And the answer was “A lot more than Absolution did, that’s for sure.” To make sure, I spent a while this weekend playing and replaying the very first mission, a training simulation on a yacht. One target. In and out. Not too difficult.
You have a bevy of options though. Beyond following the tutorial—stealth in, pistol kill, stealth out—you can fake an accident with a life raft, poison the man, disguise yourself as the man your target’s supposed to meet up with, or pick up the assault rifle and see how far you get.
But don’t take my word for it. Or, at least, don’t take my written word for it. We’ve gone ahead and captured three different runs through the opening mission, each taking a slightly different tack. Provided the rest of Hitman has this level of sandbox to it, we may be looking at a proper Blood Money successor. Finally.