Sniper Elite 5

World War II is slowly coming to a close, and the Allies force the Axis to retreat.

- Artura Dawn

Publisher: Rebellion

Developer: Rebellion

Genre: Action

Release Date: Out Now

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S

Players will take control of the sharpshooter Karl Fairburne with another group near the French coast. Soon after, the game starts as you'll find yourself stuck behind enemy lines and with only the French Resistance to assist you.

Despite not having played any Sniper Elite game until Sniper Elite 5, the story was told coherently and simply enough that even I as a newcomer was able to comprehend it all. I quickly understood how the dynamic between Karl Fairburne and some of the characters presented throughout the campaign worked. The story mostly consists of a cinematic at the beginning and end of each campaign, with shorter ones presented throughout the middle after completing some main objectives.

That said, I want to bring attention to Sniper Elite 5's gameplay, as it far more than makes up for the game's lack of in-depth story (and it is clearly a gameplay-first sort of title). The campaigns work by throwing you into a pseudo-open-world where you'll be able to explore and find which way you want to tackle your objectives. These vary greatly throughout the nine (or 10, if you count the unreleased DLC mission), as they'll range from standard town-turned-battlefield to lush, green forests. Whenever you tackle individual campaigns, your playstyle should change accordingly, as you might not be able to find a tall vantage point to snipe your foes. By the second campaign mission, I could see a vast change in the environments and playstyles required to traverse them.