Do you know Sniper Elite 4? Then in principle you already know the fifth part, because it only changes small things. The test shows why that’s not a bad thing.
Sniper Elite is one of those game series that doesn’t need a major overhaul. That’s because fans love the mix of open-world action and sniper shooter just the way it is. Creatively blowing the life out of Nazi villains in World War II, preferably from hundreds of metres away like a real sniper: Sniper Elite 5 also sticks to this concept.
The innovations in Sniper Elite 5 are limited: in the fifth part, sniper Karl Fairburne can glide along ziplines, climb a little better and slide down slopes. There are now workbenches to unlock and attach various weapon attachments and you can activate invasions by enemy players if you wish, because currently every game thinks it’s Dark Souls.
The rest feels very familiar: You hunt down a top Nazi, infiltrate his offices and hideouts to learn more about his plans, and eventually uncover that the Third Reich is working on a superweapon. So, as Karl, you single-handedly (or two-player co-op) ruin all the Nazis’ sinister plans again and save the day.
If you liked the very fun Sniper Elite 4 and urgently need more, the new fifth part is logically also worthwhile, especially if you get it for free with the PC Game Pass from release.
However, fans of the series should not expect any groundbreaking new features or innovations. Conversely, this also means that this latest instalment of the series will not win your heart if you never had anything to do with Sniper Elite anyway. Note: Sniper Elite 5 will be released in German completely unabridged and with historical Nazi symbols included.
Table of Contents
Inglorious Basterds
As already mentioned, the main plot is similar to that of the predecessor. Nevertheless, something changes in detail: Sniper Elite 5 no longer has a uniform German dubbing. The language settings only change written texts and subtitles.
Resistance fighters always speak audibly in English and French, all German soldiers converse exclusively in Arabic and with female voices. That last part is a lie, but it must have taken you by surprise just now, right?
This doesn’t really have a dramatic effect on the game, you just read subtitles in the already short, irrelevant cutscenes or when Karl comments on picking up a new weapon (“This sniper rifle looks good!”). The voice acting continues to be very good.
The Nazis are surprisingly plotting a lot of evil plans, so sniper Karl has to clean up the mess again, that’s all that matters anyway. That’s why you start the game on a huge map at the Atlantic Wall and are supposed to paralyse enemy defence installations there.
Because they are all stupidly guarded by soldiers, you set off with your sniper rifle, a submachine gun, a non-machine gun and a knife and use them as you please to take out everything that stands between you and your target. You have a lot of freedom in your approach, from stealth to pacifism to an open hail of bullets. The difficulty level is configurable to the maximum.
Play as you wish
You’re free to choose how attentive the AI is, whether you want to deal with wind and bullet drop when shooting at range, how effective healing and regeneration are, and how much Karl can take before he expires.
Or you can be lazy like me and choose from predefined difficulty levels such as “Sniper” (medium), which is what I opted for. On this setting the game is comparatively easy, but also very fun. Here, for example, the crosshairs adjust when enemies are very far away and you therefore have to aim a bit higher. I think that’s great – if you hate it, turn it off and everyone will be happy.
Long range kills are so very easy and effective and again come with the obligatory and very spectacular X-Ray killcam that shows you in detail how eyeballs, brains, testicles and other shot through body parts burst. I found this quite amusing for about 30 minutes, then I deactivated the killcam.
You can also sneak up on enemies and knife them or lovingly cuddle them to sleep, just knocking them out if you’re more squeamish than me. Alternatively, open combat with the submachine gun works great, because on the medium difficulty level you can again fight and defeat several enemies at once quite easily, as long as you don’t act completely stupid.
Luckily, there is very tall grass or shady alleys to hide in practically everywhere. I suppose on the highest difficulty level the AI opponents have lawnmowers. Here and there you will also find destructible gargoyles or nets carrying loads of some kind – things that you can drop on enemies by shooting at them. So there’s a lot of freedom when it comes to kills, even if Sniper Elite 5 is certainly not Hitman.
Excellent Entertainment
Sniper Elite 5 is a hell of a lot of fun! I prefer to play as a bomber, decorating every alarm siren, carcass, vehicle and everything else with explosives. When you search your victims, on the medium difficulty level they practically always carry grenades and plate mines with them. I use them to fill up defeated enemies and lay their remains out in plain sight. I hide, watch a patrol get out of their vehicle and examine the carcass I left behind – and it blows up.
I then mine their vehicle and corpses and wait for the next patrol. With a little patience I trigger a chain reaction at the end in which a whole row of vehicles blows up and it rains multikill medals.
The AI is by no means stupid, but just stupid enough to be fun. By making whistling noises and putting up steel helmets, you can specifically lure enemies to their doom and have fun with them if you’re too bored to just shoot at them.
