History VideoGame / Hitman2016

* NegativeContinuity: Can come off this way if you do this mission after completing “The Showstopper”, with Viktor Novikov shown to still be alive.

* NegativeContinuity: Can come off this way if you do this mission after completing “The Showstopper”; Viktor Novikov is still alive and does his entrance. Granted, the mission is basically just a reskin of “The Showstopper”.

* NegativeContinuity: Can come off this way if you do this mission after completing “The Showstopper”, Viktor Novikov is still shown alive and does his entrance. Granted, the mission is basically just a reskin of “The Showstopper”.

* NegativeContinuity: Can come off this way if you do this mission after completing “The Showstopper”, Viktor Novikov is still shown alive and does his entrance. Granted, the DLC is basically just a reskin of “The Showstopper”.

''Hitman'' (stylized as ''HITMAN'') is the sixth game of the ''Videogame/{{Hitman}}'' series by Creator/IOInteractive, and is the first entry into the ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy''. It was released in 2016, and is often called ''[[StoppedNumberingSequels Hitman (2016)]]'' as a result by pretty much everyone (Including this very wiki for page disambiguation purposes) to differentiate it from [[VideoGame/HitmanCodename47 the first game.]]

The sequel, simply titled; ''VideoGame/{{Hitman 2}}'', was released on November 13th, 2018,[[note]]'''48 days''' from the end of 2018...[[/note]] with IO Interactive now having Warner Bros. as their publisher. On a related note, ''this entire game'' is available in Hitman 2 as DLC, named the "Hitman 2 Legacy Pack", available since launch day. Season 1/ GOTY edition owners get the DLC for free, which incorporates ''Hitman 2'''s new features into the first games' levels. A second sequel, ''VideoGame/Hitman3'', was released on January 20th, 2021, with the same deal as before --previous games available with the third game.

This game, alongside ''VideoGame/{{Hitman 2}}'', has been de-listed on storefronts as of January 26th, 2023, as ''Hitman 3'' was rebranded as ''Hitman - World of Assassination'', which imports these levels '''for free''' regardless of game ownership. The move was done to avoid customer confusion that had plagued the latter two games' life on getting these levels' DLC packs. No word on the servers being shut down, however.

!!Spoilers for this game are mostly unmarked, so be warned! Spoilers for ''ComicBook/Agent47BirthOfTheHitman'', ''VideoGame/{{Hitman 2}}'' and ''VideoGame/Hitman3'' are marked as such.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Averted hard, in sharp contrast to previous games in the series. Every single one of your targets is unarmed and has absolutely no way of fighting back if attacked directly. At best, they can only flee as their bodyguards escort them to a safe zone. If cornered, [[FacingTheBulletsOneLiner the bravest of them will insult 47]], while the rest can only cower and plead for mercy.

* ObviousBeta: The game, especially the PC version, was extremely buggy upon the release of major updates, with some bugs borderline {{Game-Breaker}}s. Perhaps the most obvious example was that, on some [=PCs=], dragging bodies seemed to be a crapshoot--47 would refuse to pick up a body's arm or leg, and kept dropping it after picking it up. This was later patched.

* ObviousBeta: Not in the game-breaking sense, but more as a test for the developers of IO Interactive to see if there was any fan interest for a level like this to return for future releases. [[VideoGame/Hitman2 Come the second game]], we get a minigame that does exactly this; Sniper Assassin.

* SoldiersAtTheRear: Observing the tunnel entrance has two soldiers comment on getting to guard to tunnel itself; something that is a menial job, but otherwise favorable as it's noweherre near the riot, the coup, and it is ''really'' easy.

** I turns out Strandberg is actually acting as this to [[spoiler:Providence. He stole the money without their permission and figured his connections would get him out safely. Providence is planning on having Zaydan kill him for the unnecessary complication.]]

The game took an [[EpisodicGame episodic approach, with the episodes releasing roughly monthly]], each one containing a single mission, a few escalations, and a new map. The episodes released included two prequel tutorial missions set during 47's induction to the agency and six proper missions set at a fashion show in Paris, France; a private villa in the fictional town of Sapienza, Italy; a busy market in Marrakesh, Morocco; a hotel outside of Bangkok, Thailand; a remote farm in Colorado, USA; and a luxury private hospital in Hokkaido, Japan. The game also comes with bonus missions for Sapienza, Marrakesh and Paris.[[note]]''Landslide'' and ''The Icon'' for Sapienza, ''A House Built on Sand'' for Marrakesh, and ''Holiday Hoarders'', a free ChristmasSpecial, for Paris.[[/note]]

* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The 3D printer in the hackers' den can print out an accurate mask of Sean Rose's face that's good enough to fool biometric scanners, and takes less than ten seconds to print. While---believe it or not--[[TruthInTelevision a 3D mask can actually fool biometric scanners]], RealLife 3D printers take considerably longer to do such work (as in, 10 hours or more, not 10 seconds).

* DevelopersForesight: The guard on Tuo-Kwang's rooftop drops a walkie-talkie that can be used to summon Tuo-Kwang to the meeting early, which the game makes no indication of.

