Developer: IO Interactive, Feral Interactive
Publisher: Feral Interactive
Platform: Switch, Android, iOS
Tested on: Switch
Hitman: Blood Money – Reprisal – Review
Given the timing of our Hitman: Blood Money – Reprisal review, you’d be forgiven for thinking that we’re looking at the Switch port of the game. However, we’re actually looking at the mobile version, which was released in late November of 2023. Admittedly, we’re a bit late with this review -blame it on our backlog- but as this is a port of a game that debuted back in 2006, we’re sure that some leeway is acceptable. The new port comes with new bells and whistles but it’s still a game that was created for consoles rather than as a mobile title from the ground up. How does Blood Money fare for a modern audience? And is it a good port?
Story
Before we get into the story, we should probably point out that Blood Money is the fourth entry in the original Hitman series. While the events depicted here can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone story, there is an overarching framework in play here and you’ll get more out of it if you at least know Agent 47’s backstory. Granted, there have been different reboots over the years, so the Hitman timeline can get confusing, but if you have basic knowledge of who the character is, you should be able to follow. Blood Money further fleshes out how cloning technology works in the Hitman universe and details a plot where 47 -a clone himself- must prevent the legalization of cloning technology in the United States. The narrative is presented through the eyes of a reporter who is interviewing a former head of the FBI. The stories recalled during the interview are seen as playable flashbacks, where the player takes control of 47 and performs the mission that the interviewee supposedly recalls. It’s a framework that makes sense, as it allows for a mission-based structure while eliminating the need for an open overworld.
Graphics
Developer Feral Interactive’s focus was on making the existing 2006 version of Blood Money playable on mobile devices rather than completely overhauling the game. As such, the visuals are pretty much the same as they were in the original game and don’t even live up to the 2019 remaster. Reprisal does benefit from being played on a smaller screen, as this hides some of the dated textures and muddy visuals. We tried casting the game to a TV and blowing things up to a bigger screen definitely showed that the game doesn’t hold up very well in terms of visuals. It looks passable, but an extra coat of paint would have been welcome here. The good news is that most devices should be able to play Reprisal without a hitch, as the game isn’t visually taxing.
Sound
Given the cinematic nature of the game’s storytelling, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the voice acting is top-notch, even if it’s unchanged from the 2006 release. Given how dated the in-game models look, the voice actors play an important part in conveying character emotions. Reprisal’s soundtrack is great too, as are the sound effects. We highly recommend playing this one with headphones, as you are going to want to have sound on at all times, but playing Reprisal on your commute might get you some odd or annoyed looks from strangers as they hear your gunshots and swears coming from your phone.
Gameplay
If you’ve ever played the original Blood Money, or any Hitman game for that matter, you already know what to expect in terms of gameplay. Taking control of Agent 47, you’re tasked with taking on objective-based missions that tie into Reprisal’s overarching story. Armed with a particular set of skills and limited tools including a selection of guns and your trusty fiber wire, you’ll sneak around bad guy hideouts, take out targets discreetly, and try to avoid suspicion. Reprisal is a straightforward take on the genre, although this has more to do with the game’s age than anything else. New features like a minimap and a variety of difficulty levels ensure that Reprisal accommodates all kinds of players, whether they’re new to the Hitman universe or are revisiting Blood Money for nostalgia’s sake. Additionally, some gameplay elements that were introduced in later Hitman games, like the Instinct Mode from Absolution, are implemented here. These don’t necessarily make the game easier but they do feel like a logical addition to retrofit into the game.
Our biggest concern about Reprisal was how enjoyable it would be to play the game on a mobile device. After all, the game was developed nearly two decades ago, for the then-current PS2 and Xbox 360. Fortunately, Feral Interactive did a stellar job, perfectly capturing the mission-based stealth gameplay that made the original Blood Money so beloved in the first place, and adding QoL features that make Reprisal a joy to play on a touch screen. All this without watering down the game too: this is a full-fledged port of the classic mission-based stealth game. It’s not without its hiccups, but as you’ll find out, some of these are an inherent part of the way the original game was designed. Perhaps the most egregious example of this is that the game isn’t built around pick-up-and-play gameplay. It takes a while for Reprisal to boot up, and the missions are fairly lengthy affairs.
It did take us a while to get used to Reprisal’s controls and camera, and early on we even ran into issues where on-screen prompts didn’t correspond to the actions we wanted to take. As we spent more time, we got used to how Reprisal worked, however, and once things clicked, the game quickly cemented itself as one of the best mobile ports we’ve had the pleasure of playing. That said, enemy AI isn’t always up to snuff and we’ve seen the occasional physics mishap as well, in particular as we tried to drag and hide a dead body. We also ran into syncing issues with the game’s server, and even the occasional crash. As is usually the case with mobile games, your experience may vary depending on which device you play on. We gave Reprisal a spin on a Motorola G71 5G, which isn’t a device that is officially supported. As such, some of the issues mentioned above might be the result of playing the game on a platform that isn’t necessarily optimized to run the game. These shouldn’t detract from the overall enjoyment that Reprisal offers, and although the game isn’t perfect, it’s still an excellent port.
Conclusion
While Reprisal isn’t without its flaws, we were still pleasantly surprised to see just how well the game holds up under modern scrutiny. The additional QoL features do a lot of heavy lifting here, of course, so much of the praise for this port should be directed at Feral Interactive rather than original developer IO Interactive. The game shows its age in some areas, like visuals and enemy AI, but overall, Blood Money remains incredibly enjoyable. Most of our observations should apply to the Switch port as well, although we’re not sure whether optimized controller support and the ability to play on a TV natively is worth the Switch tax: Blood Money – Reprisal costs twice as much on Nintendo’s hybrid system than it does on your phone or tablet.
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