There are a few great attempts here to create Sniper Elite 5 more attractive, including introducing more memorable supporting characters than ever before seen before. Still, the truth is that the game's plot is a little bit too pedestrian. We've perhaps had a lot of games occur during this conflict, and there's really only a lot you can do with it before everything seems like a retread. It is a story rife with stereotypes and tired war conventions which i struggled to empathize with.
Thankfully, Sniper Elite 5 as a game is way better compared to story it's trying to tell. While it is a fairly typical third-person shooter instantly, there is lots found in each of the game's wide-open levels. Continuing the look philosophy which i really appreciated in Sniper Elite 4, every level feels like a mini open-world. Large, sprawling and most importantly – alive. Each level is stuffed with things to uncover, whether main objectives or smaller optional objectives that provide greater experience rewards. There's a lot to do in every level and they are clearly built for replayability to, as each one has multiple entry ways that must definitely be unlocked and heaps of intel and collectibles to uncover.
Intel is easily the most interesting aspect here. In my first run from the first level, I found a radar tower which i had to destroy. The most obvious way the sport led me initially was to scale it and use satchel charges to eliminate it. Another way, however, emerged on the repeat playthrough where I grabbed some intel from a dead body (or maybe somewhere else, I can not make sure) and was instead given the location of the main panel that would short the radar entirely without the need to collect explosives or scale it. It may sound minor, however it seems like a more natural progression from what Sniper Elite 4 offered and clearly highlights that there's a lot more freedom in the best way to approach your objectives.
Of course, the game is known as Sniper Elite, so it could be remiss of me not to talk about the sniping. One thing I really appreciate about Sniper Elite 5 is when it enables you to definitely customise the realism of how everything works. Likely to incredibly robust custom difficulty system that allows you to adjust how enemies behave, how much damage they'll take but also other activities that offer a more realistic sniping experience. The planet was created so that you'll have to handle aspects for example bullet drop distance and wind into account, but if you'll need a more arcade-like experience, all of these functions could be turned off. The end result will appease both those wanting a far more simulation-like experience with the game's shooting or people who would like to fall into line the perfect shot and be worried about nothing else with a less realistic, more game-like experience.
The X-Ray kill camera returns, too, as do choices to either decrease or increase their frequency if you so wish. I thought I'd grown tired of this aspect, but it honestly never gets old. To set up an ideal shot watching the bullet shatter the bone of your opponents or rupture their organs is a bit macabre but endlessly satisfying. The X-ray aspect has been expanded now, too – so sub-weapons can trigger them, too – but I'll never get tired of watching a bullet go through an enemy's brain before splattering the other part of the skull. I probably sound a bit unhinged referring to this, but it's one of the most simple yet effective ways to make the kills in Sniper Elite 5 so gratifying.
Progression is similarly handled very well. You are given a player level that raises using the completion of objectives and also the achievement of specific kills that award your skill points. Points can then be invested in three (very modest) skill trees to enhance how your character plays. Guns are also very customisable, and instead of obnoxiously tie those to grinding or levelling up, customisation parts are unlocked by finding gun workshops located on each level. Progression is rather typical around the multiplayer aspect – level up to unlock load-outs, skins, and perks from one of 4 specialist classes.
While the open-level design will be admired, and also the kills are always so satisfying, some facets of Sniper Elite 5 feel like they're still stuck previously. For a game that emphasizes exploration and openness, I can't count how many times I'd visit tell you a bush or past a fence and for it to be a hidden, impassable wall. This kind of game design feels, to be honest, quite dated and is what's really holding Sniper Elite 5 back. All too often, I'd be running from vantage point to standpoint, in a hurry, and be stopped with a barrier that merely seems like it shouldn't be there. I was frustrated with this in Sniper Elite 4, and it is unfortunate to determine it was not rectified here.
That being said, it's admirable to see how many different ways you are able to play Sniper Elite 5. The entire campaign can be used someone else in co-op. The open nature from the level design lends itself nicely to separating and getting stuff done if you wish to be efficient. I've found it more fun to possess one player on the floor and the other spotting from a distance like a sniper – but that's why is Sniper Elite 5 so fun – the option is really yours. More interestingly, another player can also invade your game at any time being an enemy sniper (though this is often switched off if you want a traditional experience), also it adds yet another element to the already layered campaign.
There's a suite of competitive multiplayer modes available too – though I did not spend enough time with them during the pre-release period – they're certain to attract series traditionalists because they return from previous games. Survival mode allows up to four players to take on waves of enemies and feels weirdly much like Rebellion's spin-off series, Zombie Army, sans Zombies. The other typical modes are here – free for those, team deathmatch, squad match with no cross modes. Squad match may be the newest and has four groups of as much as four players, whereas team deathmatch has two groups of eight battling each other. No-cross returns from Sniper Elite 4 and it has two teams battling it out across long distances, separated by an impenetrable barrier to help keep things fair and be sure its truly snipers only.
Sniper Elite 5 is easily the very best looking from the series thus far when it comes to presentation. They at Rebellion has used photogrammetry to bring many of these locales alive, and also the outcome is something that looks both realistic and crisp. The sport runs in a very smooth sixty frames acquire the best beautiful around the PlayStation 5. While the original score is very pedestrian, I appreciated the subtle accordion added to the background music to really sell the concept that you're shooting Nazis in France, even when it does feel just a little on the nose.
