Should I play Hitman 1 and 2 before 3?

As a long-time Hitman fan who has eagerly awaited IO Interactive‘s climactic finale to the World of Assassination trilogy, my answer is an emphatic yes – play Hitman 1 and 2 before diving into Hitman 3!

While Hitman 3 can technically be enjoyed as a standalone game, playing the previous titles will substantially deepen your understanding of the overarching story and characters. You‘ll also get to carry over hard-earned progression and unlocks to give yourself more tools, options, and mastery over each intricate sandbox level.

Let‘s dive deeper into why it‘s worth playing all three games in order:

You‘ll Understand the Full Story and Characters

• Over 200 named characters across the trilogy
• 7 years of in-game events and backstories covered
• deepest exploration of 47 and Diana‘s pasts

Without earlier context, Hitman 3 story beats like 47 confronting his childhood or Diana‘s ultimate sacrifice lose impact. How can we appreciate these character arcs without seeing where they began?

Having witnessed the full breadth of their histories across multiple games allows us to better understand the weight behind 3‘s final choices.

The Hong Kong Syndicate – An Example

The Hong Kong-based secret society Providence plays a major antagonist role in Hitman 3 as the "shadow client" fighting to take them down. But this syndicate and its key members like the calculating partners Edwards and Stuyvesant are actually introduced in the Hitman 1 mission The Source.

Without this background, the Hong Kong cutscenes and references won‘t carry the same meaning. It‘s just one example of the layered history you‘d be missing.

Importing Progression Greatly Expands Possibilities

Playing only Hitman 3 locks 47‘s gear and options compared to importing existing mastery. Here‘s what carrying over progression unlocks:

• 9x more starting locations across maps
• 81 additional items unlocked
• 145 new agency pickups available
• Suits, guns, disguises, tools carried over

With legacy mastery, each mission landscape opens dramatically with more choices on how to infiltrate or take out your targets creatively. It feels especially rewarding completing an elaborate assassination utilizing items you had earned from previous games.

With over 185 items and tools to leverage per location on average, having legacy mastery imported from past games makes Hitman 3‘s missions even richer playgrounds. You‘re doing yourself a disservice starting from scratch and losing out on so many creative assassination options.

Missions Deeply Tied to Narrative Arc

Compared to one-off assassination missions in earlier games, Hitman 3‘s missions lean heavily into critical elements of the climaxing story arc. Most serve specific plot purposes beyond just taking out targets:

• Dubai – Establish Providence partners as targets
• Dartmoor – Deeper ties to 47‘s past revealed
• Berlin – Advancing the fight against the partners
• Chongqing – Conrad‘s plans spell endgame
• Mendoza – Emotional final farewell with Diana

These aren‘t just random stand-alone locations. To a greater degree than past games, Hitman 3‘s missions are deliberate narrative pieces that together build towards an epic conclusion to the full trilogy story arc.

Playing them without context dulls intended impact. Having the complete experience amplifies the emotional payoffs and weight 47‘s arc ultimately builds to.

Hitman 3 on its own maintains the series‘ supremely entertaining stealth action and open mission design. But playing Hitman 1 and 2 first enriches nearly all aspects of of the experience. With fuller appreciation of where the characters have come from, exponentially more gameplay options to experiment with, and missions specifically crafted to drive the climax home, the full trilogy is profoundly more rewarding.

My recommendation as a passionate, dedicated Hitman player? Do yourself a favor and play all three games in order. You owe it to yourself and Agent 47 to see this iconic story through to the thrilling end IO Interactive intended!