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With the new James Bond game coming out soon, I decided to head back to the Hitman games, IOI's previous masterpiece. For clarity, I love the recent Hitman trilogy, (the games since bundled and bolstered in the World of Assassination set), but I hadn't really dipped into them since wrapping up a few elusive targets in the wake of Hitman 3. But recently my trigger finger began to itch, and 007 First Light got me thinking that it was time to dip back into Agent 47's world of flung wrenches and rat-poison wine glasses.
It's good to be ba– wait, what the hell is the "Freelancer" game mode? Is that new? I vaguely remember something about that, but I don't recall seeing much fanfare around it. I suppose I should take a glance at whatever it is, see if it's anything really significant. And oh look, suddenly it's 12 hours later and my girlfriend has made peace with the fact that I'm going to die on our couch. Folks, I think IOI casually made one of the best roguelikes in the last decade, and then decided that they didn't want to be all braggy about it. If this isn't implemented in some way at least in First Light, it'll be a baffling travesty.
The Guy Who Shoved Me
For context, Freelancer Mode is a procedurally-generated take on Hitman's levels in which 47 must complete a series of randomized kills for cash in all the established levels, with optional side objectives that provide even more money if you dare. 20 bucks if you kill this schmoe from Big Oil who's holidaying in Sapienza, but the client will up it to 40 if you find a way to do it involving fire.
And hey, while you're at it, intel confirms a locked safe across the map guarded by hired goons, and we'll add a bonus on your paycheck if you can give one of those goons an emetic and make them shit themselves, because… Look, it's a roguelike, OK?
Regardless, it's fantastic. You don't have immediate access to all the tools you earned in the main game, and instead find random items and weapons, as well as buying from dealers mid-mission, forcing you to improvise with what you have, as well as build up an arsenal of tools and firearms back in your safehouse. I was a sucker for the linear story missions in the core games, but I can't deny that having to think on the fly is always where Hitman's at its most exciting.
The Man With the Golden Preorder Bonus
007 First Light looks fun from what we've seen so far, and I do trust IOI deeply with this sort of thing, but I worry that they'll be tempted to lean all "cinematic" for the sake of emulating the films. Sure, great Bond games have been built on that principle (Nightfire, anybody?), but I don't think that's where the strengths of IOI specifically are.
From what we've seen at time of writing, it looks like there's some degree of elasticity in how you handle individual encounters, trying to schmooze or brawl your way past enemies. But the stated existence of no-kill areas and arena-like design in places makes me uneasy that there's going to be a certain amount of railroading.
Think of it like this: everybody interpreted the final train sequence from Hitman 3 as a kind of proof-of-concept for a James Bond title, but that's also nobody's favorite mission from the series, is it? It's certainly not bad, but it's no Sapienza, no Berlin nightclub, no Whittleton Creek. These beloved missions themselves were a reaction and pulling-back from the more linear, cinematic sequences presented in Hitman Absolution, which audiences didn't take to.
If 007 First Light carries that baton forward, it might well end up as a 2026 GOTY contender.
Fortunately, the existence of linear James Bond gameplay doesn't necessarily negate the existence of open-ended James Bond gameplay. After all, Hitman was the same way, right? You started off with those story missions that led you on a little guided tour of the level, and then you could come back for a more freeform experience, swinging around a katana or hipfiring shotguns in a flamingo mascot costume.
I'm certainly happy with IOI presenting both experiences in First Light, but I think the freedom to experiment, improvise, fuck-up, and ultimately claw back success from the brink is what makes their games so rich and rewarding. Freelancer Mode is the perfect encapsulation of that idea, and if 007 First Light carries that baton forward, it might well end up as a 2026 GOTY contender.
