Sniper Elite: Resistance review

While Sniper Elite: Resistance doesn’t do much different in terms of gameplay from previous entries, the setting of France gives it a life of its own. There are some incredible environments that offer a fresh feel to how you play, with plenty of verticality and opportunities for long range assault and close-up combat. Whether in the heart of a German war factory during a storm or a small French town doused in the summer sun, the freedom to complete your objectives has never been more satisfying.

Instead of Karl Fairburne, you play as British agent Harry Hawker who is working alongside the French Resistance to uncover and stop a last ditch effort by the Nazis to disrupt the Ally efforts as they approach D-Day. As you follow the creation process of a chemical weapon known as ‘Kleine Blume’, you uncover a much worse threat, and as you go from mission to mission, there’s much more at stake than ever seemed possible. It’s an interesting story that takes a backseat as soon as you get stuck into the job at hand.

One thing I love about the Sniper Elite series is the freedom you have when it comes to completing your mission. There’s the choice to complete main objectives, side missions, or important assassinations of integral German officers and scientists via the Kill List in anyway order you want. Then there’s the way in which you complete them; you can go in noisy and hope the alarm doesn’t get triggered, or you can take your time and pick each enemy off in silence.

Sniper Elite: Resistance has some excellent enemy AI. Soldiers are always alert, and if you do pique their interest and they spot you, they might try to find a safer way to approach you, flanking you or patiently waiting for the right approach. They hunt in packs and fire at you the moment they see you, which is something other titles often fail to do. This pushes your patience levels to be at their best because there’s never an easy way to wipe out areas where there’re multiple soldiers lying in wait.

You have plenty of firepower at your disposal, whether from your own weapons that can all be upgraded on workbenches if you find them, and between missions as well. You also have the option to use German firearms after an enemy has been killed, with plenty of new weapons to try out. There’s plenty of depth for those wanting full control over every element of their arsenal, however, I rarely drifted away from my original setup.

Thankfully, I could upgrade everything from the bullet types, barrel, and scope, providing I unlocked the option to do so through completing missions and hitting objectives. There’s plenty of replayability thanks to unlocking to drop points on the map, going back in to complete any missions you might not have finished, and improve on your previous performances during missions. Sniper Elite: Resistance is your playground, and there’s so much depth to each mission, giving you plenty of reasons to repeat each one.

No Sniper Elite game would be complete without the intricate detail in those slow motion kill replays. I never got bored of watching my well-placed shot strike an enemy. Watching as the bullet glides through the air and pierces the back of a soldier’s head, with bits of skull and brain flying everywhere, complete with myriad teeth spreading onto the floor as the shell makes the exit wound. These slow motion replays are also prevalent with stealth kills as you stab someone through the heart, or after a grenade explodes and takes out a group of soldiers.

There are only eight missions, but each one can last as long as you want. Depending on your playstyle, you can take your time and be a whisper in the wind or a bull in a China shop. The different objective and the stakes of what you are doing make each new mission and location more exciting, especially as you approach the end of the campaign. They require you to be patient regardless of whether you want to or not, and I was blown away by how diverse each environment is. You can also unlock Propaganda missions that give you an opportunity to play as a French Resistance fighter, but they’re tricky to unlock.

On top of multiplayer, there is also Axis Invasion to dive into. It’s such a fantastic mode that allows you to jump into another player’s campaign and try to disrupt their efforts. You can also allow other players to join your game, although this can be turned off if you wish, or even switched to friends-only. I was able to wait patiently in a German facility and bide my time as they got closer, and from above, I fired off my assault rifle and killed them where they stood. It adds an extra layer of difficulty to the campaign, and makes things much more tense.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is an enjoyable title that doesn’t necessarily do anything drastically new in terms of gameplay, but rather adds a brand new side to the story and give players some of the best locations to date. Harry Hawker is a likeable agent, coming across like a mix of Jason Statham, Daniel Mays, and Virgil from Thunderbirds. The gameplay is tight, the freedom to play however you want is wonderful, and the enemy AI makes you play more cautiously than ever before.