Hitman 3 VR Reloaded Review: Faithful To A Fault

For all intents and purposes, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded is a spectacularly faithful recreation of the final entry in the reboot trilogy. However, that faithfulness is arguably the biggest problem with this standalone version. It fails to make the right compromises to the original experience I'd consider necessary.

If you're unaware of the long-running Hitman franchise, it follows a bald assassin lovingly called Agent 47. The World of Assassination trilogy upped the sandbox experience to give you various ways to eliminate your unfortunate targets. It's a beloved experience that's seen dedicated players pouring hundreds of hours into unique ways of killing, while the recent Freelancer mode further expanded that.

Unsurprisingly, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded feels unapologetically Hitman. The Quest 3 exclusive delivers the story and levels of the final entry in the reboot trilogy after the original flatscreen version received VR support back in 2021. However, it's not just a port of the base game but a faithful recreation of the finale, bringing it 1:1 with the original experience.

For anyone jumping into Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded after playing the World of Assassination, everything will feel very familiar. The opening tutorial asks you to 'assassinate' a test target on a yacht, while the final test requires you to launch a scared actor into the air using an ejector seat. Then, you're sent to Dubai for your first true mission.

While players experiencing the third entry for the first time with Quest 3 may not notice much, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded looks visually rough. Walls look jagged with triangles oozing out of the sides in your peripheral vision, windows are blacked off until you approach, and at a small distance, people become blurred spots of paint over a messy canvas. I really wish that XR Games put 100% into a cel-shaded aesthetic over an attempt to downgrade the visuals for Quest 3, making it look like a PS2 title.

Fortunately, the original gameplay is great. The mission stories give new players a guided route to enjoy taking out their target, while the various challenges and methods become easier the more you play each level. Pulling off a clever kill, like leading your target into an accidental death, feels spectacular, and getting the 'Silent Assassin' pop up at the end feels rewarding.

Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded also feels fun when things inevitably go wrong, quickly snowballing from an effortless kill to a VR Call of Duty as you enter gunfights and chase down your target. Being spotted and hunted isn't the end of your assassination, but it offers an interesting and very challenging way of finishing the kill.

This is also where Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded delivers a slightly different experience to the original World of Assassination VR Mode. Unlike before, the Quest 3 version lets dual-wield your items or weapons. Throwing a coin to distract a guard with the fiber wire equipped in your other hand feels natural, and besides a few issues that I'll get into, makes it difficult to return to my save on the PC VR version of Hitman.

There are also two slots in your wrists for storing items, which you can quickly change using the inventory interface. You won't find a single chest slot like the other version, with quick access to your necessary equipment whenever circumstances arise.

That said, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded doesn't do enough to change the gameplay from the PC version. Of course, you can now physically move your hands to climb poles or ladders. However, throwing items at enemies is just a button press, vaulting is the same, and weapons reloading... well, you get the picture. They're just simple button presses that take you out of the atmosphere and ruin the feeling of embodying Agent 47.

Paired with the disappointing visuals, you have an experience that feels underwhelming. Whenever I manage to engross myself into the world of Hitman, something takes me out of it. Whether it's the aforementioned black windows or dated visuals, or if it's some of the drawbacks kept from the Hitman's original VR mode, I'm never fully enjoying the experience at hand, and that's a real shame.

There are certainly moments where things feel incredible. Having guards walk up to you as they attempt to arrest you before pulling out a quick shot with your silenced pistol and successfully hiding the body feels exhilarating, but bugs and other issues quickly ruin it. A patch is planned for next week but as someone who was very excited when XR Games revealed Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded, it's quite disappointing.

Speaking of disappointment, it's a shame that most of the flatscreen version's post-launch content isn't here. The Freelancer mode offers a roguelike experience that seems to be made for VR, but it's not in Reloaded. Nor are any of the previous two games' levels or any of the side missions. It's just the base Hitman 3 levels and that's it, so don't expect Ambrose Island either.

I wish more effort was poured into making changes for virtual reality. Instead, it's too faithful to the original experience, making it truly hard to recommend for fans or newcomers alike. If you've played Hitman WoA VR, there's little reason to pick up Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded, and for newcomers, I'd heavily recommend just playing the flatscreen version of the trilogy. Of course, it's great that it's available on a standalone headset, but various gameplay and visual-related issues make it difficult to enjoy.

Hitman 3 VR Reloaded - Final Verdict

Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded is a very faithful recreation of the VR mode found in World of Assassination, to the point that it holds back what should've been an impressive entry into Quest 3's growing library of exclusives. Visual issues, flatscreen-style gameplay, and distracting bugs assassinate what could've been a great Hitman experience in VR.

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