I don’t really care as I can still change it 
Unpopular opinion - i absolutely hate the suit-only play style. Disguises and costumes are so integral to the Hitman experience that it makes no sense to me to even attempt to play it suit-only.
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This (at least for me anyway) is partly why I find suit only so enjoyable. Without disguises, you are forced to rely on a lot more of the classic stealth elements like foliage and using cover to your advantage.
I also enjoy the way it forces you to learn the map, its kind of like the final test of each map to make sure you’ve got it down.
Scouting out suit only runs gives you some more insight into areas of the map you otherwise wouldn’t interact with. I remember an example was when I was doing a SASO fiber wire only in Mumbai, and I had to learn the intricacies of the train yard and Rangans tower, more specifically, the pipes, ledges and windows which I had seldom explored before, and mastering them and plotting a route that worked was a very rewarding experience for me personally
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For me, it’s the opposite. When I’m trying to do a map suit only, I tend to stick to only those areas where I’m hidden from sight, by necessity. Hanging ledges, scaling rooftops, skulking in closets, and all of that is fine, but so many of the missions, unique kill opportunities, and (to me) fun of the game is in hiding in plain sight. Hiding on route to a new disguise for me is better than crouching in weeds and waiting for a guard to just turn his back.
I think the beauty of the game is that you can do it both ways. I just cringe whenever I read posts that seem to indicate that SASO is the “ultimate” way to play the game. It’s A way to play, for sure, but it’s not the only one.
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I like to think that there is no “ultimate” way to play hitman. Every way is good. Some are harder some are easier but that doesn’t make one better from the other.
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I don’t like the elitism around SASO but I think some people build it up just because they like to challenge themselves after playing the level dozens of times.
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SASO is Ultra Violence of Hitman games (UV is considereded “gentleman’s way” of playing DOOM and sometimes people who play on lower get shit for it).
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I remember as a kid I would play levels a lot and then I challenged myself by getting silent assassin. It was amazing when I got that.
Now I’m so detached and used to it I have to do extreme stuff to get that same thrill. I’m worried about where I’ll be in like 20 years. Probably playing the games but only allowed to move 1 step every time an NPC talks.
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On the forum at least, SASO started as a curiosity that drove further exploration of the mechanics and pioneering new strategies in Silent Assassin.
While there is still a bunch of people who are weirdly elitist about it - a lot of them got broken by trying to prove themselves by attempting to do SASO runs on Professional difficulty of Absolution.
I still remember some of them demanding the game be “fixed” so they could SASO on Professional without “having to relearn the game like a child”
That delicious irony.
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I’ll give Travis one thing, I absolutely adore his tie. I’d love to own a tie with this pattern.
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His tie gives me Dues Ex Human Revolution vibes.
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I like playing SASO and I like the fact that they new games are so open that it is possible on every map.
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I always liked his hair! The tie not so much though.
About SASO, all I can say is that for me it’s the hardest thing to pull off, especially coupling it with no knockouts. So when I see people managing it I can’t help but show admiration I don’t show to others, and when I can do it myself I feel a bigger sense of accomplishment than when I complete a mission story. IO also actively rewards it and calls it a “mastery” challenge. Is it elitist to point that out? There are many ways to be good at this game (speed, sniping, creativity, SONKO, roleplaying, Silent Assassin) so it’s not a matter of which way of being good at it is better, but just sharing one’s joy in having achieved it. I haven’t seen any elitism of the kind described above. Maybe the moderators beat me to it?
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I saw someone play through Sapienza and Bangkok SASO with no hud/map/instinct AND without touching the right stick. No camera control at all.
Give it 10 years and people will be like “you’re not playing properly if you move your camera.”
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We do generally try to mitigate it, unfortunately there are plenty of other communities that are not as caring. YouTube comments are particularly renown for their odd mix of elitism and terrible standards.
Well, it can’t be worse than the people who used to announce Blood Money was the only “real” Hitman game because of the many options, then claim they always play each level the exact same way every time.
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I deleted the post @TheContractor, didn’t want to be dismissive to their fun.
Only when they’re jerks about it.
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Touché, that’s a good attitude to have 
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I’m glad I started a conversation!
I generally get dismissive of any player who insists that their way to play is the only “real” way to play. Those players who look down their noses at others because they don’t play the same way annoy me. If you want to play with the screen turned off because you’re such a hard-core gamer and need the “challenge”, please be my guest but don’t brag about it, don’t insist that I’m not playing the game correctly, don’t belittle me for not playing that way, and don’t suggest that you are somehow better for playing the game like that.
I think suit-only is the most obvious example but I could probably say that about HUD off, map off, players who insist that SA is the Only way to play the level, etc. I really like the Hitman games. I think that the newest trilogy has made the game accessible to a lot of people who might not have played the originals. The graphics are better, the controls are better, the options are better and the story (gasp!) is better. It’s wonderful, I think, that so many people can play with so many different approaches and everyone has fun doing it.
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Honestly you’re kind of missing out on a lot of the game if you don’t listen to funny NPC dialogue for when you did something wrong.
I’m not going to dictate how others play but I’ve seen plenty of people say they enjoyed it more when they stopped worrying about perfect scores and reloading saves.
There’s just more to it than perfect runs.
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You can say that again. When not doing perfect runs, I play it like it’s a scene from a movie. Witnesses and guards might be collateral damage and things might get messy but if it was something from a movie, it would be more entertaining. If not, just mess with the AI or ragdolls, loved doing this since I first played H2SA 
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