History VideoGame / Hitman3

Mechanically, ''Hitman 2'' plays pretty much identically to its predecessor. It does have a few notable changes, the enemy A.I. has been made smarter, the gameplay is more experimental (almost none of the levels follow the same format from one another), the addition of a camera to hack door locks (and act as a PhotoMode), some doors now have keypads which requires memorising combinations, and unlockable persistent shortcuts have been added to reward exploration, giving the player a quicker means to get to a specific part of a level on their next run.

* DungeonBypass: You can acquire the case file on Arthur Edwards by knocking out Emma Carlisle and Mr. Fernsby the butler and collecting their "Milton-Fitzpatrick bank tokens" that allegedly provide access to a safe-deposit box, no questions asked. This is especially helpful when trying for a Suit Only run, as it prevents you from needing to sneak up to the third floor and unlock the safe, bypassing numerous guards on the way.

* DungeonBypass: You can acquire the case file on Arthur Edwards by knocking out Emma Carlisle and Mr. Fernsby the butler and collecting their "Milton-Fitzpatrick bank tokens" that allegedly provide access to a safe-deposit box, no questions asked. This is especially helpful when trying for a Suit Only run, as it prevents you from needing to sneak up to the third floor, bypassing numerous guards on the way.

*** After his speech and eating asado, Don Yates will mention Ken Morgans' death to a patron at the party, and then Valentina will mention that they had adopted Kens' dog, Pickles, when Ken died. If 47 holds Ken at gunpoint, he will mention Pickles as a bid to let 47 spare his life.

** Aleksander Kovak (the Leader of the Yardbirds and contractor of the Sniper Assassin level "The Last Yardbirds") is mentioned by Vidal as a potential target prior to Mendoza ([[spoiler:which Diana confirms]]). This is a little odd as Aleksander Kovak was the one that ''contracted'' the ICA to kill his former partners; he was never one of the targets. Even stranger is that this plot point had already been resolved right at the start of ''Hitman 2'', as a news report in Hawkes Bay (the first mission in that game) had already confirmed that Kovak had been sent to trial after foolishly converting the sum of the Shamal Casino score into bitcoin.

** The "White Sunset" suit's colors (purple, red, orange, and white) are themed after the color scheme used by [[Platform/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] in their advertising, and was initially exclusive to the platform. However, these colors make no sense now as Stadia went defunct back in January 2023 and new players won't understand the reference. The suit was made an unlock via the "Cloud 9" challenge pack later on, (the name alluding to the cloud and [=IOT=], including Stadia) with several types of servers needing to be destroyed in the challenge requirements.
** The "Phantom" suit's name alludes to Ghost Mode, which was available in ''2'' and shut down not long before ''3'' released, so the original meaning of the name will be lost on newer players. The suit was an unlock for the mode too, but is now an unlock for completing 35 Featured Contracts in ''3''.

''Hitman 3'' (stylized as ''HITMAN III'') is the eighth game of the ''Franchise/{{Hitman}}'' series by Creator/IOInteractive. The final installment in the ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'' preceded by ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' and ''VideoGame/Hitman2'', it is also the first game of the franchise to be self-published by IO Interactive. It was released on January 20th, 2021 for the UsefulNotes/Playstation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows as a timed exclusive for the Platform/EpicGamesStore, as well as releasing on the Microsoft Store. A year later it was released onto Platform/{{Steam}}, as well being available to play on Xbox Game Pass. It also had a [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] port, which came with some exclusive content and Save State sharing among other Stadia friends. The [=PS4=] and [=PC=] ports can also utilise [[Platform/Playstation4 PSVR]] and PC [[Platform/HTCVive Virtual]] [[Platform/OculusRift Reality]] to serve as a first-person mode. It was also one of the first released UsefulNotes/CloudGaming titles for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Switch]].

