Agent 47 has been one of my true loves ever since the barcoded bald head graced my life through Silent Assassin nearly 25 years ago. Since then, I’ve devoured every Hitman entry with an unquenchable thirst. Then Hitman: Absolution happened, and our relationship was strained. The episodic nature of the World of Assassination trilogy didn’t help much. Ironically enough, it was another Hitman 2 that brought me and my love back together. Then again, we put some distance between us due to the absolute shitshow that was the World of Assassination edition. To this day, Hitman remains one of the few games requiring a Steam guide consultation before purchasing. What an absolute shitshow it was (and still is).
It’s been 3 years since I touched any Hitman game. It felt awful, leaving the once-love of my love behind, but life happened. Two weeks ago, the good people over at Keymailer sent me a code to cover the Drop Pack for Hitman: World of Assassination. In case you didn’t know, the WoA trilogy adopted a quasi live-service model with the player needing to be always online to obtain unlockables, and developers IO keeps drip-feeding the player with elusive targets and seasonal events.
Elusive Targets are time-limited missions where players get one shot to take down a unique target without saving mid-mission. These targets rotate in and out, encouraging players to return regularly. Seasonal events, like the Dartmoor Garden Show or Hokkaido Snow Festival, also pop up for limited periods, adding new challenges to existing campaign maps.
Thankfully, unlike proper live-service games, this seasonal content is fully optional, and you can choose to ignore it. Hitman: World of Assassination edition includes all three Hitman campaigns, each one of them better than the last. So, there should not be any fear of missing out.
The Drop pack for Hitman: WoA includes;
• The Club Boom DJ Suit
• The Club Boom 12″ Vinyl Sampler
• The Club Boom 12″ Flight Case
• The Red Light Flash Grenade
• The Base – A two-level Arcade contract featuring The Drop Elusive Target.
The new suit looks a bit goofy, but hey, it’s completely optional, and the other items are kind of reskins of existing items. The dealbreaker here is the fact that you get full access to an Arcade level that contains the new Elusive Target, The Drop. In this new arcade mission, Agent 47 is tasked with eliminating Alexios Laskaridis, an international DJ-turned-drug lord, modeled on the appearance of world-renowned DJ Dimitri Vegas.
The Drop makes good use of the Berlin level from Hitman 3, which is loaded with sweaty bodies, loud music, and lots of assassination opportunities. The mission itself is pretty easy but there are a wide range of optional challenges you can take on to up the difficulty.
Priced at $4.99/€4.99/£3.99, the pack complements the free “Season of the Drop” event, where The Drop Elusive Target was available to all players from September 12 to October 14, 2024. Purchasing the pack grants permanent access to “The Base” arcade mission, while the cosmetics and items enhance both Freelancer mode and general gameplay. There are worse ways to spend five dollars. It’s more Hitman, and I’d always welcome back my beloved with open arms.