Ready to step into the shoes of Agent 47?
Well we finally got our first proper look at Hitman 3 VR Reloaded last night during the VR Games Showcase, and it looks incredible. Well maybe not the graphics in every part, but as a standalone VR game it is impressive.
The main questions on everyone’s minds was, is this a full port of the game? And how many sacrifices will need to be made to the graphics to make it run on a Quest 3?
The answer to the first question is still not entirely clear yet but all of the signs so far indicate that it will be a full port of Hitman 3. Just rebuilt from the ground up with VR in mind.
In regards to the graphics, it’s a mixed bag, at some points it looks fantastic, at others it looks like an N64 game.
The lighting at some points looks incredible.
At other points, the graphics don’t look so great.
When it comes to the lighting and the art style, in the outdoor and darker neon drenched sections it must be said that it looks fantastic. However when you get sections like the one in the screenshot above, you can see it all looks a little bit flat.
The character models don’t look too bad either. I think they made the right choice to go with the cel shaded style, the Quest 3 can’t possibly match the visuals of a flat game running on current gen consoles so this seemed like the best compromise.
Considering the hardware this is running on, I am quite pleased with how it all looks.
The Berlin level looks especially atmospheric.
Honestly though the most impressive thing to me is that they managed to retain the massive crowds the modern Hitman games are known for. How they did this, running in VR on a standalone headset is beyond my comprehension. But this really is an impressive feat of engineering and developers XR games should be commended for that..
How they managed to keep the large crowds is beyond me, but i’m happy they did.
In terms of the locations that are 100% confirmed to be in the game, it will feature all six Levels of the original Hitman 3. The trailer confirmed we will be able to visit the following:
- Mendoza
- Dartmoor
- Berlin
- Carpathian Mountains
- Dubai
- Chongqing
All six of the original levels from Hitman 3 will be in the game.
In true Hitman fashion, the game is going to let you use the environment to take out your enemies. There were a few fantastic little moments in the trailer. For instance at one point the player is seen to use a banana to make a guard slip and knock him out. In another they placed an explosive in a rubber duck to take out a target. Honestly we didn’t really expect anything less, but it is good to know that we still have total freedom to take out targets however you see fit.
It wouldn’t be Hitman without murdering somebody with a piano wire.
That includes going in all guns blazing, and good news! Dual wielding weapons is back after being missing from the flat version of the game. It looks like a lot of fun, I can’t decide which way I want to approach it first, but as a tactical VR shooter, it looks like Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded is going to be a competent one.
Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded is not far out. We don’t have an exact release date yet but it is due in summer 2024. It will be releasing exclusively on the Quest 3.