* BullyingADragon: Viktor Novikov is a former oligarch turned international information broker, who just had the head of the FSB murdered and destroyed all evidence against him. Valerie St. Clair's plan? ''To blackmail him into funding her failing magazine.''

* CuttingOffTheBranches: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-lXfmWToIY Judging by the opening "Legacy" cinematic]], 47 canonically killed [[Videogame/Hitman2SilentAssassin Hayamoto Jr.]] by poisoning his sushi with fugu, garroted [[VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney Don Delgado]] while he was playing his cello, and shot [[Videogame/HitmanAbsolution Dom Osmond]] in the forehead through a one-way mirror with an unsuppressed JAGD P22G. Oddly, he is shown drowning Fritz Fuchs, which is very difficult to pull off in the [[Videogame/HitmanCodename47 original game]], as the player had to wait for civilians to leave the area. Drowning him was a more viable option in ''VideoGame/HitmanContracts'', which was in a dream.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Since this is an open-world game that encourages you to kill multiple people in the most creative ways possible, there's a great opportunity to experiment with particularly gruesome or cruel assassination methods, such as throwing people into woodchippers, going on mass killing sprees, and turning mundane items into death traps à la some twisted combination of ''Film/HomeAlone'' and ''Franchise/{{Saw}}''. You can also terrorize innocents and other non-targets by assassinating people as [[JustForFun/Egregious egregiously]] as possible (such as by blowing up Claus Strandberg on the walkway above the Swedish consolate's reception desk, which frightens everyone in the already-besieged building).

** The easiest way of eliminating Ken Morgan is by poisoning any plate of food on display at the restaurant, as Morgan will eat every from every plate of food, regardless of which one you poison, so he will eventually be killed. No one else will usually notice the food being poisoned either, although Master adds an extra chef who can be distracted beforehand.

* TheArtifact: This level has security footage in the downstairs room in the church, which deletes all footage from Caruso Manor and the Ether Biolab, which makes very little sense as to why they'd be connected. This is a holdover from the game's alpha, where the security footage and cameras had specific zones, and players were required to delete the footage from cameras that covered that zone if they got spotted within it. This was removed to simplify things, and later levels in this game onward were not made with the feature in mind (and thus the developers put the security footage in more plausible places).

** Two servants in the cellar are looking for a vintage wine bottle that Silvio wants. Nearby, a scientist and a gardener are drinking the wine, as the former stole it to try get fired.

* PragmaticVillainy: ICA mainly cares about this contract because it would leave them out of a job.

* ShoutOut: A housekeeper discussing Silvio's strained relationship with his mother states that [[Film/{{Psycho}} if the Carusos owned a motel, she wouldn't want to take a shower there]].

* DancePartyEnding: [[spoiler:The hidden "Dance 'til You Drop" challenge could be seen as a deadly variation on this. Dismissing all of the troops inside the school while disguised as a lieutenant summons a radio near the school's intercom. Activating both causes everyone in the school's vicinity to dance.]]

** As stated above, it's entirely easy to avoid infiltrating Zaydan's hideout by poisoning a plate of food near the embassy and waking up a waiter nearby by turning on the radio. Master adds a guard near the food, but he can easily be distracted, and few civilians walk through the alley.
** Getting a sniper kill on both Zaydan and Strandberg is ''very'' easy if you know what you're doing. There are easy-to-reach sniper perches overlooking both hideouts (the alcove off of the Retired Headmaster's rooftop for Zaydan and an abandoned rooftop above the bazaar's carpet shops for Standberg) that give clear shots to windows that both targets will not only walk past, but sometimes stand at. There's also a weapon drop-off point near the former and a level exit near the latter. Your only obstacle is moving through the streets with that sniper rifle, though there are several soldiers to subdue and disguise as. Taking this route in [[VideoGame/Hitman2 the sequel]] is even more of a cake walk, as the return of the briefcase removes the need for a disguise.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Averted by both Strandberg, who betrayed his daughter for money, and Zaydan, who has his former best friend set up for torture and execution.

** One of the workers at the Swedish embassy is trying to assemble a chair and having difficulty understanding the instructions.
** The entire level seems to be one for the ''Film/HitmanAgent47'' film, which contains an extended scene where 47 infiltrates a German embassy by allowing himself to get captured, and only escapes custody by pulling one hell of a GambitRoulette, riling up the guards, and disguising as two separate guards. In this level, 47 has to infiltrate a Swedish embassy, which requires extensive use of disguising as well as sneaking past both guards and Zaydan's soldiers. Strengthening the connection is that it's very possible that the bulk of this level was being thought up at the game studio while the film was still being shot.

** [[spoiler:Strandberg actually acts as this to Providence. He stole the money without their permission and figured his connections would get him out safely. Providence is planning on having Zaydan kill him for the unnecessary complication.]]

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Completing the easter egg challenge La Cucuracha by playing the keyboard in the penthouse disguised as the Exterminator summons a Kaiju sized cockroach to lay waste to the city in the background.

