Sniper Elite Resistance takes place in parallel with the events of Sniper Elite 5. While our regular protagonist, Karl Fairburne, is busy, Resistance puts players in the proverbial boots of Harry Hawker, agent of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Hawker works with the French Resistance in order to stop the Nazi’s new Wunderwaffe; which would guarantee their victory.
Sniper Elite Resistance is a third person action game where players have to sneak around the game’s various missions in order to go in undetected, take out major threats and find intel on how to put an end to the latest Nazi threat. Each level has a main objective to complete. As you complete objectives, you might uncover additional main objectives before being able to extract.
To prolong the fun, each mission will have additional side-quests along like finding additional intel, a bevy of collectibles and taking off names of the hit list. As you complete objectives and challenges (such as doing 3 headshots in a row or killing a set amount of enemies with a rifle; for example), players are rewarded with XP which levels Hawker up and earn Skill point that can be used to “upgrade” the protagonist such as being able to throwback a grenade or use a health pack to revive yourself. And yes. Those juicy X-Ray Kill cam kills are back as gruesome as ever.
Not only can Hawker upgrade his abilities, but you can also upgrade your weaponry. Once you find work benches, you can change guns, add new equipment such as silencers and bigger magazine. Complete challenges and finding work benches throughout the game also unlocks additional gear for your weapons. The game also has an Active Reload like feature where pressing the reload button a second time at the appropriate time, Hawker will reload faster.
For those who have yet to dabble into the Sniper Elite series, know that this is not Call of Duty. Don’t expect to run and gun your way through the game. You will get absolutely wrecked. You need to take your time and time your shots accordingly. You can scavenge useful items from dead bodies and also booby trap them; and vehicles too. You’ll also pick up crowbars and bolt cutters to open locked wooden boxes and doors.
Once you’re done with the story campaign, there’s a handful of additional gameplay modes to keep players busy. Aside from the multiplayer and survival modes, there’s a new Propaganda mode that puts players into the shoes of a Resistance fighter looking to do his part to take down the Nazis. The little addendum is that you have to find specific posters hidden across the campaign to unlock each Propaganda challenge. Rebellion also brought back Axis mode where players can invade other players’ campaign and hunt them down.
The game looks good as a whole. The level design is a perfect blend of “openess” and streamline; offering a balanced challenge. Each of them offer different ways to be tackled; up to the players to explore around and find the best way to approach each objectives, main and optional. Character design is fine; nothing majorly wrong to report. Although I’ve had a handful of hilarious glitches during my playthrough such as Hawker being stuck in stairs and killed enemies vanishing through the stairs.
However, the game engine would benefit from a little upgrade. I can understand wanting to appeal to cross-gen players, but it doesn’t take full advantage of the Xbox Series S/X consoles (and most likely not the PS5 as well). Voiceover work is enjoyable as a whole; nothing really goofy, but due to the theme, nothing really emotional either. The soundtrack is pretty solid; and also covers a good range of themes; from some tunes that would fit in a 1940s comedy to more tense songs for the firefights. One of the early missions’ theme sounded like an original Resident Evil 1 tune.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this newest entry in the Sniper Elite series. The gameplay is solid, but as mentioned, the engine is slowly showing its age. I can only imagine what the X-Ray Kill cam would like if they had a new engine that could push the current platforms to their limits. Additionally, while Hawker controls fine, the controls do feel a bit… wobbly? Hard to explain, but sometimes trying to pick up specific things, you need to fiddle with the controller to be in the exact spot. It is irritating however when reaching an objective and you can’t complete it because you’re missing a crowbar or a satchel charge.
Sniper Elite Resistance is another worthy entry in the franchise. While the game engine is starting to show its age, it still plays very well and the gameplay is solid; aside from slightly wobbly controls when requiring precise positioning. If you’re played any previous entry in the series, you know what to expect whereas if you never played a Sniper Elite game, Resistance is as a good as any to jump into the series. Fans of shooters should definitely pick up Sniper Elite Resistance; it’s a consistent entry in a solid franchise of shooters.
Overall
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90%
Summary
Pros
- The X-Ray Kill cam is back!
- Great weapon variety
- Great level design
Cons
- Engine showing its age
- Wobbly controls
- Missing a crowbar or satchel charge when reaching an objective