In Sniper Elite 5, I also learned that soldiers are simply whirled through the air in a funny way for a short time and that their skeleton crackles a little when they step on plate mines. But maybe the game just isn’t that good at realistic kills when it comes to explosions.
Upgrades and Multiplayer
On each mission map you will find hidden workbenches where you unlock new attachments for your weapons. Some of these have quite a significant effect, such as a scope and a heavy oak stock for your pistol, which then acts as a second sniper weapon in an emergency.
Small things like tape or fancy sheaths often have such a minimal effect that you practically never feel them in the game. You can also unlock new weapons in all categories, most of which don’t feel earth-shatteringly different.
In addition to two-player co-op multiplayer and PvP modes in a variety of flavours, Sniper Elite 5 now features Invasions. These allow players to invade your session as a Nazi sniper and hunt you down, a bit like back in Watch Dogs.
Whenever you run into AI soldiers, the invader gets your position. At the same time, you can use phones scattered around the map to gather information about your adversary’s whereabouts. If you don’t want to do this, you can simply deactivate this feature completely. I was not able to test the multiplayer before the release.
Much to do
As I bomb my way through the first map, I come across optional targets. A senior Nazi is hiding in the city, a gunboat patrols the coast, and three heavily fortified bunkers are standing around. I destroy them all before I even get close to my main target.
There are always several ways into each bunker and to each target: You can attack head-on, sneak in via secret tunnels, flatten officers and steal their keys and codes, or find explosive charges and blow away locked doors.
What’s a little silly is that you can’t get a lot of things until you find the bolt cutter and crowbar hidden on every map. If they’re so important and fit in Karl’s pocket, why do I have to find the damn things in every mission?
To really complete all the objectives and play through the first map completely, it takes me just under three hours. I could still look for a few hidden collectibles there now, but I still have a life besides Sniper Elite 5. In the next missions, you then notice that the visually varied maps become smaller and smaller, the optional content shorter and shorter. In the second mission, for example, I only have to find three hidden objects as a bonus objective and am through after 90 minutes; on the third map, I can track down and flatten an optional officer, and that’s it.
As time goes on, Sniper Elite 5 becomes tighter and more manageable. If you want to complete all nine missions, including the optional objectives, you’ll still be busy for around twelve hours, and even longer with extra collectibles. If you still want to shoot the Föhrrrer’s balls off, there’s another mission as paid DLC, in which you visit Hitler in his holiday home in the Bavarian Alps. It wasn’t included in my test version, but pre-orderers get it for free.
AA at AAA price
Speaking of DLC: If you don’t play via the Microsoft Game Pass, the basic version of Sniper Elite 5 for plebs will cost you a hefty 50 euros. If you want the deluxe version with Hitler DLC, a bonus gun and the “Season Pass One”, it will cost you a whopping 80 euros.
Sniper Elite 5 is honestly fun and any exaggeration, however you should know what you’re getting into before you buy. The game offers some really stunningly beautiful landscapes and environments, but also comparatively weak character models with sometimes nasty (facial) animations. There is no ray tracing, HDR is only available in the variants on or off and makes virtually no difference. In addition, I encountered a few glitches in the test, which were by no means catastrophically bad, but occasionally unintentionally funny.
An enemy soldier opens the door to his vehicle right in front of me while I take aim at him. BAM, headshot, umpteen points, the comrade has a hole in his head, but now gets into his car completely unimpressed, makes himself comfortable, closes the door and dies immediately afterwards. Hach, video games!
At another point I fall through the map, but am mercifully reset by the game after a few seconds. There are also propaganda posters everywhere again in a language that developer Rebellion thinks is German: “U.boat: I need a good seamann on this boat !” As I said, none of this ruins the game in any way, but it just has a certain AA flair that doesn’t quite want to match the steep purchase price.
Editorial conclusion
Among the gameplay videos and in the forums, some fans grumble about copy & paste and they are right somewhere: Sniper Elite 5 is damn similar to its predecessor, the few changes are hardly worth mentioning and an optional invasion mode or weapon mods like in Call of Duty will not provide a revolutionary new gameplay. Nazi officers and secret super weapons again, practically identical gameplay, but in new environments. I’d like to see a more modern setting, but at the moment the only option is the unpronounceably long-titled Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts.
To be fair, though, it has to be said that Sniper Elite 4 was by no means a bad game. It was a lot of fun, but the sequel offers more of the same. You can do that, I really enjoyed playing it in the test. It’s just a bit unimaginative, which is why I’m lowering my rating a little compared to the predecessor. I think the price alone is exaggerated. 50 euros for the basic version alone, for the version with all the current content and the (first!) Season Pass you have to pay 80 bucks. You really have to like this kind of game. Crazy enough, Sniper Elite 4 currently costs even more.
