Suicides in Hitman

Hitman General
1

Today, in the context of the batch of featured contracts in Chongqing, I discovered there’s yet another NPC who commits suicide in this trilogy.

I’m probably missing some, but it appears to be quite a reoccurring theme in the game:

  • Jeff
  • An NPC in Landslide after an interaction between his girlfriend and Abiatti
  • A gardener in Hokkaido
  • Hector Delgado
  • Jeremy Bolt, the facility guard in Chonqqing
  • Alexa Carlysle

I had missed most of those suicides because most of them were pretty out of the way, and I had only vaguely heard about them. Some of them were presented in an absurd way, like the Landslide NPC simply jumping from a low pier into the water, rendering it quite comical.

But, and I don’t want to seem like a little snowflake, and I know this is just a video game, and it is for Mature audiences who know this game heavily involves death and killing, still I have to tell you that I was utterly shocked when I saw Alexa Carlysle jump off her balcony, and really felt quite uneasy for some time afterwards. Thinking about the scene actually still makes my skin crawl. The fact it came so unexpectedly definitely contributed to that.

I know there’s something paradoxical about my shock, as I was preparing to push her off that same balcony, but the feeling of shock isn’t rational, it was quite emotional.

This is the first in-game suicide I witnessed after following a pretty common mission story, so I’m assuming everyone saw it. And the uneasy feeling led me to the question: did they go too far in including these kinds of deaths in a videogame?

I don’t want to go on a witch hunt against IO, I know they are good people with the best intentions, but suicide and suicidal thoughts are a very severe issue. The gaming community, with an important subgroup of escapists, counts many people coping with heavy stuff in its ranks.

Shouldn’t these suicides be framed better? I’m probably reading too much into it, but we see people jump to their deaths because of romantic or professional issues. I’m not sure this is a healthy message. In Belgium, when a suicide is depicted in fiction, usually there is mention of a hotline where people can turn to if they have dark thoughts. Could IO perhaps include something similar? Or am I blowing things out of proportion?

Whatever the case, I think at the very least in a few years from now these graphic depictions of suicides in the game won’t age very well.

18 Likes
2

You probably meant The Curator (mortician with built-in mood adjustment chip)?
Some gardener guy dies pretty much out of players’ eyes and not much know/seen this.
I think it’s better include suicides that can be witnessed, huh?

5 Likes
3

I’ve never really thought about it that deeply. I’ve had people in my life commit suicide and it’s an issue I take very seriously. But I suppose I separate out pieces of fiction where

a) A character just happens to kill themselves. Without much or any introspection into their feelings or deeper life (which I think a lot of Hitman suicides are)

And

b) When you truly get to see the actual anguish and pain a person suffers as they choose to end their own life. Properly lingering on the depth of their pain

And I reckon the Alexa death was so shocking and disturbing to you was because she was a more fully realised character. So she scratched the surface of that b) category. She was a strong intelligent woman with her whole world, that she’d spent her life protecting, crumbling around her

But do I think IO went too far? No. At the end of the day it’s a game about death

18 Likes
4

Sorry to hear that

10 Likes
5

I didn’t know about that one, but given 47 is tampering with a device in his head, it feels more like a (literal) poisoning of the mind, and thus murder rather than suicide.

I’m also very sorry to hear that. When creating this topic I realised this would be a delicate issue. I myself can count my blessings and never encountered it in my immediate surroundings, so I hope I’m not being insensitive by bringing it up in this way.

Probably because of not having encountered it in real life (luckily) the Alexa-scene ratlled me perhaps more than others. I remember experiencing something similar when I watched the first season of House of Cards, and that was a staged suicide. But in those moments, it’s always reassuring to have these links to hotlines and websites.

3 Likes
6

I’ve never knew Alexa Carlysle commits suicide until I saw this thread. In any case characters depicting in suicide can be dependable on what context the story is or how much emotional impact they give off to sympathise with. The story of Alexa is due to that we’re not supposed to feel bad for them because they’re involved with Providence. It’s alleviated in weight that we should have no moral sympathy for corporate overlords than to feel sorry that they killed themselves over an epiphany of sorts. I can tell where you’re coming from when you ask that IOI should frame suicide better - there’s a lot of tension to that whoever felt more mightier in the end.

A good theory that comes to mind for me is her fate for suicide is by jumping - which is commonly thrown around as a trope for inevitable death. People could cheat death in all sorts of ways but once you fall you’re left with nothing behind. This is in no means a solid fact and merely a theory as I’m always interested to see how people view death for human instincts.

2 Likes
7

Ok, but I myself never seen any gardener kills himself in Hokkaido.
I only read someone said it’s the thing.
And I think if there weren’t a bug with non-target kill at some time in Hokkaido, this scene would’ve left unnoticed and even unacknowledged.

