Hitman: Contracts

About

Hitman: Contracts is a single player action game. It was developed by Io-Interactive A/S and was released on January 21, 2014. It received positive reviews from players.

In "Hitman: Contracts," you assume the role of Agent 47, a ruthless assassin on a series of lethal assignments around the globe. With a wide range of tactics and disguises at your disposal, you must navigate treacherous environments and eliminate your targets in this intense stealth-action game. The enemy AI is formidable, employing squad-based tactics to thwart your efforts, making each contract a true test of your skills.

Genres & Tags

Action

Play Modes

Single-Player

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85%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,104 reviews

story120 positive mentions

stability37 negative mentions

Hitman: Contracts features a dark and atmospheric tone, enhancing the overall experience with its haunting soundtrack by Jesper Kyd.
The game offers multiple ways to complete missions, allowing for creative approaches to assassinations and high replayability.
Improvements in AI and gameplay mechanics make it more enjoyable than its predecessors, with less frustration from being detected.

The game suffers from technical issues on modern systems, including crashes and slow-motion bugs that can hinder gameplay.
Many missions are remakes from the first game, which some players feel detracts from the overall experience and originality.
The story is weak and lacks cohesion, primarily consisting of flashbacks without a strong narrative thread.

story
657 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
79%
3%
The story of *Hitman: Contracts* revolves around Agent 47's flashbacks to previous missions while he recovers from a gunshot wound, creating a narrative that is both fragmented and atmospheric. While the game features several remade missions from the original *Hitman: Codename 47*, many players feel the overall plot lacks depth and cohesion, often describing it as simplistic or underwhelming. Despite its narrative shortcomings, the dark tone and immersive environments contribute to a unique experience that resonates with fans of the series.
- “The story in Hitman: Contracts revolves around a wounded Agent 47 who eventually collapses out of shock in his apartment and begins having hallucinatory flashbacks from his earlier missions.”
- “The plot is very well written; however, I wish it was longer, as there are only 12 missions, while Hitman 2: Silent Assassin had 21 missions.”
- “The game achieves this by using some pretty basic things like flashbacks, setting the missions at night and with lots of rain to give off a very dark atmosphere, combined with the once again outstanding soundtrack by composer Jesper Kyd.”
- “The story is nonexistent.”
- “The weakest story in the Hitman series (47 gets shot, collapses in his hotel room and starts remembering previous missions, that's it).”
- “The missions aren't linked to each other or have any interesting backstory to tell.”
gameplay
215 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
64%
5%
The gameplay in "Hitman: Contracts" is generally regarded as a significant improvement over its predecessors, offering refined mechanics, better stealth systems, and a more forgiving approach to disguises and movement. While some players appreciate the nostalgic remakes of earlier missions, others note that the game still feels somewhat dated compared to modern titles, with occasional clunky controls and limited mission variety. Overall, it provides a satisfying and immersive experience for fans of the stealth genre, balancing challenge with accessibility.
- “Overall, it's a worthy addition to the Hitman franchise, providing hours of strategic and thrilling gameplay.”
- “The gameplay incorporates and refines elements from previous titles, such as Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, and offers a fun and engaging experience for both casual and modern spectrum players.”
- “With its intricate stealth gameplay and immersive environments, Contracts retains the aesthetic and feel of its predecessors whilst making some vastly needed improvements to the game mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is somewhat outdated and unforgiving compared to the modern Hitman games.”
- “If you're a fan of newer shinier games and want to go back to the source material, anticipating the same gameplay loop with worse graphics, you're in for a disappointment.”
- “The hitman series straddles a fine line between excellent and terrible, but the line moves depending on your tolerance for clunky mechanics and how many times you're willing to reload a save to get things right.”
music
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
53%
3%
The music in "Hitman: Contracts," composed by Jesper Kyd, is widely praised for its dark, atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the game's gritty tone and immersive experience. Reviewers highlight the unique blend of minimalist electronica and orchestral elements, with many considering it one of the best soundtracks in the Hitman series. While some note occasional mismatches between the music and specific mission themes, the overall consensus is that the soundtrack significantly contributes to the game's haunting ambiance and emotional depth.
- “Jesper Kyd, the composer of the Hitman: Contracts soundtrack, has created a distinct fusion of minimalist electronica and dark, orchestral and choral grooves, which has been praised for its groundbreaking and cinematic style.”
