Hitman GO

Hitman GO turns the Hitman series into a turn-based board game played out on miniature dioramas resembling figurines displayed on a table. Agent 47 and his opponents move along marked points connected by lines, with the player getting one step per turn — and so do the opponents on the board. Sneaking, distracting guards, and precise timing thus replace the action shootouts typical of the series' main installments, without the game losing the characteristic feel of quiet, calculated execution the series is built on and famous for.

Controls are purely touch-based — tapping an adjacent point moves the agent, and items like the garrote wire or disguises are also available, expanding the ways individual puzzles can be solved and offering more than one path to the goal. The visual style with figurines on diorama tables was a refreshing change from the photorealistic main Hitman installments at launch, and showed that even a seriously toned series can work as an elegant, thoughtful tabletop puzzle without losing its identity and atmosphere.

Hitman GO by Square Enix Montréal kicked off the entire “GO” series of games, later followed by Lara Croft GO and Deus Ex GO with the same turn-based principle but different licenses and themes. The game works as a one-time purchase, optionally with additional level packs, without aggressive ads and without the need for further payments to progress through the game, placing it among the genre's fair classics.

Why play it: For Hitman fans and turn-based puzzle players alike, who will appreciate stealthy strategy translated into a thoughtful board-game form.