* CaughtOnTape: [[spoiler:The audio of the argument that led to Jordan killing Hannah was recorded, which The Class's manager Dexy is using to blackmail Thomas (as the tape reveals Jordan sought her help in covering up the murder). The audio drive can be used to lure Jordan to his room for a confrontation.]]

** The easiest way of eliminating Morgan is by poisoning the fourth plate of food on display at the restaurant, as Morgan will immediately head to the restaurant after starting the mission and eat from the above plate. No one else will usually notice the food being poisoned, although Master adds an extra chef who can be distracted before poisoning the food.

** Like in Marrakesh before, sniping Morgan and Cross is ''very'' easy. Morgan can be sniped from the balcony outside 47's suite (meaning he can be taken out less than a ''minute'' into the mission), and from there, the 3rd floor suite where Cross can be sniped is just a quick pipe shimmy away. And while the suite's main floor with the most convenient sniping spot is filled with hotel staff, the suite's ''upper'' floor is completely deserted save for one easily-incapacitated stalker, and provides an only slightly more awkward vantage point to snipe Cross.

* FakeBand: "The Class", one of the biggest indie acts in the world.
** IOI even created an album for the band--[[https://www.discogs.com/The-Class-Providence/release/8852863 "Providence"]]--featuring three songs, including the one you can hear if you attend one of their jam sessions in the game.
* FakeDifficulty: The level is somewhat infamous for its cruel security placement on both difficulty levels, to the point where it starts to feel contrived. On normal, the main issue is that the security footage is stored in a security-restricted room in the second floor of the band's side of the hotel (meaning that if you're caught on cam, you pretty much need to obtain a security disguise and a matching keycard, or outright restart if you're going for Suit Only). On Professional, the game also makes the boat exit a restricted area and adds multiple guards ''and'' a camera to the second-easiest exit, and rubs it further in by adding yet another camera guarding the security tapes (forcing you to shoot it in a room full of guards). To add insult to injury, the security booth behind the hotel originally had another recording storage (not that it was any easier to reach without a guard outfit), which was removed in a patch.
* HappyBirthdayToYou: The celebrants at Jordan's birthday party sing what sounds like a birthday version of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas".

** When 47 disguises himself as Abel de Silva, Jordan Cross asks him to demonstrate his skill at a drum set in the recording studio. Turns out 47 can bang a good beat.
** If disguised as one of the sound mixers, 47 will be asked to do some sound mixing before Jordan arrives. He's good enough to impress the person in charge of recording.

* JokeCharacter: The stalker disguise turns the entire level into a hostile area. Outside of the "Smooth Operator" and "Chameleon" challenges that require it to be worn, wearing it is unadvised, since the Queen Suite's exit is guarded and because stealthily exiting the hotel is extremely difficult.

* BadassIsraeli: Ezra Berg is a former Mossad interrogator, fired because he wanted to take his interrogation techniques to uncomfortable extremes. Despite this, his personality of being gentle and soft-spoken is in stark contrast of his partners.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The level is a fairly good source of Hitman lore, as events referenced here [[CallForward come back to be set up as events in later games]]:

** There's no briefcase, and sniper rifles are treated like any other firearm in most disguises (the sole exception being high-tier guard disguises). The sequels made sniper rifles illegal with all disguises, so the briefcase served the purpose of carrying such guns around.
** Fire extinguishers are lethal here, ''on top'' of counting as an accident. This made them so overpowered that they were made non-lethal in the sequels.

* EvilInc: The Ether Corporation is involved in two separate contracts. In the first, they're trying to develop a lethal virus that remains dormant until activated, acting as a kill switch for anyone on the planet. In the second, they're trying to replicate a massively contagious bioweapon created by a ''doomsday cult''. [[spoiler:They're also one of Providence's major assets.]]

* MeaningfulName: The mission name refers to AGildedCage; when someone is trapped in a place of luxury, but cannot leave either because they're forced to stay inside or, in the case of Strandberg, has a riot outside the front doors of the consulate he's taken refuge in.

* MetaGuy: Or Meta Guys to be more precise. Most of the [=NPCs=] will sometimes speak to each other about particular annoyances that they (and by extension, the player as 47) will have to endure, such as frisking every time any of the non-guards go upstairs, or jealousy among [=NPCs=] for not being a suited bodyguard.

* ABirthdayNotABreak: Jordan is celebrating his 27th birthday during the mission. One of the opportunities involves a surprise birthday party that can be used to kill him.

* CastingGag:
** The voice actor of Dino Bosco, Creator/WilliamMapother, was planned to replace David Bateson as 47's voice in ''Absolution'', but the fanbase protested, and Bateson was brought back at the last minute. His level has a few gags and SelfDeprecation about this.
** Someone at IOI or Square Enix must've been a big ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' fan, as Naoko Mori voices the KAI AI; Naoko Mori plays Toshiko Sato, the resident AsianAndNerdy tech expert in that show.

** Two servants in the cellar are looking for a vintage wine bottle that Silvio wants, to no avail. Nearby, a scientist and a gardener are drinking the wine, with the former hoping to get fired.

* ConvenientEscapeBoat: The back of the villa has one, although in this case it also acts as a starting location.