The Hitman game series stands out as the crown jewel of stealth gaming. From Absolution to Silent Assassin, these are the best of the bunch.

With the Hitman series focusing on stealth and taking out targets in the most creative ways possible, it might not have had the most faithful movie adaptations, but the game series stands as the crown jewel of stealth gaming.

Few videogame series have remained as consistent as the Hitman series, as many other franchises tend to stray off the beaten path by pumping out annual releases and taking risks that don’t pay off. But for the most part, ever since the series’ inception, the Hitman games have steadily gotten better and better over the past 20 years and stayed true to what made it great in the first place.

10 Hitman: Codename 47 (2000) - 73

Being the very first introduction to Agent 47, Codename 47 leaned heavily on the actual origin story of the assassin. Even though the idea of him being a clone was fairly ignored in the following games, it was a fascinating story, as five criminals set about creating a clone army of assassins.

The game followed 47 (the 47th clone) escape from the laboratory he was made in and hunt down the five fathers who commissioned the idea of a clone army. Despite the game having small maps, it was still infinitely replayable, as there were so many different ways of going about assassinating each target. And the idea of dressing up in disguises to gain entry to hard places was a brand new idea in gaming. However, though the game was unprecedented at the time, the difficulty level and some botched level designs kept it from being loved by critics.

9 Hitman Sniper (2015) - 76

As the release of Hitman: Absolution was nearing at the time, fans we rewarded with a mini-game upon pre-ordering the main event. It was a single level in which Agent 47 perched on a rooftop and players would pick off surrounding targets with a sniper rifle. This idea bloomed into Hitman Sniper, a mobile game that had three different levels each with several different targets.

It isn’t as simple as getting headshots though, as players must use the environment to hide the body, such as shooting a glass balcony that a target is leaning against so he plummets into the sea. It’s a clever concept, but some critics complained that the levels weren’t complex enough. But it was good enough that a spin-off has just recently been announced.

8 Hitman: Contracts (2004) - 80

Hitman: Contracts rounds out the original trilogy of games developed by Io-Interactive, but it’s more like a remake of the original game, as it features many of the same levels, only they have been remastered, are looking better, and play much smoother. There were a few other brand new missions too, including The Meat King’s Party, which is a fan favorite.

But despite some genius new levels, it wasn’t received as well as it could have been, as critics found it strange that a “greatest hits” collection was already being released after just two games. However, with both the original and new levels, they made up a great package to tide fans over while they waited for the real follow-up to Silent Assassin.

7 Hitman Go (2014)  - 81

Being the most strange of all the Hitman releases, Go was an exclusive mobile app and played like a turn-based board game. At first look, the game is hilarious, as there’s no blood, no stealth, no disguises, and nothing else about the core gameplay of the series that made Hitman unique.

But after playing it, critics thought it was actually a worthy puzzle game, and that it was challenging without being too difficult, even if it was completely unrelated to hitman if not for the players’ piece having a suit and blood-red tie.

6 Hitman: Absolution (2012) - 83

When Absolution finally arrived after six years of waiting, the presentation had been completely changed. The game focused more on the story than the classic Hitman tropes. As the series was known for killing targets in creative ways, there were much less choice and freedom in Absolution. The levels were more closed in and hallway-like and some levels didn’t even have any targets.

However, despite fans thinking the game was derivative, critics praised the streamlined story (which is where the movies went wrong,) as it focused on Agent 47 going rogue from the agency and protecting a child from being turned into a super-assassin.

5 Hitman: Blood Money (2006) - 83

After four years in the making, Blood Money was the most state-of-the-art Hitman game before the series was rebooted on PlayStation 4. The series was completely overhauled, totally changing the controls, improving the graphics with extremely detailed environments and shadows, and it gave the character of Agent 47 more depth. Blood Money begins the relationship between Agent 47 and Diana, which would be expanded upon with Absolution, and it has one of the most stunning endings to a video-game ever.

The stealth had been doubled down on too, as the AI was much smarter, going so far as to even notice bloodstains on the floor. Even though Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is rated higher on Metacritic because it was a vast improvement over the first game, Blood Money is generally considered to be the very best Hitman game of its era.

4 Hitman 2 (2018) - 84

Though Hitman 2 is a great game, there are no new gameplay elements or changed mechanics from 2016’s Hitman. Instead, it’s more of the same, as it gives players a bunch of new levels to stealthily creep around in to execute the perfect hits. The game might not add anything new, but it barely needs to, as 2016’s Hitman was the immaculate Hitman experience, and Hitman 2 is another immaculate follow-up.

The six new locations are all stunningly rendered, including Florida, Colombia, and the Maldives. And outside of the main campaign, there is a new game mode, Sniper Mode, which follows the same structure as 2015’s Hitman Sniper.

3 Hitman (2016) - 85

Io-Interactive combined the gameplay mechanics of Absolution and the sandbox-style freedom of Blood Money as the basis for Hitman, the soft reboot released in 2016. The game had a controversial release strategy, as each level was put out episodically.

Though it was ultimately more expensive for fans and they had to wait a month for each level to be released, this also meant that the levels could be much bigger than they had ever been before. And all compiled into one game, it’s one of the most authentic experiences of the entire series, making use of an array of new tools and signature kills, and the creativity in this game is why Christopher Nolan should take the reigns with the movie series.

2 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002) - 87

Coming off the heels of Codename 47, which leaned heavily on story, the follow-up barely focused on Agent 47 being a clone at all, and was instead largely based on 47 completing unrelated contracts. But this was a good thing, as Hitman’s story has always been too convoluted and undercooked, and Silent Assassin just gave players a whole bunch of incredible sandbox levels.

All the levels were bigger, and the locations were more interesting too, including mansions, villas, and Japanese fortresses. Not only that, but the gameplay was more refined, and there were more unique ways of killing the targets too. The game generally felt more alive than its predecessor as there were more NPCs and better character models. Silent Assassin very much established the series as what it’s known for today, and it’s a sequel that defined a franchise.

1 Hitman 3 (2021) - 87

The very newly released Hitman 3 is the ultimate Hitman game. With the newest trilogy of Hitman games, none of them have changed in gameplay at all, but Hitman 3 is strengthened by the environments. And it’s the best looking, as the visuals combined with the vibrant locations like the rainy Chongqing create such a beautiful aesthetic.

More than any other game previously, Hitman 3 challenges players’ creativity and there are tens of hours of replayability, as each level is like a giant intricate puzzle with different outcomes. It’s amazing that the series has managed to retain its original style after all these years without ever dipping too much in quality or straying too far from what makes it great.

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