The Hitman bonus campaign, Patient Zero, picks up right after the events of the main story. This overlooked series of missions refreshes the maps you’ve already played in the main campaign, going to show just how versatile IO Interactive’s assassination sandboxes are. It sees Agent 47 attempting to track down the source of the Nabazov virus, a dangerous bioweapon developed by an enigmatic doomsday cult.
From the shores of southern Italy to the rain-lashed streets of Hong Kong, 47’s outings have been as diverse as they are devastating. Still, I keep coming back to one mission in particular: Patient Zero in which a simple subversion of the Hitman formula makes for one of the most memorable jobs of all. Even now, on the other end of the entire trilogy, it remains unique – despite the comparatively rapid pace of completion that its premise demands.
The mission is simple: to stop a genetically engineered virus from spreading by infiltrating a medical facility and assassinating a would-be bioterrorist and a rogue researcher. It sounds easy enough, however, soon after setting foot within the snow-covered grounds of GAMA, Hokkaido’s private hospital, it is revealed that the disease has started spreading among staff. An “Infected” counter appears in the top-left of the screen and sits next to your standard assassination objectives. The longer you take, the more you see this number shoot up.
Out of patients
Jumping from person to person, there’s no downtime – anyone who is infected becomes a new target right away, meaning you’re forced to quickly adapt your strategy to counter this escalating threat. To make matters worse, without a hazmat suit, Agent 47 himself is vulnerable to infection, rendering most of the map’s easily accessible disguises useless. Sorry 47, but there’s no fooling a virus with a fake moustache or a waiter outfit.
The bald assassin has simply never faced a threat quite like it. It’s like a game of cat-and-mouse in which the virus always has the upper hand. In a series centred on meticulous planning, it’s thrilling to suddenly be placed head-to-head with such a dynamic opponent, and one that’s extremely hard to predict.
This new challenge encourages you to embrace gear that would otherwise go unused, with assault rifles and room-clearing explosives becoming almost essential to keep things under control. It’s also one of the only real chances you’re given to run wild with the full arsenal and, as the last mission in a tricky campaign, a seriously cathartic send-off.
As for the rest of the campaign, it’s good and offers some interesting subversions of the franchise’s established mechanics but doesn’t quite reach the same heights. Colorado’s The Vector sees Agent 47 trading slick movement for a sniper’s nest; Bangkok’s The Source sees the usual hotel taken over by a cult that has Agent 47 play around with their belief systems; and Sapienza’s The Author revolves around a fun tongue-in-cheek fan convention for a popular novelist who has become indoctrinated into the cult’s virus-worshipping beliefs.
Still, they all nicely lay the groundwork for Patient Zero, where it all goes well and truly off the rails in an explosive and fast-paced fashion that no other Hitman mission has ever managed to replicate. Make sure you don’t skip this one, even if the campaign menu is a little tricky to find.
A version of this article originally appeared in PLAY Magazine – which printed its final issue in 2024. Want to get sneaky with it? Then check out our list of the best stealth games! We won’t tell.