Gaming’s most famous accident man takes another crack at VR and this time the technology is good enough to elevate IO Interactive’s murderous sandbox.
The first game in the Hitman series was released 25 years ago and while it featured the same bald-headed, nameless anti-hero, its action and tone were quite different from more recent outings. The sea change came with the franchise’s 2016 reboot, which saw Agent 47 taking on more open-ended, set piece driven levels, which were never quite out-and-out comedy, but featured a range of zany, contrived ‘accidents’ you could trigger to finish off targets.
That atmosphere persisted in Hitman 2, which came out two years later, and 2021’s Hitman 3, which eventually rebranded itself as World Of Assassination, bringing all the content from the three post-reboot titles together into a single package. To enhance replay value, it also added a variety of new game modes to take advantage of its collection of detailed, sprawling maps packed with opportunities for amusing Final Destination style demises.
Hitman 3 was also released in VR, although it was somewhat hampered by the motion tracking limitations of the original PlayStation VR, and its release on PC and eventually Meta Quest 2 proved even more disappointing. The concept of putting you directly into the soft soled shoes of Agent 47 was sound enough, but technology hadn’t caught up with the ambitions of developer IO interactive.
It’s a pleasure to report that World Of Assassination’s new experiment with current generation VR is considerably more successful. The first thing you notice is the enhanced visuals, which while still a little blurry, in a way that will be all too familiar to VR players, is now more than enough to convey the setting and atmosphere. The next improvement is the far greater range of interactions available, performed using motion controls, rather than simply hitting a button.
That means you’ll be putting your hands around a target’s neck and squeezing the triggers to choke them out, rapidly shaking back and forth to speed up the job, and you’ll find the scope of your sniper rifle works as expected, where previously it brought up a disappointing 2D view every time you wanted a closer look at a distant quarry.
There’s also more you can do at room scale, so moving and reaching for things feels far more natural, or at least it does if you’ve got a big enough area to play in. You can just about get away with sitting down, but as is often the way with VR games featuring guns, it makes some actions tiresome to complete.
Holstering your weapon and grabbing new magazines often seem to result in fruitlessly punching the controller into your sofa cushion, and reaching for door handles and waist height buttons usually means crouching in order to get your hands on them.
It’s manageable though, which is just as well given the enormous mountain of VR content on offer. While you won’t be able to play Freelancer, its excellent roguelite mode, range-orientated Sniper Assassin or Contracts – which let you choose your own set of targets from amongst each level’s numerous characters – you can do practically everything else from the vantage point of your VR headset.
That includes every mission from all three games, in itself a vast labyrinth of discreetly targeted killing, with multiple sub-plots surrounding each hit, taking place in a series of spectacular and glamorous worldwide locations. There’s also Elusive Target Arcade, which pits you against various enemies from all three campaigns, in singular missions where even a small mistake can end your run.
You can also play Escalations, where you take on a series of objectives in a single map, with each one adding new strictures, like having to kill using a particular weapon, the inability to use disguises more than once, or having to remain unseen throughout. Even without the additional takes on the core game, each campaign mission offers a broad range of optional challenges, from making use of specific props, to activating each level’s more devious methods of offing your marks.
They’re all cleverly designed to extend replay value but also encourage you to immerse yourself in each map’s subtly designed playground of lethality. Overhearing a conversation can clue you into side stories and deeper intrigue, as well as revealing some of the more abstruse assassination options available to you.
There’s no way you could see even a quarter of a map’s possibilities in a single run, making it a pleasure to keep coming back to winkle out the bits you missed, unlocking new areas as you go.
It’s inspiring the way VR brings that process to life. Gazing out from a high balcony in the Burj Al-Ghazali (the game’s versions of the Burj Khalifa) or admiring Sapienza’s beach are much more affecting in a real first person view; as is moving through a crowd of people and tuning into the chatter around you as you silently scout unlocked doors, or ways to isolate a staff member whose uniform would be a useful disguise.
There are a few graphical glitches and occasional crashes, but almost as jarring are the moments where the game’s working fine, but pulls you out of first person, jumping awkwardly into third person. Climbing ladders, getting frisked by guards, blending in by pretending to do a job, and for some reason certain conversations, change the viewpoint so you’re watching Agent 47 from a short distance away. It’s a small reminder that this isn’t a game originally designed for VR.
There are also times where the jankiness of gesture control gets in the way. Trying to grab a door handle that won’t acknowledge your presence, or flailing about with a garrotte as your target turns round and starts shouting for help are unfortunately par for the course, although there’s no doubt you get better at managing them as you play – and it’s fair to say the base games suffered from a bit of that even on a flat screen.
Some of these problems are remedied by making it a save-scummer’s paradise, with regular saving important not only to allow for occasional control malfunctions, but also because the sandbox level design lends itself to endless crafty experimentation. Trying out different approaches and taking daring risks that might easily lead to your cover being blown are all part of the fun.
If you love World Of Assassination and have a VR headset, this is an essential purchase, especially given the lacklustre state of VR release schedules at the moment. Its three (admittedly ageing) triple-A games with full VR implementation are a rare treat. It may have the odd wobble in its implementation, and you can’t access every single play mode, but there’s still well over a hundred hours of immersive exploration, planning, and assassination to get lost in.
Hitman World Of Assassination VR Access review summary
In Short: A well executed VR port of Hitman World of Assassination, that brings motion control and higher resolution visuals to Agent 47’s lightly comedic sandbox of global contract killing.
Pros: Every mission of all three recent Hitman games is playable, along with many of its replayability-extending game modes. The new motion controls deliver a more visceral sense of immersion.
Cons: Playing seated has some downsides, the usual clunky VR control issues, occasional crashes, and all three games are starting to show their age.
Score: 8/10
Formats: PlayStation VR2 (reviewed) and PC VR
Price: £7.99 (base game: £57.99)
Publisher: IO Interactive
Developer: IO Interactive
Release Date: 27th March 2025
Age Rating: 18
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