Hitman: Episode 2 - Sapienza

A strong second offering that does anything but disappoint.

Sapienza skillfully combines the elements at what makes an enjoyable Hitman level. Its lower difficulty, while making it more accessible for those new to the series, might slightly bore weathered Veterans.

Hitman Episode 2: Sapienza is a fantastic follow-up to the promising first episode; huge, bursting with deadly promise, and begging for many, many playthroughs. The lack of much meaningful local voice acting is a disappointing miss, however, and that might really start undermining Hitman’s jetsetting international atmosphere in later levels if it’s not addressed.

Episode Two is better than the first, both because its featured level is a more varied, interesting location, and because it eases the uncertainty of the episodic release and sets a precedent for excellence going forward. The quality of future episodes isn’t a guarantee, but Square and Io Interactive have now delivered excellent releases back to back, and their staggered release has let their best elements shine in a way that might not have otherwise. Hitman is an increasingly appealing pac...

Hitman’s second episode leaves me far more optimistic for the game than its first episode did. A large, sprawling level ripe with exploration opportunities, Sapienza is a far better destination than Paris. That being said, technical issues still hinder the game from being something better.

Overall I think Hitman: Episode 2 continues to fuel the nostalgia trip of Blood Money with its wonderful variety of locations. Episode 2 pushes IO Interactive’s creative boundaries a bit further and spaces out all of the games’ action (the complete opposite to the Parisian prelude which hit our screens back in March). Sadly the narrative is non-existent and the animations are still shoddy when compared to other A-grade titles – however those aren’t huge criticisms for a game of this nature. I think Hitman is best enjoyed in one full go later on in the year when the retail version is released. ...

Developer/Publisher: IO Interactive/Square Enix Platform: PC (Steam), Xbox One, PlayStation 4 – 14.99$ for the Intro Pack, 49.99$ for the Full Experience, 9.99$ for the episode PS4 version reviewed. Review code provided by the publisher.

Closing everything down after you ditch the Italian town, Hitman Episode 2: Sapienza has proven what a “Hitman” title should be: versatile, a lot of ways to kill – not too linear like some of the previous Hitman titles and the previous episode. Aside from the predictable AI patterns, the game’s challenge can be explored even more and other ways of assassination styles give you the satisfaction of being the world’s top assassin.