The Sniper Elite series has slowly gone from a guilty pleasure of mine due to the incredible x-ray kills to just being straight-up good shooters with no qualifier being needed. The follow-up to 2022’s Sniper Elite 5 is Sniper Elite: Resistance, which takes place concurrently with 5’s story and focuses on a group of resistance fighters in France fighting back against the Nazis. It’s a wonderful example of a developer continuing to build upon an already solid core and offering up the series’ best game yet.
First things first, the sniping in Sniper Elite: Resistance is wonderful. While you can tweak the difficulty settings to make it simple, the options are there to make it a hardcore and highly satisfying experience. Having to adjust for bullet drop makes a successful headshot or shooting a Nazi through the testicles all the more satisfying when you pull it off. Whether you’re looking for just a fun breezy time or a real challenge, Rebellion has done a great job of featuring highly customizable difficulty settings that allow you to play how you want.
Campaign levels are wide open, and a mixture of optional objectives allows you to decide how to approach each situation. Stealth is always important, as protagonist Harry Hawker can’t take a ton of bullets if his cover is blown, but you can choose to create distractions to get a job done or simply kill everyone from cover. My favorite moments were always after my cover was blown, though, as having to improvise and figure out a way to get out of a sticky situation was always memorable — plus regular autosave allows you to go back in time in case you get yourself in a particularly deadly scenario that you can’t get out of.
Gameplay-wise, this is very much building off of Sniper Elite 5. This is a good call, as it was a fantastic base and didn’t need a massive overhaul. One aspect I found myself really enjoying was the bigger emphasis on climbing, as sometimes you’ll find vines that allow you to get to higher ground or sneak around buildings. It’s not quite Assassin’s Creed, and sometimes you’ll find areas that seem like they should be climbable and aren’t, but it’s a really satisfying aspect and adds some extra depth to the tactics of the shooter.
One of the coolest new additions is the new propaganda mode, which is actually unlocked by finding posters within the campaign. These are really cool challenge levels that task you with different sniping, stealth, or combat feats. For example, killing as many Nazis as you can within a time limit and staying undetected. These add a really satisfying high score chase to a game that was already filled with replayability, and I hope they become a staple moving forward.
Like previous games, you can play the whole campaign in online co-op with a friend if you want. I find the extra coordination to be a blast, although having someone else blow your cover can certainly create some tense voice calls. There’s also a fun invasion feature, which allows you to invade other players’ campaigns as a German sniper, and a traditional multiplayer mode (which is always fine due to the sharp gunplay, although that’s never been my appeal in these games). It’s quite the feature-rich experience, whether you’re playing alone or with a buddy.
Sniper Elite: Resistance Review: Final Verdict
Sniper Elite: Resistance is one of Rebellion’s best games and the logical next step in the Sniper Elite series. The sniping feels excellent, the stealth is well-polished, and there’s no shortage of different modes and difficulty options. Join the rebellion today and shoot some Nazis in the testicles, you won’t regret it.
SCORE: 8/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 8 equates to “Great.” While there are a few minor issues, this score means that the art succeeds at its goal and leaves a memorable impact.
Disclosure: The publisher provided a digital PS5 copy for our The Jackbox Naughty Pack review. Reviewed on version 1.002.000.
