Analysing Hitman 3's Broken VR Mode

[@WritingOnGames]

Hey! Hope you enjoyed this surprise video on Hitman VR. Thank you all so much for watching, especially those who generously pledged to the Patreon. After this, as outlined in my update video a couple of weeks back (and thanks to your unbelievably generous support on Patreon), I'll be focusing mainly on a bigger, weirder project in the vein of that cheese drum kit video-I've already started researching and I'm very excited about it! That said, there are a couple of big-name releases this month so I may end up doing something with one or two of them as well, depending on time constraints with this bigger piece. If that sounds cool to you, if you enjoy the videos and would like to directly help make their production more sustainable, consider heading to patreon.com/writingongames and pledging only what you're comfortable with. Doing so gets you access to things like early, completely ad-free video uploads as well as new patron-exclusive Q&As and commentaries on older videos! I simply would not be able to do all of this without your support. Thank you so much!

[@hewhoisnamed9050]

The passion you have for hitman is what got me to try the series in the first place. Really makes me want to invite the buddies over to play this together. Haven't had a game like that in a long time that wasn't smash

[@WritingOnGames]

Playing Hitman with pals is a remarkably good time.

[@hewhoisnamed9050]

@@WritingOnGames I got it lined up for tomorrow 😤😤

[@alatusedits]

​@@hewhoisnamed9050how did it go

[@hewhoisnamed9050]

@alatusedits we had a great time. Watching my buddy stumble his way into trouble was super fun. Though I do have to stifle the urge to tell him how to get through certain spots.

[@ProfPenguin]

The potential is there and oh god did they miss the mark by 47 meters or so.

[@mattmas6628]

I cant express how hilarious the hitman VR videos are. so meme-worthy

[@WoddCar]

Hitman 3 non vr: kinda serious story and gameplay about the backstory and missions of agent 47 Hitman 3 vr: hehe dead body do wacky thing

[@genever_lover]

the frantic flailing and sheer horror when you drop your weapons on the ground and then rush to pick it up again before the janky ai notices the screwup is so hysterically funny. it would make for such a fabulous movie, this moronic hitman who bumbles and bungles his way through the job before finally making the hit.

[@chrisakaschulbus4903]

"it would make for such a fabulous movie" I think it's very well possible to have a movie that portrays 47 as he is ingame. With some comedic timing, slapstick and his usual monotone voice this could be great.

[@rjfaber1991]

So Hitman by means of Johnny English, then?

[@chrisakaschulbus4903]

@@rjfaber1991 Maybe, been a long time since i saw it... but i remember mostly enjoying it ^^

[@ogkdr]

It's fine as a free addition to the game. Had they tried selling it, the story would've been different. But as it is, it's free and optional fun for everyone who wants some proper VR slapstick comedy to happen. :D

[@magnusamann6806]

Actually weird they didn't try to sell it extra, with the confusing pricing ioi is pulling off again...

[@ruolbu]

i think, had this been some mod, some diy community hack, even with all these issues, people would have loved it. in the end, it's expectations, and people had hoped for a half life alyx but as hitman. that was never gonna happen. no it's not good. yes it's worth experiencing.

[@Errol246]

@@ruolbu Honestly, it only had to be half as good as Half-Life Alyx to be universally loved.

[@ruolbu]

@@Errol246 true, but that's still an impossible order for a game that's that big and complex and was build entirely without VR in mind. NimSony had a good description. The game appears to run essentially still the very same game mode that everyone knows from flat mode. They just hacked this VR camera into the world that can trigger all the same systems and mechanics they built years ago. And I guess they had to reuse everything that was already present, because newly developing proper VR mechanics would break EVERYTHING. The concept of Hitman is obviously compatible with VR. But the specific software they coded up over the last decade is probably entirely incompatible with VR or more specifically the current standards for VR everyone expects.

