See a Nazi, shoot a Nazi. Sniper Elite: Resistance brings the Sniper series back to World War 2 with a new main character and an all-too-familiar mission. In the latest entry in the series, players are once again lining up sniper shots and taking down enemies with bloody results. The studio behind the game, Rebellion, sure knows their way around the genre, but is it landing on the target? Having played their other titles, it feels like we’ve been here before, and yet maybe that’s exactly what we need right now.
Sniper Elite: Resistance picks up in World War 2 with Harry Hawker, a covert operative for the British forces. Across 9 campaign missions (8, really), players travel all over France in pursuit of a deadly superweapon. While it’s not the most original war story, it does at least give momentum to the game as players seek out objectives and even rouse a few high-value targets. Each location is grand in scale, aiding in players being able to explore and approach as they wish. The solo campaign might not intentionally focus on letting players run rampant in these spaces, yet it’s so easy to get carried away. One loud gunshot means stealth is out the window till the players can either escape or kill their attackers. No matter how you play, this is a sniper simulator at heart with Nazi targets aplenty to pluck off. The Sniper Elite DNA runs deep as one would expect, though most mission objectives are never purely about killing a target as much as you might pretend they are.
Hawker fits the soldier gameplay well, offering little more than gruff insights and patriotism towards each objective. In the game’s opening moments, no time is wasted on who Hawker is. He’s a guy with a gun taking out a pair of big flak cannons on a dam somewhere behind enemy lines – enough said. While he does make observations throughout each mission, he’s clearly not the main focus of the game. In a lot of ways, his personality almost blends into the player’s experience, which feels strange to think about when this is a game that moves between third-person and first-person views quite regularly. We see Hawker, yet he doesn’t crowd the player’s experience in the game with quips or much other banter, let alone appearance. Later in the game, players can unlock more skins for him, allowing him to visually become one of the resistance NPCs, but the silence without him does really flatten the mission momentum. If you’re someone out for replayability, though, this is definitely a welcome inclusion.
Even his interactions with the resistance over France really didn’t add much conviction to the cause for players. We’re here to shoot Nazis. Hawker remains the guy with the gun, and the rotating cast of resistance members feels secondary, if that. Each of the resistance NPCs has a personality, though they don’t share the spotlight with Hawker for long enough to really be more than just side characters. While the player’s objectives crisscross with the resistance throughout the game in the end, it’s a mellowed-out storyline at best. Often, their special objectives in missions could be skipped or missed if players weren’t seeking them. It does feel like a bit of an afterthought. With the game’s emphasis on the resistance elements, this does feel like a missed opportunity to spotlight the scrappy nature of a resistance effort.
Each of Hawker’s missions more or less become sandboxes for the player to engage with at will, thanks to their open-world design. Most buildings can be entered, which really builds out the spaces. Players can either go in guns blazing or sneak around. During my time in the game, I tried to go in stealth as much as possible, but early on, one gunshot is enough to have Nazis swarming you. Stealth felt like a tricky trade, especially when you just want to snipe down as many enemies as possible. Silencers and other stealth weaponry are present but require unlocking through completing tasks like collecting intel, killing targets or finding dead drops. As players gear up, though, it’s easy to find a rhythm with the right loadout. It is a nice touch to see that sound plays into the stealth gameplay, with each weapon having a range where others will hear the discharge.
The sniper and other gun mechanics are where the game truly shines. Players are able to zoom in and hold their breath while adjusting position to account for bullet drop, wind, and range. It’s not a hit scan system, which adds to the game’s perceivable realism as a sniper simulator of sorts. Players also can perform a skill check while reloading to speed up the animation. Much of the combat with the guns, though, is counter-intuitive to the stealth of the game. Even long-range shots alert enemies so it feels like players really can never comfortably be that stealth gunner without the right upgrades.
The X-Ray cam feature becomes a star of the game too. Seeing the bullet rip through a target is brutal, yet it really adds weight to the power of the sniper rifle. Seeing the enemy struck and sent flying while their heart explodes isn’t for the faint of heart, and in truth, even Sniper Elite: Resistance doesn’t linger here. After a kill, players will come across their carnage in the mission areas, though any sign of that internal damage remains totally mute from the game. Even the blood is fairly toned down. The X-Ray camera feels indulgent in a lot of ways, yet with the fall of each Nazi, it does reward players for a good shoot. From headshots to testicle shots – each just as visceral, it really sees the game lean into that sniper simulator vibe many are after. Players are also able to change the frequency of the X-Ray camera in the settings. Naturally, I set it as high as possible, which was certainly a brutal way to savour each hit.
Along with the campaign, players can also complete propaganda challenges where players have limited time and skillset to complete an objective. The challenges are score-based and vary from stealth, sniper, and combat variations. Players have to earn access to these by finding French propaganda posters around mission areas. There’s also Axis Mode that flips the game, giving players the objective of hunting down each other during missions. Hunting around mission areas for Hawker is a strange twist of events but it does allow players to really test each other’s smarts with careful precision. During my playtime, I had two invasions which were equally challenging to take out. Both players are able to use phones in the world to ping the opponent after a set period of time, though the invader is a Nazi, so they don’t have to worry about getting spotted like Hawker. The new threat of a fellow player knowing where you are definitely gets the heart pumping as you start looking over your shoulder in levels more.
While Sniper Elite: Resistance might not break the tried and true mould studio Rebellion has carved out, it does at least let players go ham on Nazis with brutal results. Lining up the perfect shot feels great, with realistic factors ultimately affecting gameplay. It’s a solid time for players itching to get their hands on some sniper gameplay, though the characters and narrative function more like pulpy framing for an otherwise fun shooter. The Propaganda Challenges and Axis Modes both also hit the mark for players after that extra thrill. Come for the sniper gameplay. Stay for the Nazi hunting.
SNIPER ELITE: RESISTANCE REVIEW
Sniper Elite: Resistance is a tried and true long-range shooter that’s comfortable being just that. Expansive mission areas allow players to engage at their own pace despite the stealth side of the game being a bit lacklustre. The sniper gameplay is certainly the main draw as you eviscerate Nazis with brutal X-Ray cams of devastating shots showing that force in all its glory!
PROS
Realistic sniper gameplay is ace
Expansive mission areas
X-Ray cams are bloody delights
Axis Mode spices up mission dynamics
Shooting Nazis, need I say more?
CONS
Story and characters aren’t engaging
Stealth feels flat
Reviewed on PlayStation 5. A review code was provided by the Publisher for purposes of this review.