Like the first game in the World of Assassination trilogy, Hitman 2 is a stealth game that is played from a third-person perspective.[2] The player assumes control of Agent 47, an assassin whose targets are scattered across the world. The game has eight missions that are set in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand; Miami, Florida; a village in Colombia; the slums of Mumbai, India; a suburb of Vermont called Whittleton Creek; and a fictional North Atlantic island called Sgàil, set within the Northern Isles of Scotland. The game's downloadable content (DLC) includes new locations: a bank in New York City and a resort in the Maldives.[3] Players can download all of the chapters from Hitman if the player owns it or has bought the content as DLC, which incorporates the gameplay changes added to Hitman 2 and allows Hitman to be played within Hitman 2's improved engine.[4] Each of the game's locations is a sandbox-type environment players can explore. Players must understand the layout of the maps to identify infiltration opportunities.[5]
Gameplay structure and design are largely similar to those of Hitman (2016). Players use variety of firearms and gadgets to eliminate their targets, and can use stealth tactics because Agent 47 is fragile in combat.[6][7] The bodies of dead targets must be hidden to avoid detection.[8] Alternatively, players can explore each location and eavesdrop on conversations to discover "missions stories", which are scripted mission sequences that help Agent 47 identify the location and routine of targets, and uncover unconventional infiltrations or opportunities to kill.[9][10] Kills can be disguised as accidental deaths.[11] Access to some areas of the game is restricted; players must gain access by obtaining a disguise either by incapacitating non-playable characters (NPCs) or by finding it somewhere in the map.[12] Agent 47 can use "Instinct mode" to identify the targets' locations.[13]