[@Errol246]

@@ruolbu Impossible? Nah, I don't think so. It feels like they did the absolute minimum amount of work required to just be able to say "hey our game has VR now". Would it have been hard to get it ready in time for the release last month? Maybe, but I still think they could have done more to make it function better. In any case, they had the absolute audacity to say that it would hit the benchmark for PCVR games, knowing full well that it wouldn't in the state it's released in. I believe they can and should improve the VR mode.

[@finn7453]

I like it and I can get past it all APART from the lack of a left-handed mode. How could there be no left-handed model, that is just insane in 2022

[@AnimatedStoriesWorldwide]

YES! Hitman IS a funny game! finally someone sees it! I have SOSA on all the missions but running around Hokkaido throwing coconuts at doctors is not something I can do in any other games! And when you start to cheese exploits you can really make comedy happen organically.

[@startrekmike]

And this is why there desperately needs to be a serious conversation in the larger gaming scene about what VR means to existing (non-VR) franchises and why doing a VR version of something won't always work. Hitman as a series is built from the ground up to be a third person stealth experience and it is because of that core design philosophy that Hitman VR comes off as more of a comedy/twitch streamer fodder experience and not much else. It is a novelty but it is also a warning that not every franchise has room for VR and not every franchise should be arbitrarily expected to make the VR jump just because some people are VERY invested in VR as a concept (or a cultish way of life among some subset of the VR community).

[@chrisakaschulbus4903]

I think superhot VR and the vivecraft mod both are amazing. I haven't played SH or minecraft flat ever since. I wish i could say the same about hitman.

[@deathchimp2]

The VR mod for RE2 is better than it has any right to be and I would have told you that wouldn't translate.

[@startrekmike]

@@deathchimp2 RE2 is pretty barebones in the mechanical sense. As we saw with RE7, it is such a barebones formula that translating it into first person doesn't really create friction with any of the gameplay systems. In contrast, Hitman has always had a hard time dealing with first person translations. Some of the older titles (Blood Money comes to mind) had a first person camera but it wasn't really workable because so much of the game's underlying level design and mechanics were based around having a wide-angle third person view of your surroundings. It is possible to make a VR Hitman game but considering the trends we have been seeing in VR game design over the years, it is likely that such a thing would look like a Hitman game but it wouldn't really feel like one because so much would need to change to make the first person VR perspective and gameplay expectations work.

[@partizan182]

I must be the only one who fell in love with the VR version a year ago, have put 100+ hours into the trilogy in PSVR, I literally havent seen any of the Hitman 3 maps in non-VR form and I dont care to. Looking at the footage the PCVR controls seem terrible, I guess this is where the dual shock was a blessing in disguise (you expected everything to be button based). So sad to see the PCVR port in such a bad shape, when this thing clicks its something very special.

[@WritingOnGames]

Yeah, it's interesting how the console controller setup would actually have been slightly more intuitive in this instance. I would say that the Hitman 3 maps are almost all amazing outside of VR as well so I'd recommend checking them out!

[@huwguyver4208]

Yeah the PSVR version of Hitman is dope, although they should have got rid of motion controls altogether if they weren't going to do it properly- Resident Evil 7 is a good example of VR Dualshock controls done right. But I had an amazing time with it overall, and the PSVR version was what finally got me to appreciate the Hitman series.

[@pollos6631]

@@WritingOnGames I have played both versions (psvr and pcvr/quest 2 - I got it on psvr at launch). The dualshock is far more intuitive in hitman and you can tell that it was made for it. It feels absolutely terrible on the quest 2 because it hardly follows the conventions of other PCVR games, and the controls are the least intuitive thing ever. On psvr, you're at least essentially just using the base game controls. I actually don't find it playable on pcvr, while I was still able to enjoy it on the PSVR.

[@partizan182]

@@huwguyver4208 Same here, ironically I always struggled with the controls in the normal version, found them sluggish (didn't even finish Hitman 2 back in the day), it just all clicked in VR after an hour or so. I didn't mind some of the motion stuff: throwing was actually better for me than fiddling with the thumbstick, shooting was fine-ish (don't do it much anyways), punching was accurate enough. That said, I hate the chest-orb inventory and the sniper controls can die in hell.