** The "White Sunset" suit's colors (purple, red, orange, and white) are themed after the color scheme used by [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] in their advertising, and was initially exclusive to the platform. However, these colors make no sense now as Stadia went defunct back in January 2023 and new players won't understand the reference. The suit was made an unlock via the "Cloud 9" challenge pack later on, (the name alluding to the cloud and [=IOT=], including Stadia) with several types of servers needing to be destroyed in the challenge requirements.

''Hitman 3'' (stylized as ''HITMAN III'') is the eighth game of the ''Franchise/{{Hitman}}'' series by Creator/IOInteractive. The final installment in the ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'' preceded by ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' and ''VideoGame/Hitman2'', it is also the first game of the franchise to be self-published by IO Interactive. It was released on January 20th, 2021 for the UsefulNotes/Playstation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows as a timed exclusive for the Platform/EpicGamesStore, as well as releasing on the Microsoft Store. A year later it was released onto Platform/{{Steam}}, as well being available to play on Xbox Game Pass. It also had a [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] port, which came with some exclusive content and Save State sharing among other Stadia friends. The [=PS4=] and [=PC=] ports can also utilise [[Platform/Playstation4 PSVR]] and PC [[Platform/HTCVive Virtual]] [[Platform/OculusRift Reality]] to serve as a first-person mode. It was also one of the first released UsefulNotes/CloudGaming titles for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Switch]].

* TheArtefact:

** The MKIII Items are this out of necessity, so new players are not denied unlocks from DLC or the previous games' legacy packs. Unlike the much ridiculed MKII items of ''Hitman 2'', not all of them are named "MK III" (like Dartmoor's ICA19 Shortballer; a clear MKIII of 47's iconic ICA19 Silverballer from ''2016'').
* DoorToBefore: Inverted. Some of the unlockable persistent shortcuts in the game qualify, as they are often placed in the level where having them open would be greatly beneficial to the player from the offset. Of course, the reason for this is to reward repeated exploration (Dubai has one to the right when you spawn in normally, but requires a long detour to actually open and use).

* HideYourChildren: As per the rest of the series, there are no children in the Sceptre, playing in the streets of Chonquing, or any kids in Mendoza. The sole exception is [[spoiler:Child Diana at the start of Carpathian Mountains, as it's 47 re-enacting the moment he killed Diana's parents]].

* LeaveNoSurvivors: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIMJrVe0_8w&t=17s Still possible]], albeit takes a lot longer than older games, as there are easily around 800 [=NPCs=] in each level. Many consider it a SelfImposedChallenge. [[spoiler:It's actually allowed in Carpathian Mountains as everyone on board is a Providence operative.]]

* NintendoHard: Master mode is very tough and will likely require players to retry several times to get the hang of the new rules. Bloody kills and most accidents ruin an [=NPCs=] disguise, as well as [=NPCs=] being more attentive to gun sounds. In short, IOI looked at possible tactics most players would use for each level, since most routes have at least one new obstacle specifically to make it more impractical to those trying it.

''Hitman 3'' (stylized as ''HITMAN III'') is the eighth game of the ''Franchise/{{Hitman}}'' series by Creator/IOInteractive. The final installment in the ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'' preceded by ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' and ''VideoGame/Hitman2'', it is also the first game of the franchise to be self-published by IO Interactive. It was released on January 20th, 2021 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows as a timed exclusive for the UsefulNotes/EpicGamesStore, as well as releasing on the Microsoft Store. A year later it was released onto UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, as well being available to play on Xbox Game Pass. It also had a [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] port, which came with some exclusive content and Save State sharing among other Stadia friends. The [=PS4=] and [=PC=] ports can also utilise [[Platform/Playstation4 PSVR]] and PC [[Platform/HTCVive Virtual]] [[Platform/OculusRift Reality]] to serve as a first-person mode. It was also one of the first released UsefulNotes/CloudGaming titles for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Switch]].

