Hitman: Absolution vs Hitman: Blood Money
Hitman: Absolution is an action-adventure strategy game from Nixxes Software (2012) while Hitman: Blood Money is an action-adventure puzzle game from Feral Interactive (2006).
Quick answer: Hitman: Blood Money has the higher Metacritic, 82 to 79.
What each one is
Hitman: Absolution is filed under Action-Adventure and Strategy. In contrast, Hitman: Blood Money under Action-Adventure and Puzzle.
The original assassin is back! Betrayed by the Agency and hunted by the police, Agent 47 finds himself pursuing redemption in a corrupt and twisted world.
Money Talks. Silence Pays. Prepare to Make a Killing. When assassins from Agent 47's contract agency, The ICA, are eliminated in a series of hits, it seems a larger, more powerful agency has entered the fray. Sensing he may be a target, 47 travels to America, and prepares to make a killing.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Genetically engineered assassin Agent 47 ( David Bateson ) is ordered by the International Contract Agency (ICA), to kill his former handler Diana Burnwood ( Marsha Thomason ), who, for unknown reasons, has betrayed the organisation: Diana had sabotaged funding streams and publicized their database, bringing undesired attention to the Agency. 47 infiltrates Diana's Chicago estate and reluctantly shoots her in the bathroom. Whilst bleeding out, Diana… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical response Reception Hitman: Absolution received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic . Positive reviews came from GamesRadar+ , calling it "one of the strongest entries in the series to date", and Game Informer , who wrote that "devising a strategy, using the environment and disguises to your advantage, and leaving before anyone knows you're there are the hallmarks of a perfect hit, and Absolution proves Agent… (Wikipedia)
Plot
American journalist Rick Henderson visits the estate of former FBI Director Alexander Leland "Jack" Cayne, in hopes of interviewing him over an attack at the White House and his career. However, Cayne reveals that the interview was merely a ruse, and that Rick was invited to be given the details concerning a far greater story – the full details on cloned hitman Agent 47 , a contract killer for the International Contract Agency (ICA), a global organisation… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Hitman: Blood Money reviews Hitman: Blood Money received "generally positive" reviews across all platforms, according to review aggregator platform Metacritic . GameSpot reported that diverse imaginative scenarios gave Blood Money its share of violent thrills. GameSpy praised the expanded scope and options in each level, such as making kills appear as accidents, saying the game provided enough choices to encourage players to play missions multiple… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Hitman: Absolution | Hitman: Blood Money | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.9/10 | 7.9/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (93%, 63,506) | Very Positive (94%, 16,066) |
| Critic aggregate | 79/100 | 82/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $9.99 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2012 | 2006 |
| Developer | Nixxes Software | Feral Interactive |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Hitman: Absolution vs Hitman: Blood Money, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Hitman: AbsolutionAction-adventure strategy gameHitman: Blood MoneyAction-adventure puzzle gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Hitman: AbsolutionStealth, Action, Third PersonHitman: Blood MoneyStealth, Action, AssassinThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Hitman: AbsolutionScore 7.9 · 93% on Steam · 79 criticHitman: Blood MoneyScore 7.9 · 94% on Steam · 82 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Hitman: Absolution63,506 reviewsHitman: Blood Money16,066 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Hitman: Absolution$19.99Hitman: Blood Money ✓$9.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Hitman: AbsolutionPlayableHitman: Blood MoneyPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Hitman: Blood Money takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueHitman: Absolution and Hitman: Blood Money on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Mobile
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The cheaper right now: Hitman: Blood Money ($9.99)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Hitman: Absolution (63,506 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
StealthActionThird PersonAssassinSingleplayerThird-Person ShooterShooterReplay Value
Where they differ
TacticalMultiplayerStory RichCinematicAdventureScore Attack
ClassicGreat SoundtrackCult ClassicSandboxPuzzleFirst-Person
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Hitman: Absolution is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Hitman: Blood Money is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Hitman: Absolution and 0 for Hitman: Blood Money. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Hitman: Absolution and Hitman: Blood Money in scope?
Hitman: Absolution has drawn 63,506 Steam reviews. Hitman: Blood Money has drawn 16,066 Steam reviews.
Is Hitman: Absolution or Hitman: Blood Money better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Hitman: Absolution rates higher (7.9 to 7.9). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Hitman: Absolution or Hitman: Blood Money?
Hitman: Blood Money is cheaper right now at $9.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Hitman: Absolution or Hitman: Blood Money?
Hitman: Blood Money has the higher Metacritic, 82 to 79. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.