[@AnimatedStoriesWorldwide]

This looks horrendous to play, but, God, is it fun to watch. The struggle is real and now it's on VR!

[@Axwage]

Thank you for this and all your videos. Your analyses for my favorite game(s) have been a great pleasure to watch.

[@ManleyReviews]

6:38 as subtle as a smart fridge that downloaded a hitman update.

[@joshlyman7059]

Am I the only one who didn't give a single fuck about the steam release stuff? It was a new launch, it was 60eur like so many other even older games, I knew I like it and I bought it, simple as that

[@ilvcf]

IOI missed the boat on this one

[@0uttaS1TE]

6:48 "Now, kiss!"

[@magma5267]

Hitman VR truly allowed me to express what Agent 47 is to me, When i used to play Hitman on Flatscreen i would always play out the levels in a linear stealthy way always really following what the devs wanted me to do with the VR version i say fuck that and start punching everyone as i put all the force with my real life arms and hands too, Honestly pressing a button to strangle someone really doesnt compare with just going up to the person you wanna strangle, realizing that its not just a linear action and you can take this enemy down in any way, And then proceeding to punch or slap them to sleep. Thats what makes VR special for me

[@huwguyver4208]

I can't comment on the PCVR version, but the PSVR version of Hitman is one of my favourite games of all time, and what finally got me into the Hitman series. The controls are still really bad for doing certain things (specifically iron sights shooting and unarmed combat) but the throwing is really good thanks to solid auto-aim. Whacking unsuspecting people in the head with wrenches in VR never gets old. But control issues aside I found it to be pretty bug-free and I highly recommend it to any PSVR owners out there. A lot of those levels really come alive in VR- (I was especially impressed with the Miami and Berlin levels) and I found there to be a lot more tension when playing this way. (Note that you have to own Hitman 3 to be able to play any of the trilogy in VR).

[@kpr2]

Late to the party, I know, but I just started playing in VR... Man, if you think the Oculus controllers are bad, you should check out the sadistic layout for the HTC Vive wands. Argh!!! Same controls that move forward also open your inventory, and if that menu is open then that button drops your the highlighted inventory item. I've gotten in so much trouble just trying to walk & accidentally dropping weapons at the feet of guards. Oh, and you have to use the right grip to drag & the right "up" button to dump a body which is awkward as hell & frequently requires me to drop my left controller & 2-hand the right one to get it to work. Madness.

[@JenTheTG]

Not the essay I expected but I guess that goes full circle for the point of it in the first place

[@diyer1190]

using VD to connect VR mode and it get error:The initialization of the VR device failed because of the following error:Unable to connect to service: NotFound:Server endpoint not found,please help

[@zoestraw6444]

Hitman is my favorite game series and VR is one of my biggest passions but... I want to wait until they have time to refine this mode.

[@lafayettefrancois178]

Jank (affectionate) Have yet to see a VR game where the nervous hand-waggling is more appropriate within the context of the game itself, absolutely hilarious

[@burritosforlater]

imo, it's serviceable on psvr-janky, but not on the level of pcvr. I haven't actually run into any bugs of this sort. I do wish there were more settings in vr mode to alleviate some of the awkwardness. the option to make Agent 47's torso more transparent would make a big difference. floating hands alone would probably be better even

[@lrgogo1517]

Sometimes 47's arms flail fast enough that it feels like I'm watching the video at 1.5 speed and it's so uncanny

[@foxglove65]

The dancing on the catwalk 🤣🤣🤣

[@GizouGitai]

The footage from 7:26 had my laughing to hard I was crying hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@sammydepresso]

I personally like the funny physic qwerks when they aren’t game breaking.

[@themarcshark]

aw man i was looking foward to this for the quest. Ill pass now.

