While the Switch had quite a number of high profile AAA titles make their way to the system, not all of them were in the most ideal state. In the case of a few more demanding games, you were able to play them through the Cloud, but while this was sometimes workable, it was far from being ideal. One such game I was able to play last generation was the Cloud version of Hitman 3, which wasn’t optimum, but with a decent connection was at least surprisingly playable. Now, with the release of the Switch 2, we have a more full-fledged and fully-featured version working natively on the system and featuring far more content, spanning the original Hitman on through Hitman 3, and for the most part it’s a really good time.

What has always struck me when playing games in this series, is how it has always dared to be different. Rather than being focused on adrenaline-fueled gunfights or high-energy melee combat, Hitman has always been more subtle. Mixing together pretty equal parts patience, careful observation, creativity, and perhaps a bit of luck, your missions will always give you a clear target and objectives, but how you pull things off is pretty well entirely up to you. If you’re new to the franchise, at first this can actually be very aggravating, as your desire for the quicker payoffs you’re used to, will make you clash with the challenging realities of taking someone out without raising suspicion. Even when you know the ropes though, the best way to discover new and more creative ways to hit your targets is to stick your neck out a bit, and that’s fine as long as you understand that most of the ideas you’ll have will tend to be bad ones, making you retreat to your last save so you can recalibrate and come up with a new plan.

What’s terrific about this edition is that on top of featuring a pretty wide variety of missions and scenarios that originally spanned multiple titles, is that in almost all cases there’s an incentive to return to things you’ve already successfully completed. Whether the temptation is to tackle them with different weapons and equipment, trying to change up your approach by knocking out and then playing the part of some key player, or working within some other sort of constraints, the need to be creative and think on your feet in response to the situations you find yourself in is even higher. Granted, if you’re not a fan of the game’s formula this will do nothing to endear you to it, but if you’re already on board this is a great way to develop an even deeper appreciation for the strength of the scenario building on the part of the people behind the game.

Now, if you happen to have an aversion to needing to maintain an online connection, or primarily enjoy playing your games in handheld mode there may be some concerns. Performance and the game’s desire to check in with home can lead to some frustrations, but thankfully since this doesn’t tend to be a high-enegy series the concerns are at least a little more limited. As noted before, there’s also no question that this franchise may be more niche in its approach, though I’d also argue that’s part of what can make it so refreshing if you’re willing to go along for the ride. Regardless, it’s nice to see the game finally playable in a native form, and if you’ve had your eye on this franchise for a long time, this may be a great opportunity to dive in.