Hitman PS4 beta impressions: seven things we learned from Agent 47’s new outing

Agent 47 briefly emerged from the shadows in the form of a PS4 beta over the weekend.

While this prologue of the bald assassin’s new outing didn't give everything away, it still offered plenty of clues as to how Hitman is shaping up ahead of release next month.

Here's seven things we learned about the game.

1) Batman... is that you?

From the moment 47's dropped off in the middle of snow-covered facility up a mountain, the entire thing has a real Batman Begins-meets-Jason Bourne feel to it.

The training is lavish in scale and design – seeing 47 infiltrate dummy Soviet bases and assassinating a millionaire playboy on a boat.

Along the way, a tutorial guides players through deadly techniques, from poisoning drinks to avoiding detection. The transition from rough mercenary to silent assassin takes just a couple of hours.

2) If looks could kill

Hitman’s visuals are noticeably sharper than in Hitman: Absolution, even in beta form – even though it's still powered by the same Glacier engine.

The levels are packed full of other characters, and unlike in previous games nearly all of them interact with Agent 47 in some way. Walk too close and they'll get annoyed. Barge into a toilet and they'll ask you to leave. For the first time, the crowd behaves like real people, rather than gormless robots.

3) Blood money

Absolution more than earned its 18 rating with lashings of blood, bullet wounds and graphic kills. However, the new Hitman – although violent – seems to have dialled down the claret. Arterial spray has now been replaced by an effect that resembles red 'powder'.

While there appear to be no decals (visible wounds) when enemies take bullet damage, garrotting enemies is still eye-wincingly realistic.

4) It's good to talk

In the two levels featured in the beta, 47 is able to go up and chat with the targets, allowing players to lead them away into a quiet room for a silent kill.

It's an approach supplemented by a brilliant 'blend in' mechanic, which helps put 47's disguises to good use - for example, if a millionaire playboy knows all of his boat staff and is able to spot an imposter, Agent 47 can pretend to work behind the bar, keeping his head down with the target in plain sight.

5) Instinct shooting is back to basics

Many complained that Absolution felt like an action game – especially as it let the player mark multiple foes and then execute slow-motion kills. The beta doesn’t feature any of that – Instinct mode is stripped back to a means of simply identifying the target and potential objects of interest.

The temptation to unload a full magazine into a crowd is lessened significantly – the enemies are incredibly sharp, so doing that is sure-fire way to get yourself killed.

6) Have we met before?

Instead of everyone realising that 47 definitely isn't one of their ‘posse’, the beta shows off a clever mechanic. If 47 disguises himself as an engineer, for example, not all of the engineers will become suspicious – only one or two, identified by a white circle above their head.

It's a genius move and much more effective than the 'turn head away' system used in Absolution, which usually failed miserably anyway.