Whether you're a Hitman veteran or a more recent convert who just got their start in this World of Assassination, the new roguelite Freelancer mode is gonna force feed you a slice of humble pie and make you feel like a fake gamer. That's a good thing--this mode is, in essence, the endgame for this rebooted Hitman trilogy. Short of actual new maps, Hitman Freelancer is a great way to tie this experience off because it's extremely tough in some brand-new ways, and the overall structure is very different from what we're used to thanks to the new framework.

Before, each mission was completely self-contained. Nothing you did in one mission would matter in the next. But in Freelancer, death has consequences: you lose everything you had in your inventory, and half of the money you've been earning for jobs. Not to mention you might have to start over from scratch.

But succeeding at Hitman Freelancer is not impossible, and the learning curve isn't as steep as it may seem at first. So much of it is just about getting a handle on what's important and what isn't. That would take hours if you just dive in head first without guidance--a delightful experience, and the way we went about procuring our understanding of this mode, but not everybody has the time.