As far as I know, this suicide is possible to witness (and know about) exclusively by using some noclip or freecamera mods/software

1 Like
8

I think you could put Alma Reynard on that list as she walks into the ocean and kills herself if she get scared enough - but the point is taken. Suicide is an important issue generally. I don’t think the game trivializes it any more than it trivializes any other method of death though. The game itself makes killing (as do a lot of games) a desired thing. To convince a target to kill themselves instead seems like part of 47’s toolkit. I’m not as sure about the other, non-target suicides though. Jeremy Bolt isn’t a target. He didn’t do anything wrong. He’s just an innocent person who gets his life destroyed - all to get to someone else. That may be crossing a line for some people. I know there’s a warning at the front of the game so maybe IOI should add a suicide mention there as well.

9 Likes
10

Im the opposite side of the fence here… i was literally on the edge of my seat going “Shes gonna jump! Holy shit she’s actually gonna jump!”. Tbh, I took great pleasure watching her realise what a c*$t she was, before doing my job for me :rofl:

I can understand your sentiment, however this is a murder based video game. I tried the new GTA Heist the other day and someone fed a man to a tiger lol but it just served as a reminder that GTA is a griity, cold game of violence. Not that it needs to change.

Same applies with HITMAN, and the world of contract killing.

3 Likes
11

It is in Patient Zero Hokkaido, around 10-15s after the start a gardener jumps off the Mountain Pass. It is a weird thing because normally you will never see it, but it justifies why guards are roaming the path to look for him.

2 Likes
12

And this is my point

1 Like
13

I wonder if Alma’s suicide was intentional or unintentional

1 Like
14

Around the time HITMAN 3 launched and until very recently I was really suicidal. When I saw Alexa do it I was torn on how to feel because it felt close to home but also the physics in the game are so comical so it took some edge off.

There should probably be a disclaimer or content warning when you boot up the game maybe. I can imagine some people would really benefit from it.

11 Likes
15

Intentional. She even has a drowning animation as she slowly steps into the water.

2 Likes
17

Meh, it’s a video game.

I have to admit that Bolt’s suicide is a little dark. Just watching him sit… then go toward the railing and think only to sit back down. I guess the third time’s the charm :frowning:

But for a game (contracts mode) that lets you murder NPCs, suicide is nothing.

5 Likes
18

I think this is definitely the way to go - and make it very visible. People play games for all sorts of reasons but none of them are to relive a traumatic experience with 0 warning.

It’s easy enough to say things like “it’s just a game” or “there’s way worse” but often people who have issues with murder will just… not play a game about murder. You can tell from the cover what this game is about. But you can’t tell that it’s going to have suicide until it happens

E: And I’m very sorry to hear that, hopefully you’re feeling better and have a good support network around you

12 Likes
20

Isn’t there a redacted challenge for Hector’s suicide too? Never completed it so it’s pretty obscure, but I think you are rewarded for it. Anyway, the main point of this thread wasn’t really to have a full list of all the suicides, I meant it more as a means of illustrating it occurred quite regularly.

I’m of two minds to contact IO directly and discreetly about this, but I’m not sure I’m the right spokesperson for this cause because I don’t have any in-depth knowledge or experience when it comes to this issue. Just made me feel uncomfortable, which is in itself pretty thin.

2 Likes
21

I know only one about making him to sniff some coke

1 Like
23

I’m not sure getting into the technicalities of the issue will lead to a resolution. Whether there be one high-profile suicide or seven, whether you need to do two actions or nine in order for an NPC to do it, whether narratively speaking it’s “justified” or might be satisfying to some doesn’t really change much in my view. To give you an example:

In Jeremy Bolt’s case you only need to do one thing, and that’s fire him. And yes, many people didn’t know about this because most don’t bother to follow his tracks once he gets fired, but it’s still in the game.
And now it’s the main and only strategy to get Silent Assassin-ranking on a highly visible featured contract. This goes to show that even the instances of suicide that are pretty hidden away can suddenly spring into view, and have an impact on certain audiences not primed to see it. Easter Egg Hunts tend to become high profile too once they’ve been fully discovered.

Your first point of it being “justified” and “satisfying” is a matter of perspective. I found it disconcerting. This isn’t an instance of right or wrong, of course, but I just can’t help to think if that Alexa suicide had such an impact on me, who has no (or only minor and largely unacknowledged) mental health issues, what it could do to people who do. I think giving these people a fair warning in one form or the other could be helpful.

5 Likes
25

In my opinion, a warning on booting the game would be sufficient. The game already deals with killing and anyone who plays it know that death is part of it. A warning that certain actions taken by the player may result in NPCs taking their own lives would be enough. It’s one thing to kill others in a fictional universe. It’s another to unexpectedly see those others kill themselves. My daughter has suffered from mental issues for her entire life and there is no telling what can trigger her some days. There is no way to avoid the trigger altogether other than taking out the mechanic entirely but knowing that it’s there is at least something to keep people alerted to it.

5 Likes