The PS5 DualSense is generally a big hit with fans and critics, delighting gamers with sensitive haptic feedback and resistant trigger buttons. Of course, the PS5 DualSense controller is only as good as the games that support it, and it looks like we’ll get an ambitious one next month: Hitman 3.
This upcoming action/stealth game will provide a whole arsenal of firearms, each one of which will require slightly different pressure and mechanics on the DualSense.
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This info comes directly from Sony, in a PlayStation Blog post by Travis Barbour, communications manager at Hitman developer IO Interactive. He shared a great deal of info about Hitman 3, which will debut on January 20 for PS4 and PS5 (as well as Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC — although Barbour doesn’t discuss those here). In addition to discussing gameplay and PlayStation VR support, Barbour also gave us an idea of how the PS5 version will handle gunplay.
“All the guns in the game will support adaptive triggers and you’ll feel an authentic sensation with each shot you fire,” he wrote. “Automatic weapons also simulate recoil with every bullet and we’re implementing unique haptic feedback for each weapon that is tied to the distinct sound profile of each weapon. Essentially, we’re emulating what it feels like to fire a specific weapon in the same way we’re replicating how each weapon sounds.”
While detailing every gun would take too long (and would probably spoil a lot of what IO wants players to discover for themselves), Barbour described how a sniper rifle will function. When you press the R2 button down while aiming, a “Focus” effect will slow down the game, giving you time to line up a shot. The R2 button will also reach a tension point and resist your finger. When you’re ready to fire, you press the button down all the way, and it will “click” as the shot goes off.
Implementing this effect with one gun is interesting — implementing it with every gun in the game sounds extremely ambitious, and exactly the kind of thing at which the DualSense excels. Granted, we won’t know how it works in practice until January 20, but it’s good to know that Sony’s new controller is getting game-specific enhancements, even on multiplatform titles.
Beyond that, the blog post discussed Hitman 3’s visual fidelity on the PS5: 4K resolution, 60 fps frame rate and HDR support. PS4 owners will be able to upgrade to the PS5 version for free, and those who buy the PS5 game will also receive a free PS4 version — mostly to facilitate PSVR support.
The specifics of Hitman 3’s VR support are a little complicated, but basically, the PS4 version of the game will support PSVR, letting you play the entire game in virtual reality. You’ll also be able to revisit locations from past Hitman games if you’ve played the last two entries in the series, although Barbour didn’t explain precisely how this works. (You need to own Hitman and Hitman 2 on PS4 – you may need save files as well.)
