Sniper Elite 5

After 167 hours of playtime and completing Sniper Elite 5 to 100%, I can confidently say that it is not a bad game but very boring. It feels rushed and unfinished in many areas. As a long-time fan of the series, I had a lot of fun playing it, but there are several issues that ultimately made me dislike the game. First, I want to point out what Rebellion did Stealth gameplay The stealth mechanics are solid. I especially like how the game handles sound. Giving every weapon a hearing range is a nice addition that adds another layer of difficulty and planning to stealth gameplay. Visuals The environments look great. Graphics are not the most important aspect of a game for me, but the maps are visually impressive. Weapon customization I like how Rebellion expanded the customization system from Sniper Elite 3. It is a significant improvement over some of the challenge-based unlocks in Sniper Elite 4, and the upgrades remain useful even on the highest difficulty settings. Now let's talk about the biggest problems: the AI, the map design and shooting mechanics This game is called Sniper Elite, yet there is very little room for satisfying long-range sniping. The game constantly pushes players toward using pistols and secondary weapons. Sound-masking generators are often placed in positions where you can only kill two or three enemies, making them far less useful than they should be. Even cars or motorcycles are not that useful. It is incredibly frustrating to find what appears to be a perfect vantage point only to discover that a random tree, tower, or other obstacle completely blocks your line of sight. The AI is another major disappointment. In my opinion, it is a clear step down from both Sniper Elite 4 and even Sniper Elite 3. Enemies often run directly toward the player like mindless zombies. They rarely flank or attempt coordinated maneuvers. Even on the highest difficulty, it is possible to go in guns blazing and survive. That was much harder to pull off in Sniper Elite 4. Then there are the sniping mechanics themselves. What happened here? Where is the bullet drop? Where is the wind? Why does every shot land almost exactly where the crosshair is pointing? Compared to previous games in the series, sniping feels far too casual. Weapon statistics are automatically calculated for your scope, and regardless of wind or gravity settings, shots tend to land very close to the center of the reticle. Even on Authentic difficulty, I had very little trouble making long-range shots. One of the best aspects of Sniper Elite 4 was learning your rifle. You had to understand how distance and wind affected the bullet. In Sniper Elite 5, the game does most of that work for you. It removes much of the skill and satisfaction that made sniping rewarding in the first place. Another issue is the removal of trip mines and S-mines. Instead, we get a decoy item and Schü-mine... Why? The decoy is useful mainly for Invasion mode and multiplayer. Schü-mine... for non-lethal kill. In previous games, I loved securing my flanks with mines or creating deadly chokepoints. In Sniper Elite 5, that playstyle is largely gone. Teller mines are unreliable for this purpose because if you place them in the wrong spot, enemies simply will not trigger them. As for the maps, they look fantastic, but that's where most of the praise ends. Many routes are blocked by invisible walls or hedges. Enemy placement is often questionable. Some maps contain huge open areas with only a single soldier patrolling them, making them feel empty and underutilized. More importantly, the maps repeatedly push players toward close-range combat instead of rewarding sniper gameplay.nIf I wanted to play Call of Duty, I would buy Call of Duty, not Sniper Elite. The story is another major weakness. (I know it's a sniper game and the plot has always been low-key...) At this point, Rebellion seems incapable of telling a Sniper Elite story without introducing yet another secret Nazi superweapon that threatens the Allied war effort. Every game follows the same formula: a new Wunderwaffe is discovered, the characters act shocked, and then Karl (or Hawker in resistance) is sent to destroy it before it can change the course of the war. Then there is the DLC content. What a disappointing cash grab. The DLC packs are heavily overpriced for what they offer. Three extra missions do not provide a meaningful new story, only a weak continuation of the main campaign. On top of that, most of the additional content consists of a few weapons and cosmetic skins. Compared to the DLCs for Sniper Elite 4 (which offered some nice story and way better maps), the value simply is not there. The missions are boring, add very little to the overall experience, and are nowhere near worth their asking price. The "Kill Hitler" mission is another disappointment. At this point, it feels like reheated leftovers rather than a genuinely exciting piece of content. Rebellion has used the same concept repeatedly throughout the series, yet this version does very little to make it feel fresh. What makes it even more frustrating is the missed potential. Berghof is one of the most iconic locations associated with Hitler, but the mission barely takes advantage of it. The estate could have been much larger, more detailed, and offer multiple infiltration routes. Instead, the first half of the map is surprisingly linear. There is essentially one main route toward the objective, with very limited opportunities to approach the Berghof from different directions. For a series that prides itself on player freedom and multiple solutions, this mission feels oddly restrictive. The mission is not terrible, but it is far less memorable than it could have been. Rather than feeling like a special DLC, it comes across as another recycled "Kill Hitler" scenario with a different backdrop. Overall, Sniper Elite 5 is the weakest entry in the series. The same applies to Resistance, which I reviewed separately. The game had a lot of potential, but many of the elements that made previous Sniper Elite titles enjoyable were either simplified or removed. If Steam allowed truly neutral reviews, I would probably leave one. Since it doesn't, I cannot recommend the game at its current price. If you are considering buying Sniper Elite 5 or Resistance, I would strongly suggest waiting for a significant discount. In my opinion, neither game is worth the full price.