After completing the story, gaining all badges and achievements, my time was 39.5 hours - so that's good value for my money there. Though who am I kidding - if you played the main game and liked it - you're probably not reading this review, as you're too busy throwing money at your screen.
I almost squealed with delight when I saw the announcement email and I couldn't click fast enough on that link... ...only to be greeted by all the DRM reviews, which are a testament that even on GOG this is the same old corporate bullshit always-online-singleplayer that hit every other online store 5 years ago. No, having even basic progression locked behind online connection is NOT DRM-FREE! Also, the fact that we're getting Hitman 1 only now, when Hitman 3 is already out there is a testament that greedy IO just dumped -literally- this POS on GOG without a modicum of effort, just to squeeze the last few cent of revenue from those gullible enough - or mislead by GOG- to buy it. But more than anything, this is a 1-star review for the GOG team, which used to stand for its principles - the same principles that won over most of the people here and made GOG more than just a spec on the online store map. This betrayal stings even worse that IO's predictable cash grab.
...which, going by the STEAM discussion page - which I only found all too late, unfortunately- is extremely common, six years old and one the developers apparently couldn't have been bothered to fix even for their GOG launch (despite pushing a "solution patch" on an individual per-player-request basis through Steam some five years ago, jeez!!) In short, DO NOT replay missions from your Hideout until you complete the game, or you can get stuck, unable to proceed with the game. What an effin' disgrace...
What in the flying faen!! I have only purchased a *virgin* Banner Saga 3 copy, without those pointless Arena and Survival extensions - and they STILL stick their stupid POS "achievements" (which, by looking them up are just INSANE grind!!) from those modes on my game page!!! Now, I don't *know* that the developers are intentionally trying to exploit my OCD and pressure me into purchasing a bunch of extraneous yoxcrap, but it certainly *feels* that way. I'm honestly baffled GOG allows such a practice (though I guess they do get a share from any players that succumb to this coercion).
Apparently, this game has a complete character cut out for the GOG release. (He's a smoker and you unlock him by smoking cigarettes. Cigarettes seem to have been removed from the game.) Reading through the forum for this game - this also makes at least the "Collect all characters" achievement impossible to get, which is just sloppy and offensive for GOG customers. Whatever the reasons for this decision, it's not an approach that should be encouraged.
The game is a legitimate piece of art in visuals and story (and as with all art - your tastes may significantly diverge from my rating). HOWEVER, I'm taking away a full point for the absurd decision that the Alternate Ending is only unlocked through completeing Nightmare Mode - which only saves between chapters (the pain of which you'll recognise while playing through Normal Mode) and more to the point - *recquires you to complete the game in ONE sitting!!!*. Lack of checkpoints during Nightmare may please some "hardcore" gamers, but denying you a save when you need to leave your computer spits in the face of any customer. If you have no life, or if you're not a completionist - feel free to see this as a 5 Star rating. The Alternate Ending is definitely the one better fitting the story, but I would recommend watching it on YouTube (only after you complete Mormal Mode, of course).
