...please ask for a refund.

The game is incomplete in its current state, and you've overpaid for a shareware version. As noted in the store page, Elusive Targets, User Created Missions and Escalation Missions are all locked behind an online requirement.

On top of that, player proression (which unlocks suits, starting points, guns, gadgets and other Hitman paraphernalia) are also locked behind an online requirement. This is not noted in the store page.

In detail: the core of the game, which is, in essence, unlocking gadgets to try different things in the sandbox world they place you in, has not been unlocked, as have the extra hours of content in the special missions noted above. I have played a few of the Elusive Targets missions, none of the user created ones, one or two of the Escalation missions and none of the multiplayer. The gadget unlocking alone has enabled me to spend 100 hours (30 on base game, and another 70 on the Legacy missions through the HITMAN 2 engine) on this game through Steam. Without that, the game on its own is probably between 3-6 hours long, as the objectives are pretty straight forward.

Even if the GOG version does not check for ownership, and you can install on different computers, yada-yada, the online requirement, though not DRM in its strictest meaning, is still a requirement that cripples the end-user's experience. In those 100 hours I spent on the game, I had to sit through countless of server drops and disconnects, with things not unlocking, and the Escalation missions not registering.

This is the most restrictive game on the GOG store. No matter what your definition on DRM, the fact that you are forced to unlock the rest of this "shareware" version by effectively registering with IOI's servers, while having already overpaid for the license to play the game, is an extra step not encountered on other single player games on GOG. Registering your copy was always optional since the big box games with mail-in registration forms. This is not optional, and you're locking yourself out of a good chunk of the game by not registering.

Please, refund the game and send a message.

Disclaimer: I am well aware that this has been discussed extensively since yesterday. I am also aware, however, that the front page of the forum is not filled with this type of threads. So, do your part. No need to reply to this thread. Start another thread, request a refund, let GOG know how hypocritical this is.

I asked for a refund once I played and discovered all the online requirements were still there, gave the benefit of the doubt in that it was made offline for the GOG release but was wrong.

Not going to buy a game I know beforehand that I will refund after an hour.

Me neither, but actually buying and refunding is more effective.

If you don't buy, then it's not recorded anywhere. If you buy and request for a refund, it counts as a sale, but also a refunded sale, and in case they are monitoring, an unsatisfied customer. If enough people were to do that, the collective voice would be heard sooner or later. In theory, at least.

I see your point and from a theoretical point of view, you're absolutely correct.

The problem that I have with this is that users have been having issues getting legitimate support requests dealt with in a timely fashion; doing this adds traffic and workload to the support team which will unfairly penalise users with genuine support requests on games that GoG should be selling. Personally, I don't want to be even partially responsible for someone not getting a faster response from support (notwithstanding the fact that it could just encourage GoG to change their refund policy to make it worse for everyone)

Thanks for the detailed info TheDudeLebowski
Hopefully potential customers read this thread and reconsider...
I suggest to give a bump once in a while to the thread to keep it on the 1st page.

It's really a shame because if they removed the leaderboards and made everything available offline as a special GOG version, I think it would have been a great release a lot of people took note of. Hitman's always online requirement annoys a lot of people who don't often care about DRM, for a variety of reasons.

Instead it's just a big nothing burger that also annoys GOG's loyal fans.

Yet another step away from DRM-Free. I think I'm done with GOG. I have over 800 games here, and you've finally pushed me away with your non-commitment to DRM-Free. I will return to Steam where at least I know what I'm getting. That steady stream of $200 monthly from me is gone. You get nothing. You lose. Good day, sir.

I SAID GOOD DAY!

I upboated but it's literally DRM. It's a programmatic method of restricting your access to copyrighted content. Buying with the intention to request a refund and hurt GOG financially, now that you've declared your intention to hurt GOG financially ("effective"), is obvious abuse of the refund policy: It's a voluntary refund policy. You may request a refund. They aren't obligated to grant it per this policy. You specifically can still refundspam them as an EU citizen, but then they'll just ban you. Get a refund for you brain instead.

Not going to nitpick, since we're on the same side and same page.

I was merely underlining whatever potential counter-argument a blue from GOG may use to obfuscate the matter (that the GOG version doesn't check for or impose ownership of the offline downloader).

As I noted in the HITMAN thread, if they were to use such a counter-argument, they'd be playing with words, at this point.

Unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised if not that many people use the forum but I imagine basically every "regular" that bought it has refunded.

(bump)

I don't know what counts as a regular but it's at 2,937 overall and continues to go up.

What is this number you are quoting and from what source?