SNIPER ELITE 5

Not a misfire, but it struggles to hit its mark.

$69.95 | PC, PS4/5, XB1/X/S | sniperelite.com

Five games deep, Sniper Elite delivers what I consider to be its best installment since the original. Yet a total lack of confidence in its core sniping conceit, as well as a truly dire story, drag down what should be a more enjoyable stealth game.

It’s the Second World War through the eyes of a teenage boy. The French Resistance are present throughout, and every time they showed up I couldn’t help but wonder why they weren’t the star of the show. Once it finally opens up, you can at least begin to enjoy what the game does best: picking a roost and shooting bad guys from really far away. It’s not open world, however much the expansive landscapes conjure up the notion. In fact, you frequently feel railroaded by the levels, with numerous invisible walls and awkward barricades. No matter how open the areas seem, they’re always far more linear in practice.

Not that they’re bereft of choice, and in truth the more limited scope allows the game to funnel players into interesting obstacles. Rather than picking a perfect hill and performing long distance brain surgery from safety, you’re pressed into taking risks to manoeuvre around patrols and reach vantages undetected. The pay-off of a secret tunnel or climbable ledge feel earned instead of laid at your feet.

While Sniper Elite 5’s levels fall short of the Hitman games from which it has taken blatant influence, they nonetheless play with more than just popping heads off. While not as open as they seem, these levels are sprawling labyrinths full of little choke points and secrets worth exploiting. You can even stage ‘accidents’ in certain locations, though disappointingly the game’s AI doesn’t recognise it as such and views any death as proof a sniper is in the vicinity. But still, having various options available makes levels more fun to exploit, even if the lack of a real atmosphere or a sense these soldiers doing anything besides waiting for you to show up, means there’s less thrill in your trespassing.

A quality step-up for the series that’s unfortunately still rather short of stealth game greatness.

Samantha Greer

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