Literally; those are two completely opposite scenarios, and it’s been clear from the beginning which one is actually happening.
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Hitman is awesome.
Now Hitman players have been pretty consistent in a belief that Hitman is inconsistent in its inconsistency, and consistent in its consistency, and this is not to overstate how consistent or inconsistent this statement appears to be.
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Can you clarify, please? 
Is it normal in Freelancer, alerted or not, when found trespassing to immediately go into combat? I have yet to complete even one full campaign. I understand that there are gamers out there who can handle all kinds of challenges. I am not. I play Hitman because I’ve been a fan since the first one and I didn’t want to give up. I realize being in the obvious minority, this is falling on deaf ears. I was hoping to find other people who also feel as though maybe having an option for fans of the franchise who aren’t overly skilled to also feel a sense of accomplishment. But then, appealing to gamers who would spend more time and money will always outweigh the wants of people who don’t. From a business standpoint it makes a lot of sense.
I mean, there’s already a ‘casual’ mode in the Campaign for those who’d like to play at lower difficulty settings; as for ETs and Freelancer, there isn’t, but for ETs, one can always watch walkthroughs by other players (which are typically posted either here or on YT).
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I already resort casual in regular gameplay. Freelancer and ET are for gamers looking for more of a challenge. If I have to be constantly watching how other people accomplish something, then what’s the point? I can do all kinds of things based on instructions. I want something I can figure out on my own.
I am really not sure that IOI designed ET as challenge. Maybe the original idea was to make a some challenge, but most of them is debatable.
Look, for example, at Joanne Bayswater. It is like one shot sniper challenge. The Drop was also a relatively easy, because IOI made a lot of opportunities around Berlin how to kill him. Most of people ignore that anyway and kill him as quickly possible.
Which leads to a question if ET are meaningless content or not? Arcade seems works better at this point.
The main problem of ET is replayability. Most of Hitman content is replayable if someone make a mistake. ET not, so it is more stresfull and also there is a pressure of time and score. Which is for me most problematic part of Hitman - scoring system.
I really don’t seem to understand; you’re complaining about “there being no place for casual gamers in the world of assassination anymore” while playing gamemodes that, in your own words, “are for gamers looking for more of a challenge.”?
Also, I’d say WoA is fairly uncomplicated to get into; there are quite a few tricks that one only picks up from experience/ watching others’ experiences, but knowing the basics from the tutorial and observing the environment around you will typically allow you to finish missions without much hitches.
The most surefire ways of learning the game is via old-fashioned trial and error (which takes a little time), or by watching others play the game.
While that’s true, it completely removes why I used to enjoy playing this game. Watching other people who have already solved the puzzle and then following their example doesn’t give me a sense of accomplishment. All it teaches me is how to follow instructions. I tried (past tense) Freelancer and ET, realized, although I want to be able to figure them out, I just can’t. The thing closest to a happy medium for me is playing the sane old regular destinations on casual. It’s just frustrating having to resort to that, when better gameplay is out there, it’s too hard to be fun for me.
ETs and Freelancer don’t necessarily offer ““better”” gameplay than the Campaign, they’re just different; even then, only Freelancer can be argued to offer a different paradigm as compared to the Campaign. ETs are more or less similar to standard missions in that there’s a clearly delineated, unchanging set of objectives that you need to fulfil.
Everyone only learns via trial and error, and there are techniques like Alt+F4 and closing the game in Task Manager that allow you to re-attempt ETs/Freelancer, even after you’ve completed an objective.
Edit- I’m not entirely sure if the above-mentioned methods work for Freelancer, but I do know that they work for ETs.
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I’m on Ps4. At this point I just play Hitman when I’m in the mood to easily choose how to play. Guns out or stealth. When it gets too difficult, it removes that choice. I end up nervously camping in a dumpster hoping I don’t get 100 guards raising my lead level to the point of me becoming more bullet than agent. My original point was more about no matter how systematically careful I play, someone always seems to see what I’m doing. Then every guard on the map runs over and then that’s it. Even on casual. That is why I am not enjoiyng Hitman anymore. For every new advancement to make the game better, it seems it comes at the price of pushing old ganers out.
It’s wild, getting seen through walls just never happens to me. A handful times over the years maybe. But the way people talk about it, you’d think it’s a gamebreaking part of WOA. Maybe I just know the AI inconsistencies well enough to not let myself encounter it.
I’d bet some of this sentiment also comes from players who did something they know was kind of reckless (from an SA perspective), and they then come here to let their frustration out on the game and protect their ego.
Also, this is the third thread this year that’s like i don’t enjoy Hitman anymore. Maybe it’s ok that there is an expiration date for our enjoyment of a single player game? It had its first entry in 2016.