On October 4th, 2022, [[https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-3-road-to-freelancer/ IO Interactive announced]] that the much-awaited "Freelancer" mode would arrive at the end of Year 2 on January 26th, 2023. Set after the events of the main game, the mode will be a Roguelike campaign, with 47 earning "Merces" by completing a track of contracts with complications attached, opening safes, pacifying couriers, and buying items from merchants to use in a run and bring back to your own customisable safehouse. It also features '''vastly''' different rulesets to the main game. [[https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-3-road-to-freelancer-2/ A Closed Beta technical stress-test]] ran via Steam from November 3rd - 7th, 2022, while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2ZZlIMdavM ten minutes of gameplay footage of the mode]] was also released to explain the mechanics.

** The "White Sunset" suit's colors (purple, red, orange, and white) are themed after the color scheme used by [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] in their advertising, and was initially exclusive to the platform. However, these colors make no sense now as Stadia went defunct back in January 2023 and new players won't understand the reference. The suit was made an unlock via the "Cloud 9" challenge pack later on, which alludes to computer servers in the challenge requirements.

''Hitman 3'' (stylized as ''HITMAN III'') is the eighth game of the ''Franchise/{{Hitman}}'' series by Creator/IOInteractive. The final installment in the ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'' preceded by ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' and ''VideoGame/Hitman2'', it is also the first game of the franchise to be self-published by IO Interactive. It was released on January 20th, 2021 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows as a timed exclusive for the UsefulNotes/EpicGamesStore, as well as releasing on the Microsoft Store. A year later it was released onto UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, as well being available to play on Xbox Game Pass. It also had a [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] port, which came with some exclusive content and Save State sharing among other Stadia friends. The [=PS4=] and [=PC=] ports can also utilise [[UsefulNotes/Playstation4 PSVR]] and PC [[UsefulNotes/HTCVive Virtual]] [[UsefulNotes/OculusRift Reality]] to serve as a first-person mode. It was also one of the first released UsefulNotes/CloudGaming titles for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Switch]].

** The "White Sunset" suit's color scheme (purple, red, orange, and white) make no sense now, given that the [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] platform, which the suit was initially themed after, and tied exclusively to it, but Stadia went defunct in January 2023, and the suit was made an unlock via the Cloud 9 challenge pack (which itself alludes to cloud servers, as do the challenges).

* CompilationRerelease: Unlike ''Hitman 2''[='=]s Legacy Pack which has to be downloaded separately, all maps and assets from previous games in the Trilogy are included in ''Hitman 3'', though the player needs to own a copy of either or both Hitman 2 and 3 for them to be unlocked.

* DevelopersForesight: Interestingly, you are able to knock out and take the coins of targets early if you pacify them, regardless of if they've been revealed to you yet. This is likely to avoid an UnwinnableByMistake situation where you could be soft-locked and have to start over.

* DepthOfField: There's a [[VideoGameTools camera item]] that serves as a first-person view PhotoMode necessary for passing the last level. It includes a depth-of-field filter to blur the background that can get as shallow as a 4x {{zoom}}.

** The MKIII Items are this out of necessity, so new players are not denied unlocks from DLC or the previous games' legacy packs. Unlike the much ridiculed MKII items of ''Hitman 2'', not all of them are named "MK III" (like Dartmoor's Custom 5mm DCI; a clear MKIII of the Custom 5mm of ''2016'').
* DoorToBefore: Some of the unlockable shortcuts in the game qualify, as they are often placed where having them open is greatly beneficial to the player.

* PhotoMode: The game has a camera item that only exists to function as a photo mode from 47's first-person view (case in point, the last level strips you of all items ''except'' for the camera). It has color filter options, a DepthOfField effect to blur the background, and up to [=4x=} {{zoom}}. It can also be used to scope out areas you haven't visited yet, functioning like a sniper scope.

* PhotoMode: The game has a camera item that only exists to function as a photo mode from 47's first-person view (case in point, the last level strips you of all items ''except'' for the camera). It has color filter options, a Depth of Field effect to blur the background, and up to [=4x zoom=]. It can also be used to scope out areas you haven't visited yet, functioning like a sniper scope.

