Topology of Hitman levels
All levels1 in the World of Assassination Trilogy fall roughly into one of three categories I've just made up.
Onion
Pictured: Sapienza.2
What defines the topology of a Hitman level is mainly two things:
- How the level divides into zones with different security conditions, mainly defined by which areas can be traversed openly with which disguises
- How those zones relate to one another spatially.
In an onion, the player starts on the outside looking in and gradually peels each layer to get to the high-security central area. The central 'fortress' features numerous ways in, encouraging the player to poke and prod at the edges.
Ur-example: Sapienza, of course, with its progression from the city streets, to the mansion grounds, to the ultra-secure underground lab.
Best example: Mendoza, more on the strength of its intricate storytelling than anything. In an appropriate series-ending showstopper, it features an extended scripted sequence with four NPCs – a target, 47's secret compatriot, and two characters that may or may not be replaced by 47 in disguise – and multiple possible outcomes.
Most deviant specimen: Dartmoor. One of two levels in the trilogy where 47's suit is not a valid disguise anywhere. It still features a concentric progression of zones: The mansion exterior, then the first floor, then the top floor and the target's office.
Other examples: Mendoza.
Festival
Pictured: Bangkok
The default construction for a Hitman level: The player is on the inside looking out, in a crowded public event that is surrounded by a connected 'backstage'. By inviting the player to cross back through the central public area in different disguises, these levels suggest different opportunities to the player as they explore.
Ur-example: Paris; the fashion show is a central spine that touches all of the different secure areas: The palace basement, the backstage of the fashion show, and the upstairs auction area.
Best example: Berlin. Huge, complex, and the setting of one of the most tense setpieces in the trilogy.
Most deviant example: New York. The only level in the trilogy that takes place entirely indoors, with a small public area crowded with enforcers; once 47 commits to infiltrating the backstage, he isn't really fully safe in most of the level.
Other examples: Bangkok, Hokkaido, Isle of Sgáil, Dubai.
Archipelago
Pictured: Marrakesh
A public area connects several independent fortresses, each one with its own system of disguises and security. Usually, each fortress has its own target.
Ur-example: Marrakesh sets out all the ingredients that would be seen again in other iterations: Two targets ensconced into their respectives fortresses, a secret connection between them, and the ability to draw them out of their hidey holes to avoid having to infiltrate one or both locations.
Best example: Chongqing, with its brilliant verticality and unimpeachable vibes.
Most deviant example: Whittleton Creek; six little mini-fortresses, each one based on the same cookie-cutter suburban house floorplan but populated with completely different security conditions ranging from a public mini-festival, to totally empty, to a claustrophobic rat's nest of enforcers.
Other examples: Haven Island, Ambrose Island, Santa Fortuna, Colorado, Mumbai.
Excluding nonstandard tutorial or story sequence levels: ICA Facility, Hawke's Bay, Carpathian Mountains.↩
All maps here taken from hitmaps.com.↩