- “The soundtrack is considered the darkest among other Hitman games and is often regarded as one of the best, with industrial elements in each track that make it unique.”
- “The dark surreal tone of this game makes it truly special, each level feels haunted, the overcast weather and the grungy techno soundtrack create an engaging atmosphere.”
- “The music is a downgrade though, a big one even, to be honest.”
- “A lot of the game audio is missing; gun sounds and sound effects still seem to be present within the game, however, music, ambient sounds, and so on appear to be removed due to the licensing issue.”
- “You don’t expect Kyd to make horror music after listening to the orchestra that was played in Silent Assassin and even in Blood Money; the music isn’t as good as it is in Contracts.”
graphics
136 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
66%
8%
The graphics of "Hitman: Contracts" receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the visuals show some improvement over previous titles, they still feel dated by modern standards. The game effectively utilizes its dark and gritty art style to enhance the atmosphere, but players who expect contemporary graphics may be disappointed. Overall, the graphics are considered decent for a game from 2004, with some appreciating the nostalgic charm despite the presence of glitches and outdated textures.
- “The game offers a visually stunning and immersive experience for players, with impressive graphics, detailed textures, and unique level design on each level.”
- “The graphics have gotten a pretty nice visual upgrade and they really fit the dark and gloomy tone of this entry.”
- “The graphics engine obviously isn’t as good as modern engines, but the developers surely made the most of it at the time, and often you cannot help but stop and admire the amazing sceneries, architecture, and interiors.”
- “The graphics are bad for being 2004; it is unbelievably hard and the stealth barely works.”
- “It's old, janky, the graphics haven't aged well and it's kind of pathetically horny at times, but the gold vein that is the Hitman experience is still present.”
- “While the graphics may show their age, the gameplay holds up brilliantly, offering a satisfying challenge for fans of the stealth genre.”
atmosphere
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
40%
2%
The atmosphere in "Hitman: Contracts" is widely praised for its dark, gritty, and immersive qualities, often described as the best in the franchise. The game features a haunting soundtrack by Jesper Kyd that complements its moody visuals, including rain-soaked environments and intricate level designs, creating a tense and foreboding experience. Many reviewers note that the atmosphere feels almost horror-like at times, enhancing the overall gameplay and narrative depth.
- “The atmosphere is dark, gritty, it's always raining and the soundtrack for this game is the best in the franchise.”
- “The dark and rainy atmosphere, with the incredible soundtrack, makes it the perfect experience for Agent 47's world.”
- “The unique dark atmosphere provides a dream-like experience.”
- “The use of Middle-Eastern instruments in the soundtrack elevates the horrific atmosphere of the game by digging deep into the average player's racial biases and reinforcing them, especially when this game came out when 9/11 was still a very recent tragedy.”
- “It's got a fair share of blemishes still; for instance, some proper voice acting could have made the atmosphere I described above more triumphant and convincing – but alas, all characters, including Hitman himself, speak in such a stale, unnatural way that even comparing them to robots would be a generous compliment.”
- “The atmosphere is so cold and oppressive.”
stability
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
97%
The game's stability is severely criticized, with numerous reports of frequent crashes, random freezes, and pervasive bugs that render it nearly unplayable. Players have encountered issues such as slowdowns, stuck animations, and glitches that disrupt gameplay, leading to frustration and a lack of desire to continue playing. Overall, the game is described as a "buggy mess," with many users expressing disappointment in its performance and stability.
- “I had some trouble with the character being non-responsive, but I found a fix for it pretty quickly. Overall, it runs great!”
- “The game has been incredibly stable since the last update, with minimal bugs and smooth performance.”
- “I've experienced very few crashes, and the gameplay feels solid and reliable.”
- “Buggy as hell, crashes almost every time I try to launch it.”
- “Unfortunately, the game does not support controller and worst of all it freezes randomly, just killing any desire to play.”
- “Slowdowns, freezes, crashes, stuck animations, etc. The settings are at least great because they offer higher resolution options, but do not be fooled, widescreen support does not exist without manual user configuration.”
replayability
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
73%
8%
The game is widely praised for its high replayability, offering players multiple ways to complete missions and encouraging them to revisit levels for different strategies and outcomes. With a variety of weapons, a compelling soundtrack, and unique mission designs, players find themselves drawn back to the game even after completing it. While some note that the game may feel shorter once mastered, the depth of gameplay and the challenge of achieving higher ranks keep the experience engaging.