[@WritingOnGames]

I mean, if you have Hitman 3 anyway, then the VR stuff is bundled in-treat it as the novelty it is and you'll have a decent enough time. Plus, it's attached to Hitman 3, which happens to be incredible.

[@3chambergamer]

I thank ACG everyday for recommending your channel

[@WritingOnGames]

I thank him too!

[@decapnz]

i've just spent quite some time in a state of frustrated retardation trying to get hitman VR working with my g2 using the epic games launcher. no chance, unfortunately. i had one arm in game, and it seemed to have a serious case of cramp. talk about killing my day.. finding this video gave me such a laugh. i feel so much better now. thank you for this

[@aphexpesuto]

Maybe it's my danish-ness showing, but I love the Lego comparison, since both Lego and IO Interactive are danish.

[@faris_diz]

Love Hitman, would like to try VR mode

[@smallknuckles5708]

It's shit

[@chrisakaschulbus4903]

My biggest problem is the movement. Whenever i don't allign with 47 ingame, the movement just goes in a random direction. Why doesn't his body follow my headset like every other VR game??

[@ParmMannREBORN]

This is a wild video, I didn't even know Hitman 3 had a VR mode

[@huwguyver4208]

PSVR has had it for about a year now, PCVR has just arrived recently.

[@TheFatBastid]

So it is Surgeon Simulator: hitman.

[@Plumtree1187]

I’m trying to figure out if this game is worth checking out as a fan of VR, because ive seen many people let their expectations and disappointment in what you CANT do ruin the fun of what you can do. For example when sniper elite vr came out, i played it, and I thought it was fantastic. Controls were a little weird until you get comfortable but otherwise its a fun vr stealth shooter with varied short - medium length missions that I felt was a step in the right direction for VR - and because the controls were made for multiple vr controllers nobody else did. Despite the solid levels, good ai, excellent sound design, fun gunfights and decent visuals, its considered a “bad vr game”. If these games aren’t immediately accessible to people they tend to put people off. If i could do it in real life, it should be just as easy in vr right? Not usually the case, and games with less intuitive solutions are often shunned for this. Meanwhile half life alyx is a great introduction for vr, inventory controls are intuitive and easy to pick up, everything can be explained in a second. But that comes with the limitations of that kind of control scheme. Not only that, but the ai in Alyx is boring, gunfights are never exciting, and the weapon interaction is disappointingly limited. But HL:A gets its praise for its exciting introduction, excellent visuals, and its a game made by valve, so it comes with a rabid fanbase. Most importantly is its commitment to keeping you immersed, theres rarely any ui elements that take you out of it, and thats great, but I don’t really find it to be all that fun. So what I’m saying is don’t need Hitman VR to keep me immersed, I don’t need to instantly be able to do every action seamlessly and effortlessly, and I don’t need to feel like every random npc is their own REAL person with a personality and opinions, because I don’t expect the game to be like that. I just need to know like, is it fun? Does the shooting feel good at all? Is peeking around corners as cover exciting? The thought of breaking in somewhere for a hit, even if not as a perfect assassin and more of like a straight up shooter is exciting to me because few vr games offer that kind of thing, and I cant decide if this game would be worth 60$ going in with a positive mindset and being open to learn how this particular vr game works and controls.

[@GenomeSoldierDK]

This video made me realise that this mode is so bad that it becomes good. I didn't experiment much with it myself because I got really motion sick, but damn some of the clips you got are absolutely hilarious! Thanks for sharing! I might try it out again while sitting in a chair if that is possible :)

[@fhjunior6183]

Thanks for the vid

[@CallMeM0DZ]

ngl, this looks hilarious to play. Kinda wish I had a VR set to give it a go.

[@notqunt1671]

Given it’s a free mode I really don’t understand the hate outside of just the baffling fact they decided to smash this into WoA to begin with. It’s a nightmare but it’s fun enough for it’s price

[@controllerplayer2091]

Yes

[@Azazel5021]

is it still always online?

[@KoelJ]

How is the vr now? Better?

