20 Best Video Games Of The Generation (So Far)
17. Hitman
At this point, I have to hope most people have got over the whole "episodic release" model being a bad thing, as IO Interactive's latest Hitman is one for the ages. Doing away with a focus on story or linearity (the thing that completely killed Hitman: Absolution), you're instead given a string of expanses loaded with more experimentation than a Will It Blend? livestream.
To this day, IO have maintained a steady community around HITMAN, releasing 'live targets' for players to hunt down atop the more structured main missions. These latter goals are the most open-ended, as it's here you can tell why they decided to stagger the game's release to 'one map per month':
They're freakin' HUGE.
Each is a miniature world of A.I. scripts, hundreds of items to play around with, disguises to don, kill opportunities to investigate and much more. Somehow, IO managed to author a dark sense of humour, too - one that encourages you to opt for the big red button next to the dangling guillotine, rather than just opting for another 'boring' strangulation.
As a sheer feat of game design, coding and scale, HITMAN is the new standard for any developer claiming they've designed 'a world of possibility'.