** The "White Sunset" suit's color scheme (purple, red, orange, and white) make no sense now, given that the [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] platform, which the suit was initially themed after, and thus tied exclusively to the platform, but has been defunct since January 2023, and the suit was made an unlock via the Cloud 9 challenge pack (which itself is an allusion to cloud servers, as are several of the challenges).
** The "Phantom" suit's name alludes to Ghost Mode, which was available in ''2'' and shut down not long before ''3'' released, so the original meaning of the game may be lost on newer players. The suit was an unlock for the mode too, but is now an unlock for completing 35 Featured Contracts.

* TheArtefact: The "White Sunset" suits' color scheme makes no sense now, given that the [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] platform, which the suit was initially tied exclusively to, is now defunct as of January 2023. The colors of the suit are representative of the Google Stadia logo (purple, red, orange, and white), which may be lost on those who forgot about Stadia, or simply didn't know about it.

* TheArtefact: The "White Sunset" suits' color scheme makes no sense now, given that Google Stadia platform, the suit it was tied exclusively to, is defunct. The colors are representative of the Google Stadia logo, which may be lost on those who either forgot about Stadia or didn't know it was a thing.

%% Please expand the below to include suits from challenges:

* VersionExclusiveContent: Every platform has a different unlockable suit variant. The PC version has the [[https://imgur.com/NVT7AaV "Black Streak" suit]], while the Playstation versions have the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlbbfPjq4nI "Blue Streak" suit]], and the Xbox versions have the [[https://imgur.com/AH1atTs "Green Streak" suit.]] [[https://www.ioi.dk/stadia-announcement/ The Stadia version]] had the [[https://imgur.com/rpI9Mx2 "White Sunset" suit]], but also came with an exclusive [=ICA 19=] gun, explosive duck, and briefcase in the same colors. When stadia shut down, the developers noted that all players, regardless of platform, would be getting those items in a later update.

** "The Red Dragon" refers to the triad of the same name, which 47 can kill with a sniper rifle; the challenge asks you to any target with a headshot from a sniper rifle.

** You can poison somebody with rat poison, follow them to an isolated area, and then knock them out; they won't die despite the stuff remaining in their bodies nor can they drown in their own vomit.

* AnAesop: In the world of Hitman, No one is Untouchable. Regardless of how many resources you have, there is always someone to give you your comeuppance. Not The Shadow Client/Subject 6 (who had to feign his death to escape Providence, and his past came back to haunt him years later), not 47 (the person who is jointly responsible for killing Diana's parents, and has gone from one handler to another; Ort-Meyer, then Diana), not Diana or her parents (the former getting tracked down after Dubai and forced to [[spoiler:make a case in working for Providence]], the latter going after a pharma company with a lawsuit, and getting killed because of it), not the targets from the games (their various misdeeds catching up to them, like Valentina Yates [[spoiler:if you tell her that Don sabotaged her career]]), not even The Constant is unreachable (he's not infallible as his demeanour suggests, and he suffers from extreme over-confidence whenever making deals with people).

* BriefcaseBlaster: Briefcases can be used to conceal sniper rifles or other large firearms. Taking sniper rifles out from the briefcase no longer takes upwards of ten seconds either, as it did with most rifles in ''Blood Money'' (the W2000 is the exception as it was practically instant). Instead, most rifles takes a more reasonable five seconds to unpack, again with the exception of the Sieger 300 series (the w2000's), which are near instantly unpacked from the briefcase.
* CampingACrapper: You can drown people in toilets by first making them sick. Or by sneaking behind them, choking them, and then snapping their neck. [[StatingTheSimpleSolution Or shoot them in the head.]]

