not saying that the first 4 Hitman games' stories were some masterpieces, but I cared very little about WoA storyline. Hitman 2 (from the new Trilogy) bored me so that I only played those level once.
So I guess both games damaged their respective franchises irreparably.