Hitman - Episode 2: Sapienza Reviews
Even better than the terrific first episode, the Sapienza mission might be a series high point. While there are still some technical issues, and the lengthy load times hamper things in a game where reloading to give things another shot is such a big part of it, the overall experience has been incredible so far. I can't wait to see what comes next.
For the time being, Hitman: Episode 2 - Sapienza is probably one of the best experiences the Hitman franchise has yet to offer. The beautiful Italian seaside town is gargantuan, and offers plenty of ways to have fun (in other words: assassinate). Some of the flaws, like the insufficient plot bits and connection issues, persist, and yet it feels as if Hitman is generally on the right path.
Hitman Episode 2 adds a new locale, weapons, outfits and items to the game. It is technically sound with no frame drops or stutters and the online issues seemed to be fixed, no disconnects here. If you enjoyed the first episode you are going to like the second.
Hitman Episode 2: Sapienza is a great addition to the game. It features an expansive town to explore, is genuinely challenging, and has a lot of unique kill opportunities and secrets to discover. It is a wonderful playground for Hitman fans.
The location and scenario for has made for a good challenge and some intense moments in this second installment, in addition to the fact that a bigger plot is also starting to unfold.
Even without massively crowded areas, the sheer scale of Sapienza is well worth the entry price for Agent 47's second episodic outing. It is a welcome improvement over the first episode, although still far from greatness we expect from Hitman games.
IO Interactive continues to impress with Hitman Episode 2, and it might honestly be my favorite Hitman experience to date, in any of the games. You can literally get lost for hours, wandering around the coastal town and just seeing what all there is to do and interact with. They have continued to build a living, breathing world, full of NPC’s that live their own lives. It’s amazing how many different areas there are that are fully explorable, and you can find ways to complete the mission that don’t even involve any of the Opportunities, or are so far out there that hardly anyone probably thought to try it. I actually almost pulled off a run taking both targets out in less than ten minutes without being spotted, but slipped up right at the end and was killed. It’s those types of moments that will keep people coming back to this installment of Hitman over and over again, because each consecutive playthrough has the potential to be so radically different.
Building on practically every single area of the Paris level, Sapienza is simply breathtaking. A living, breathing seaside town, it’s a beautifully crafted arena for precision strikes from whatever weapon you decide to use. A neat secondary objective to bring in a fresh gameplay element, and the sheer variety of methods to dispatch your two targets is simply mind boggling. A delightfully twisted sense of humour ties the whole package together, with some of the approaches to assassination proving to be genuine laugh out loud moments, Sapienza is a fantastic follow up to Paris, and I can’t wait to see what happens next month.
A great mission in a beautiful location with a variety of opportunities and an increasing difficulty, Hitman 2016’s second mission is just what you would want in a Hitman game. Put aside some of the graphic glitches and framerate drops and you got yourself a fun experience.
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