[@jamessmells123]

Definitely the most enjoyable dumb footage that’s been used for a while!!!!! Keep it up!

[@TMWriting]

you actually can’t use a DualSense controller with PSVR, because it doesn’t have the lightbar that the camera requires to track it.

[@DavidGossettMusic]

I love the Hitman Trilogy, I love VR games, and I still enjoyed a lot of Hitman 3 VR even with the jank. There are a few problems that just completely break the game for me though. 1. On my PC the run button bugs out after 5 minutes and I have to play at a snails pace. I can't remap the button, the same side trigger on the controller works fine in other games, and there just seems to be no way of fixing it. 2. Nonfatal melee weapons are effectively useless. Throwables are already janky, but melee knockouts don't work. 3. Guns consistenly aim higher than the sight shows. Also the hand tracking seems delayed sometimes, so quick movement between targets often has innacurate tracking. If I can easily pop headshots on feral ghouls in Fallout 4 VR with some sort of accuracy, I should be able to pop 3 guys standing 2 meters away in Hitman 3 VR. 4. The inventory system completely breaks while crouched. Not sure why, it just does.

[@mrmonkeyman79]

Wait do people actually tell you you're playing it wrong? Isn't the whole point of hitman that you can play like James Bond or Johnny English and still have a great time? I played this on the psvr, and while we're more forgiving of its flaws as the PS4 can't match the performance of a pc and the controllers were always going to be a limiting factor, I was a little taken aback at how janky some of the gestures were. Then I realised much as you did that this isn't the mode to be silent assassining, this is a mode to embrace the chaos and just have fun with the mechanics.

[@foxyboxi9028]

I saw Hitman 3 and wanted to buy the $70 game for VR. But I was met with shitty issues such as graphics, errors, and the most frustrating, vr controllers didn't work at all.

[@gladiatorscoops4907]

They should have called Hitman VR - "Hitman Cerebral Palsy Edition".

[@diveninenewton]

if hitman has good mod support it shoudlnt be a big pain to fix vr mode but as a semi professional unity "developer" im sad that they weretn able to make this vr mode work it kind of reminds me of payday 2 vr it has similar jankyness but other thn the obvius failures hitman vr is a very early vr game and it wasnt common sense how to make certain things work likethrowing physics

[@jpkdesignz]

I don't need VR - I only want an optional first-person perspective for the base game.

[@archmagusofevil]

Well no wonder people in the comments get angry at you playing Hitman. You're having fun instead of trying to make the numbers go up. Video games are about making your number go up. Quit having fun.

[@HxH2011DRA]

Feed Algorithm feed! (Excellent writing as always!)

[@trawelgrad5471]

Yeah the game is kind of bugggy or not ported good to VR at a gameplay mechanics perspective - but it's still a hella lot of fun. you just have to think of it like you are not the ultimate killer but a totally psychopath or Johnny English (miste bean 007) and the NPCs are just totally dump and a too xD

[@qwellen7521]

So it’s a murder mr bean simulator?

[@joshualee2458]

Hitman: Octodad

[@PlebNC]

So what you're saying is Hitman 3 VR is to Hitman 3 like Johnny English is to James Bond?

[@WritingOnGames]

That is an extremely good way to put it.

[@PlebNC]

@@WritingOnGames I got the idea as the footage showed you rubbing your hands over the NPC's faces and thought "this moment feels very Mr Bean to me".

[@nottoday9182]

I was going to get these games, then I saw a dev attempting to explain how to buy and play the game... how tone deaf is the publisher? It's all bad.

[@xgulaschannax3927]

one thing i hate the most is, there is no left hand mode... Like wtf. literally every vr game supports left hand mode or is at least two handed but noooo. Sry that im left handed i guess. seems to be my fault.

[@nguyenbaohuy8638]

i still wish they would make the VR using PCVR as a baseline instead of PSVR on PS4. what a waste of potential !