- “Both games have their own advantages in terms of replayability, providing players with a unique experience that encourages them to revisit the games multiple times.”
- “The game emphasizes its replayability factor with even more ways to complete your missions than the last game, as well as rewarding players who achieve the silent assassin rank with cool weapons for even more fun.”
- “After completing the game's 12 levels, you can go back and try to earn the 'silent assassin' rank, which will net you a new weapon for each level completed with the rank, definitely increasing the replayability if you want a lot out of the game.”
- “It's amazing, and I wish there was more stuff like that to mess around with to give this game some replay value after getting silent assassin rank in all levels.”
- “Despite the story, I recommend this game for the polished gameplay, the more complex level design, and its soundtrack; it is a good game after all, as you can see it's not a long game at all, but it has a little replay value.”
- “It gets kind of short once you learn how to play (which you do on level 2 or level 3 in my case), but there is a lot of replayability involved with different killing techniques in each level.”
humor
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its exaggerated ragdoll physics, absurd storylines, and comical execution methods, such as using laxatives in a target's soup. Players appreciate the blend of fun gameplay mechanics with laughable voice acting and scenarios, making the overall experience entertaining despite some lingering franchise issues. The game's humor is a significant draw, with many finding it both funny and engaging.
- “Played this game for 2 hours and I gotta say it's really fun and funny and here are the reasons why:”
- “The guns have greatly improved as well as the voice acting, as the very first game was hilariously outdated, such as the infamous line 'I need to use the bathroom,' which is on par with Tommy Wiseau levels of acting.”
- “+funny executions (you actually have to put laxatives in a dude's soup then kill him on the toilet, as you need to use his uniform to peacefully reach your other target. You also have the option of killing another target by suffocating them with a pillow).”
optimization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
46%
31%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, particularly on NVIDIA GPUs, leading to stuttering, lag, and crashes, making it nearly unplayable on Windows 10/11. While some users report good performance on low-end hardware, the overall experience is marred by poor frame rate management and inconsistent performance across different setups.
- “The game encourages stealth and creativity, as the player can complete their objectives in multiple ways and earn different ratings based on their performance.”
- “This game also has excellent optimization so you can run it on low-end hardware.”
- “As for performance, hundreds of frames per second are guaranteed even if you run it on a blood pressure monitor.”
- “This game has serious optimization problems.”
- “The game is broken; its poor optimization for Windows 10/11 makes it unplayable, due to lag making it impossible to do anything and sometimes crashing the game or freezing up until you close it.”
- “To be fair, Hitman: Contracts is a great game, but performance on NVIDIA GPUs is awful.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the removal of tedious elements in the "Codename 47" remake, such as long walking segments and slow knockout methods, which enhance gameplay. However, some missions still feel repetitive and frustrating, particularly when trying to execute complex assassinations without the satisfaction of seeing them unfold, leading to a sense of tedium in certain levels. Overall, while improvements have been made, some aspects of grinding remain a concern for players.
- “I have no resentment from trying over and over again to beat a level, but after some time, playing out the same assassinations and trying to understand why your cover keeps getting blown becomes tedious. Unlike Blood Money, you can't even see the meticulously planned assassinations play out most of the time, probably due to technical limitations, which unfortunately waters down their effect.”
- “There are some missions that feel absolutely tedious, such as the mansion level and the long run through the third level to blow up that radioactive ship. I will not attempt that for a very long time.”
- “Basically, it leaves the game nigh on unplayable, or at least a rather tedious experience.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its ability to create a profound sense of tension and immersion, compelling players to endure technical flaws for the sake of experiencing its dark and somber atmosphere. Additionally, the emotional resonance is echoed in related media, such as films and novels, which evoke strong feelings and connections to the hitman narrative.
- “However, despite being shackled by all these technical imperfections, the game still exerts tremendous emotional pressure and gets under your skin with almost zero effort – and soon, restarting from an earlier save because a guard randomly thought you were trespassing without even seeing you becomes a reasonable price to pay to experience this sombre, dismal world.”