REVIEW: ‘Sniper Elite: Resistance’ Keeps A Good Thing Going (PC)

The Sniper Elite series, developed by Rebellion, has established itself well over years of incremental releases and tweaks. The process continues now with Sniper Elite: Resistance, taking the series to Nazi-occupied France on a mission to halt the development of a secret new weapon that could change the face and fate of the war. To do so, players navigate mission sandboxes filled with tactical decisions, optional objectives, and collectibles to find along the way.

For fans of the series or anyone who played Sniper Elite 5, it suffices to say that Sniper Elite: Resistance is largely the follow-up. The only measurable difference between the two comes in the new story and the protagonist of Resistance. The game follows elite sniper Harry Hawker, who fans may recognize as the second-player character during co-op missions in previous games, as he infiltrates Nazi-occupied France to work alongside the burgeoning resistance movement there.

The story is serviceable at best. It works to explain why the player is placed into each mission and what their objectives are, but that is about it. The characters sprinkled throughout the story are all flat and used solely to dump exposition on the player. It has no particularly interesting developments or stakes that help get you invested in what is happening. Hawker himself might as well be an Xbox 360-era shooter protagonist named John Sniper because of all the personality he brings to the table.

The gameplay loop helps smooth the rougher edges of Sniper Elite: Resistance.

Thankfully, Sniper Elite: Resistance takes advantage of its new story and location by designing its levels and missions. The developers have beautifully rendered 1944 France across various sprawling locations, each filled with intricate details and hidden areas to explore. They are some of the best levels the series has produced so far, which helps make the series’ iconic mechanics feel all the more satisfying.

Mechanically, Sniper Elite: Resistance is a continuation of Sniper Elite 5 to a slightly disappointing degree. There was an opportunity for the developers to improve upon some of the weaker elements of the last entry that have been mostly missed here. Players will have access to essentially the same equipment, enemy AI is still woefully easy to manipulate, and the skill point system still feels unimpactful. While these issues are still present and will likely disappoint longtime fans hoping a three-year development cycle would bring about more serious iteration, they ultimately pale compared to the game’s satisfying gameplay loop.

Sniper Elite: Resistance missions revolve around the player stealthily navigating large, open maps populated with enemies to gather items or information and kill particular targets. During each mission, players are equipped with their trusty sniper rifle, a secondary firearm like a submachine gun, and a pistol. Each weapon can be customized with period-accurate modifications to tailor your playstyle to your preferences, and you can find gear like grenades or bazookas scattered throughout missions.

A fun, if safe, follow-up for the Rebellion series.

Sneaking around a crumbling French castle to reach the top of an ornate cathedral’s steeple is plenty of fun. Then taking out a small contingent of Nazi soldiers with x-ray headshots using subsonic ammunition while accounting for distance, wind, and even your character’s heartbeat while aiming. It is deep enough to feel gratifying while remaining approachable on medium to low difficulties for players who don’t want to take things too seriously.

Players can also choose how to complete some missions, such as finding the key to a safe or getting a bomb to blow it open. These options aren’t as explicit or varied as those in other games like modern Hitman titles, but Sniper Elite: Resistance makes up for them by being more explosive, violent, and tactile.

In addition to the primary campaign, players can also jump into smaller missions unlocked by finding collectible propaganda posters during levels. These levels may be smaller than the main ones of the campaign, but that allows them to function more like challenges, easy to repeat, and try to improve your performance on. The series’ other iconic modes also return, such as survival versus multiplayer and axis invasion, where other players can invade your campaign missions as axis snipers and try to snipe you to stop your progress. While these modes certainly have fans, they have not been updated much for Resistance.

Sniper Elite: Resistance offers an experience that its series has largely cornered the market on. And it provides that experience very well. Its core gameplay is satisfying and fun, filled with meaningful decisions and exciting moments of well-laid plans coming together or things going horribly awry. But it is disappointing to see just how little it has iterated on the foundation laid by Sniper Elite 5. This leaves it feeling more like a standalone expansion for its predecessor than a fully realized sequel. It offers plenty for fans that crave more levels to systematically snipe dozens of Nazis but has little to offer those that were hoping to see what shape the series’ future would take.

Sniper Elite: Resistance releases on January 28 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.