[@Adderall019]

At least its really funny to play

[@Weenee-be9jh]

You know hitman vr won vr game of the year of 2022…wut!!!

[@danhectic5629]

huh. on PSVR it's not perfect & has a fair bit of jank- but it's mostly fine & quite enjoyable (i am pretty easy to please). * shrug *

[@nomercy8989]

This looks so bad it's good.

[@davidgribble6313]

This comment is to help this channel in the algorithm.

[@NuStiuFrate]

One of the greatest games made by one of the scummiest company.

[@ogkdr]

How so?

[@NuStiuFrate]

@@ogkdr Glad you asked. 1. They have an always online system in place for a singleplayer game. You CAN play offline but you won't unlock anything, it's like a demo mode. They have no statement regarding what will happen to the 3 games once they shut down their servers but my money is on them not giving a shit. 2. Time limited content in the form of Elusive Targets. A mechanic that prays on fear of missing out in...again, a singleplayer game. 3. Epic exclusive for one year on the 3rd game in the trilogy. 4. Game launching on steam one year later with 0% discount. Released just so they can't discount on Lunar sale either. 5. Demo tied to their online garbage systems, meaning even to get the demo for the 3rd game you need to wait in a queue. 6. You can only transfer your progress from previous games once. The whole point of having an IO account is to unite anything but somehow we only have the technology to transfer it once and through out of game website. 7. The fact that you need a literal flow chart to figure out which versions of the game to buy. I think i have ranted enough and i doubt anyone will read this far anyway.

[@TheNobleFive]

I love the level design in this series, but it's been the same game with the same animations and zero additional mechanics (aside from level gimmicks) three times in a row. Or two at least. I skipped the third after a review said there was nothing new.

[@DroosterH]

I have to ask though, what *do* you want added, mechanics-wise? It's fine saying "they added nothing new", but what would you have them actually add? They pretty much nailed the mechanics six years ago and gave them a slight polish each subsequent entry. The mechanics compliment the level design and vice versa.

[@industrialvibes3064]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

[@DroosterH]

@Novem's Natural Roll Whilst I do get what you mean by 'more open-ended, less scripted' I do believe they toed the line really well between linear (rigid) and something like Ghost Recon (so open ended that you would lean on the sniper rifle like a crutch). It forced you to experiment. Do agree with the progression and always online shite though.

[@TheNobleFive]

@@industrialvibes3064 Not broken, just got boring for me. Also, the sequels never felt worth 60 dollars.

[@TheNobleFive]

@@DroosterH Mainly more ways to interact with the populations. Like getting captured, Creating/Making use of allies. Populations fighting each other. I don't know, I just got bored of the sneak/disguise/throw brick at guard loop. I know the levels give you unique things to do in between that, but I got bored of what you have to do to get to those moments. Combat mechanics felt janky and too cheesable to me. I avoided it only because of how unsatisfying it was. Also not a fan of how stiff and unchanged the animations are for everyone, but maybe that's intentional since he's 47.

[@Ice-Climber]

Is it really a bad VR game when it's pretty much the same as every VR game?

[@WMan37]

But it really isn't though, most VR games that come out nowadays have a lot of the basic stuff like throwing objects at enemies and manual reloading downpat to the point that you can do them as easily as you can irl.

[@WritingOnGames]

It... really isn't.

[@Plumtree1187]

spoken like someone who hasnt played many if any vr games :/

[@tobyjimmy]

#1

[@Splarkszter]

This needs maturation, they paid to incompetent cheap unexperienced devs. We need to point out what the bad things corpos do and make them do the things aa how they need to be done.

[@Plumtree1187]

I mean, considering its a free addition to an already complete game, what part of this is “a bad thing corpos do” as you put it lol At its absolute worst, its a forgettable attempt for a big dev to dip their toes into the vr market, and even then plenty of people seem enjoy the game for the vr addition alone. I’m happy they went for it, and I would’ve never considered playing it as much without the VR addition, so congrats IOI, it worked.