** 47 reaps both the rewards and the pitfalls of this trope. On the one hand, guards and witnesses take no note of the six-foot-tall bald guy with a bar code tattoo on his head stomping around the scene, so long as the player doesn't do anything illegal directly in their line of sight. That said, no disguise is foolproof as most disguises have enforcers, meaning there will always be at least a few people that won't be fooled — especially those wearing the same uniform as 47. The general public, as well as targets, are always taken in by his disguises, no matter how little he resembles the person he's impersonating. On the other hand, security and police pay attention to him and ''only'' to him. [=NPCs=] can traipse through restricted areas, and mostly pass through security checkpoints without being frisked (Mendoza is the sole exception), something 47 can't do and has to find ways around this problem.

** As with the previous game, "Mission Stories" are the exact same system as "Opportunities" introduced in ''2016.''

* DoorToBefore: Some of the unlockable shortcuts in the game qualify, as they are often placed where having them open would be greatly beneficial to the player to move between portions of a map quickly.

** Killing [[spoiler:The Constant's memories of Providence by using an improved version of the serum that 47 once took to wipe his memories. While this does not kill him, he's essentially been assigned a FateWorseThanDeath.]]
* KentBrockmanNews:
** There isn't nearly as much as with when Hitman 2 used Pam to tell everyone the goings on of past events, but Pam does make a return in Mendoza, and appears as a news anchor in broadcasts in the cutscenes, again being a MrExposition to world affairs.
** The radios in the levels have unique dialog per location, which acts as background material, referencing past events, and foreshadowing to future events.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheStoic archetype 47 usually falls under. In prior games, 47 is treated as this trope, as when it came to his emotions, he was shown mimicking them in-game, but he couldn't actually ''express'' them properly, due to Ort-Meyer stunting his brains' emotional center. Since ''Hitman 2'' however, Grey gives the antidote to 47's conditioning, which has now taken full effect, opening those emotions back up, and as a result, he acts rather different here. Notably, his voice in this game has more emotional weight behind it compared to past games, and 47's dialog isn't just [[DeadpanSnarker dry snarking at people]], actually showing both surprise and scowls at [[spoiler:the ICA Agents sent to kill him]] in Berlin. In Chongqing, he gives some advice to a passer-by on the topic of friends and relationships, making use of those long-suppressed feelings to keep the two friends together, despite this having no benefit to him. It's also exploited by [[spoiler:Diana, as she lures him to Mendoza, using their long-time partnership to capture him, fully taking advantage of this development in 47's change in mental state, knowing that 47 will always follow her, no matter what]].

* MilestoneCelebration: The October 2023 patch released the Codename 47 challenge pack, 5 challenges which are based around recreating famous moments from ''Hitman: Codename 47'', and are named after levels or references to the game. It's also the only challenge pack to take you across all of the trilogy's locations, instead of being specific to one game or one level.

* MythologyGag: As mentioned under BookEnds, the final cutscene has multiple references to the E3 2015 trailer, [[MeaningfulEcho namely the last pieces of dialogue being similar]], and the outfit 47 wears in both are very similar.

''Hitman 3'' (stylized as ''HITMAN III'') is the eighth game of the ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series by Creator/IOInteractive. The final installment in the ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'' preceded by ''VideoGame/{{Hitman 2016}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Hitman 2}}'', it is also the first game of the franchise to be self-published by IO Interactive. It was released on January 20th, 2021 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows as a timed exclusive for the UsefulNotes/EpicGamesStore, as well as releasing on the Microsoft Store. A year later it was released onto UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, as well being available to play on Xbox Game Pass. It also had a [[UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia Google Stadia]] port, which came with some exclusive content and Save State sharing among other Stadia friends. The [=PS4=] and [=PC=] ports can also utilise [[UsefulNotes/Playstation4 PSVR]] and PC [[UsefulNotes/HTCVive Virtual]] [[UsefulNotes/OculusRift Reality]] to serve as a first-person mode. It was also one of the first released UsefulNotes/CloudGaming titles for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Switch]].

!! Spoilers for the [[VideoGame/{{Hitman2016}} Previous]] [[VideoGame/Hitman2 Games]] in the trilogy, as well as for ''ComicBook/Agent47BirthOfTheHitman'' will be '''unmarked here. You have been warned!''' Spoilers from this game are marked as such.