Video Game Review: Sniper Elite 5

Developer and Publisher:

Genre: Shooter

Reviewed For: PlayStation 5

Also Available On: Xbox, PC

The Sniper Elite series has been going strong for nearly 20 years, giving players a sandbox to sneak around and shoot Nazis. The series doesn’t do much in terms of innovation, but does have it’s own trademark features that makes it worth playing for those who crave stealth shooters. Sniper Elite 5 keeps the sniping fun going while introducing a few new features for those who enjoy multiplayer.

First, to get this out of the way, almost no one should go into Sniper Elite 5 expecting an interesting story. Fans of the series might already know this, but the narrative in this entry is exceptionally unremarkable. The story involves series protagonist stumbling into information about “Operation Kraken,” and unsurprisingly, him and his allies need to stop it. The characters are uninteresting, the models look rough during cutscenes, and Karl is about as bland as a protagonist can be.

Still, players aren’t loading up this game to watch Karl talk, they are here for the gunplay. As one of the few World War II shooters left in this era, Sniper Elite 5 does just about everything right. Each of the game’s nine stages involve players sneaking around small, open maps as they carry out a series of main and side objectives. These typically consist of rescuing prisoners, destroying structures, and of course, eliminating targets.

Most environments are outdoors, meaning players will have the option to hide behind walls, tall grass, and other areas that are great for concealing them. Nazi soldiers will walk around on patrol, use floodlights, and other methods to find the player. Players can engage their enemies in a variety of ways. There are lethal and non lethal takedowns, and of course, the sniper rifle. Silencers are an option but usually a luxury meaning that stealthy players will need to be selective about their targets. Taking out certain guards and hiding the body is always an option as well as players sneak around. They can also make noises by chucking bottles to distract enemies and control the situation.

Unsurprisingly though, players will sometimes blow their cover and will either need to flee to lose the enemy, or engage in combat. Players have access to a variety of weapons from pistols to side arms to help them mow down enemies. Players aren’t as empowered as they are in games like Call of Duty but they can still feel like the best soldier in the war, especially with ample access to explosives.

Using the sniper rivals feels as good as it ever has in Sniper Elite 5, which fully utilizes the DualSense controller’s triggers to make pulling the trigger satisfying. The feedback adds well to the immersion, giving the triggers a little weight. Players will need to compensate for wind and distance, and pulling off a good shot always leads to the series’ iconic x-ray cam. It’s brutal and shows all of the damage to the victim’s muscle, organs, and bones.

Like previous entries, every mission can be played cooperatively with a friend. While there aren’t any core changes to this mode, it still feels like one of the best ways to enjoy Sniper Elite 5. Things can get chaotic when your partner slips up, and the mayhem makes for some excellent memories if the two players are actually close and communicating. Cleaning up for a partners mistakes (Since the AI doesn’t detect both players when only one messes up) feels good, and marveling at your partner’s kill cam is always a fun time.

A new addition to the multiplayer is the ability to invade someone else’s game as an enemy sniper. This adds a chaotic twist to the game for the host, who still needs to worry about patrolling enemies. Even when in a coop game, the right invader can absolutely end a run. Players can easily replay an invasion if all parties want to, which is a nice a touch. Of course, invasions can be completely toggled off if players aren’t interested in having sudden enemies come out of nowhere.

Graphically, Sniper Elite 5 doesn’t appear to have improved over its predecessor at all, even if it is the series’ first PlayStation 5 entry. The character models aren’t impressive by any means, which isn’t necessarily an issue when actually playing the game. It’s mostly only noticeable during cutscenes. There are quite a few glitches, including some messy textures and pop-ins, but nothing that completely ruins the experience.