Hitman: World of Assassination

IO Interactive's 2021 release is less a game than a consolidation: the three-part World of Assassination trilogy merged into one launcher, so Paris, Sapienza, Mumbai, Miami, Mendoza and the rest all sit in a single progression with shared unlocks. What that gives you is around twenty of the most replayable levels ever built. Each is a clockwork social space - guards, routines, disguises, overheard conversations - and each target has dozens of documented ways to go, from a fibre-wire in a bathroom to an accident with a chandelier to impersonating a fashion photographer for twenty minutes first. Mission Stories guide first-timers through elaborate routes, then Contracts and Elusive Targets remove the safety rails. Freelancer, added later, wraps the whole thing in a roguelike campaign with permadeath, planning between missions and no mid-level saves, which is the best thing to happen to the series in years. Instinct and the AI's memory of where it last saw you make each map a puzzle you eventually solve, then optimise.