I have been thinking about it, and it seems that Hitman is the only franchise that has kept its missions to a single protagonist, though the franchise has been running for over 20 years. Now I don’t remember any other big franchise, where you play as only character throughout the entire series.
God of War? Nope. In the latest game Ragnarok, around 40-50 percent of the game, you play as Atreus
Witcher series? This game came close, but you play as Ciri for an hour or two in Witcher 3.
Batman Arkham series? Nope, you get to play as Batman’s sidekicks and Catwoman multiple times.
Uncharted games? Nope, you get to play as Nathan’s wife and brother as well. And Uncharted Lost Legacy has an entirely new protagonist.
Sherlock Holmes? I think Sherlock Holmes would not count as a big franchise, and the games are all unrelated to one another. And if I remember correctly, you get to play as Watson too, in certain missions.
Is there any game I am missing?
Regardless, I think it is respectable that despite most games experimenting with various protagonists, IO has always stood by its own protagonist they have named the franchise after.
Today, most games can’t even stick to one protagonist in one game, and we are here talking about a franchise of 20-25 years.
I would almost consider Diana to be very much a protagonist, but yeah. She’s never been playable. In the WoA games, 47 has been able to manipulate other NPCs into doing the dirty work, but that’s all scripted anyway (usually).
I say “usually” since it’s possible to have guards fire at you and the bullet impacts result in triggering accident related kills.
IOI could have some very interesting content if they had some playable missions from Lucas Grey’s point of view. But that would require new areas we’ve never played before. Yet, we all know how that would end.
Oh yeah!.. Well, I suppose you’re not counting the Sniper Assassin missions where we had Stone and Knight. But those 2 would be the ONLY other “playable characters” we’ve had in any Hitman game.
Serious Sam
Cyberpunk! One protagonist only, but a customizable one and it’s not a franchise yet.
Then we would also have Mass Effect - every player plays as a different version, but we are all Shepard. Always.
Oh oh oh I got one, almost got one: Tomb Raider! Only in one title (Angel of Darkness), you switch to another one, and TR VI is a game we don’t talk about. Other then that, 100% Lara Croft.
Good question, tho. You have a point there. GTA changes the protagonist and V even has three playable ones. Assassin’t Creed also changes protagonists and lets you chose in some titles. Red Dead changes the Character as well. So does Resident Evil.
I got another: Star Wars Fallen Order and the sequel!
Tomb Raider: Underworld has the doppelganger… But that could just be (a) DLC. Also, I think the XB360 version had some exclusive Doppelganger levels.
Kurtis Trent
There were also the top down/side perspective games like LC and the Guardian of the Light, and the other one where you could play as… Whoever it was. He could throw a magic spear.
Oh yeah right, that Monk guy.
But to be fair, spin-offs should not count for being, well, spin-offs, and often change things.
I also got: The Metro series, … and … … …?
Debateable: Doom. I think the Doom 3 marine is not the Slayer, so eh
Switching characters: Alan Wake, Max Payne, The Last of Us. Even F.E.A.R. and Halo! Kane & Lynch also switches between the games.
I read the topic and I was certain there must be others, but 10 minutes later I can’t think of any. The closest I can think of is Adol in Ys series, but yeah he has party members you can switch to in some of his games.
Irrelevant. The initial post to the topic doesn’t state anything about canonicity or mainline games. It simply states that Hitman is the only big franchise with a solo protagonist. I just demonstrated how that is untrue.
Hitman: Sniper Challenge? The prequel game to Absolution from 2012? It Absolutely is canon (Pun semi-intended).
Hitman Sniper 1? The mobile game from like 2014? Most likely, yes. Doesn’t really contradict anything so it can fit. The zombie mode isn’t canon though, for obvious reasons.
HITMAN: Sniper Assassin? Aka the Himmelstein, Hantu Port and Siberia levels from HITMAN 2? Yes, 100%, but only the versions of those missions where 47 killed the targets, NOT the ones where Knight and Stone did it.
HITMAN Sniper 2: The Shadows? The mobile game from the 2020s where Agent 47 has dissappeared and the other agents have to pick some targets up under Diana? I don’t think that it is. Doesn’t fit the timeline of the main games. It’s most likely an alternate timeline type of thing or something. A part of the Hitman Multiverse if you will.
Yeah, the mobile games aren’t. But since HITMAN: Sniper Assassin is bonus content within WoA it kinda does count as a part of the main eight games. Sniper Challenge is a prequel spin-off thing so you can see it as a part of Absolution if you want.
But those 2 would be the ONLY other “playable characters” we’ve had in any Hitman game.
