Hitman 2 design received critical praise. Phil Savage from PC Gamer strongly praised five of the game's six maps, and described them as "large" and "intricate". He added the quality of the maps is more consistent than those of the first game. He said, however, Hitman 2 did not extensively experiment with the formula and that the game simply "riffs on familiar design principles". Writing for GameSpot, Edmon Tran described the maps as "overwhelming in the best way possible" and singled out Mumbai as one of the game's standout maps. Many reviewers praised the diversity of the maps, each of which is set in visually unique locations with their own characters and routes. Caty McCarthy from USgamer praised IO for perfecting the formula established in its predecessor and said all levels reached the quality of Sapienza, which is widely recognized as Hitman best map. Destructoids Chris Carter agreed, and said "Hitman 2 is a colossal collection of puzzles begging to be solved through multiple playthroughs". The Legacy content received praise for introducing gameplay adjustments to older Hitman levels.