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In the instance I’m referring to, I repeated, in theory, went through the process of eliminating an ET. Over and over the scenario was perfect for how it would be done. I am a very paranoid player concerning Hitman (These final 3 entries probably made me that way). After all those attempts, I finally went for it. The coast was clear and no one suspected a thing after the kill was made. I got 90% done ditching the body in a freezer and BAM! I see a guard from around a corner and through a wall turn orange. Within seconds I was surrounded and dead. (Just a reminder I play PS4, so a redo wasn’t an option)
My hat goes off to people who have the patience to go through that and just keep trying. One thing I definitely learned, to maintain any level of sanity, was to NEVER compete with hardcore gamers. I made that mistake a long time ago, and had to just let it go. One look at the leaderboards was enough to tell me that. Whether they were cheating or not, when I repeatedly saw entire levels being decimated in under a minute, on a PS4? It just sucks for someone like me because my whole life I have felt like every other person has already crossed the finish line and I’m still at the starting gate.
I will admit when I have been reckless, it cost me my own demise. But on the scarce occasion when I take the time to sit and get everything in place, and still fail? It diminishes the game for me.
I’ve been following Hitman since 2000, not 2016. Maybe I’m just too invested in it for my own good. The sad truth is, “We would rather attract new, more dedicated gamers to the franchise than reward the long-term players who only play casually” is pretty much the direction all companies are going. As I said, relating to business, it makes sense. But as much as I can’t blame a company for needing to make money to survive, there have been many decisions made based on nothing more than greed. Like I said, I hope Bond is better.
Quite frankly, I believe WoA caters quite well to every type of player; despite ETs and Freelancer being at a slightly more elevated difficulty as compared to Casual campaign difficulty, I still wouldn’t call it being targeted towards “dedicated, hardcore gamers” at all.
(Other than Hardcore mode in Freelancer, which is to my knowledge, loathed by most of the playerbase, even the ‘dedicated’ parts.)
If anything, I feel as if newer games tend to be easier to get into as compared to older titles.
If you don’t feel like you’re enjoying Hitman anymore, good for you, you could take a break, or even move on to other titles.
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I’m probably just over-analyizng it. No one likes being kicked to the curb. I guess there never will be a line of games built for people who just want to jump in every now and then.
Freelancer is a lot more challenging than the normal campaign as it requires a lot more patience and planning. I know you’ve mentioned that the WOA games play a lot more differently than the original games, which is true. A bit of friendly advice, play around on all three WOA games on Casual difficulty and get fully familiar with all the game mechanics and with how everything works. Then when you jump back into Freelancer you’ll enjoy it a lot more. When I first started on Freelancer, it took me a while to get used to it 
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I appreciate that, but that is also the heart of my frustration. I no longer have the time to devote to wandering around and learning. I want to spend what little time I can to just having a fun experience. It seems Hitman has become a game that does not allow someone like me to do well, unless I am able to take the time.
I sympathize with you, up to a point. I’m an experienced player, and I still get hit with bullshit. These things happen and they are annoying.
As others have pointed out, in Freelancer and Elusive Targets, you can always force quit, so long as you haven’t died. Just press pause as soon as things go to hell and close the application on your PS4. This isn’t ideal, obviously, but it is a failsafe. Having said that, I’ve blown myself up or electrocuted myself in 3 or 4 ETs, so hey, it happens to the best of us. And also, me.
The main/story mode leaves much more room for error. Freelancer truly embraces the rogue-lite “you WILL die” approach. ETs can be a real pain, but they’ve gotten so much better in design as the years have gone on.
Taking a step back if you’re not enjoying something is a legitimate move. I for example continue to play Starfield even though it sucks. I should take my own advice. It’s good to be honest with oneself about one’s abilities, time commitments, and joy levels. I don’t think saying things like “don’t let the door hit you on the way out” is helpful. This is an inclusive place, but we do also expect you to know to force quit when the AI sees you through a wall.
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Until this thread, I didn’t even know force quitting was an option. That’s part of my point. There is a whole community of knowledge at my fingertips. But because I dont’t bother to be a part of it, I miss out. Determined gaming as a whole requires a certain level of commitment that I just dont have.
I understand that completely. Using Starfield again for comparison, the devs intentionally left a lot of mechanics obtuse so that players would have to discover basic things out on their own. Many people didn’t know you could transfer items to your ship’s inventory until they saw that information online, for example.
ETs in Hitman are particularly unforgiving. Hence the large and vocal faction urging IOI to make these missions permanently playable. The disappointment that comes from failing one and dying is real.
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