Sniper Elite 5's X-Ray kills are rather detailed It’s satisfying to see Nazi bodies piling up near an entrance as oblivious AI charges in, giving you a steady supply of bandages to heal yourself as you take out their pals but these encounters rarely encourage any clever use of your surroundings. If you opt to go in loud, none of the automatic weapons feel as great as the sniper rifles do – although the X-Ray camera does now extend to them. There are few opportunities to be cunning with your sniper shots – like shooting an armored car’s weak spot through a crack in a building’s exterior wall after sneaking around it –, but I found myself relying too much on my silenced sidearm for stealth and my submachine gun when things inevitably went south. On medium difficulty, I also never felt like I absolutely had to switch away from the initial loadout and its all-rounder rifle.Īlthough there’s quite a bit to do, none of these levels feel memorable. Sniper Elite 5’s weapon customization system does let you tweak your arsenal a fair bit, however, locking new upgrades behind finding workbenches feels a tad restrictive. They also grant additional experience and often get you close to collectible items that shed more light on what’s going on, as well as workbenches that unlock new attachments for your weapons. These task you with blowing up anti-air guns, killing specific targets, disabling radar devices, or retrieving intel, growing stale early on. A fair few are part of the main path while others house the game’s repetitive secondary objectives. You sneak across open fields before dismantling defenses in a nearby town, explore lavish estates and bunkers in search of plans and Nazi officers, as well as experience the ravages of D-Day. Sniper Elite 5’s open levels hit a sweet spot in terms of size, not feeling overwhelmingly large but also giving you multiple locations to explore. In addition, you automatically drop them whenever you switch to a weapon in your actual loadout, which can get rather awkward in the heat of battle. If you ever want to conserve ammo, you can also pick up guns dropped by fallen enemies, with the caveat that you can only use the one magazine they come with. You can also set these up yourself by creating loud noises by tinkering with generators or vehicles.Īt the same time, the opportunities to do so can feel quite limited, to the point where stealth relies far too often on landing headshots with underwhelming suppressed sidearms or some of the special weapons you may find across the levels.
The engines of a plane patrolling above a manor full of Nazis, or the loud boom of a massive gun firing periodically offer opportunities to mask your shots. However, way you approach each mission, scavenging for ammo and bandages plays a fairly big part if you plan on staying in the fight. You can look for alternate paths, enter buildings by climbing up vines, or use ziplines to quickly leave an area when things get a little too hot, making traversal occasionally varied. Getting from point A to B involves lots of walking while taking note of enemy placement and patrol routes. However, even if you opt for a more balanced or deadlier approach, you still get to unlock plenty of Karl’s abilities. The non-lethal path awards more experience, which you can use to level up a series of skills – like being able to carry multiple types of ammunition, or use focus mode to spot enemy silhouettes from further away. You can opt to stay silent, go loud, kill every Nazi you see, or incapacitate opponents thanks to multiple ammo types and tools like mines or grenades, which you can use to booby trap bodies and various objects. There are new sights to take in, however, his goal remains the same: thwarting Nazi plans through a mixture of blowing things up and shooting unlucky infantrymen. In it, expert marksman Karl Fairburne now roams the towns and countryside of France as D-Day looms ever closer. But although killing Nazis remains enjoyable overall, the fifth entry in the mainline series struggles to provide a compelling enough experience. Holding your breath to line up a shot, only for the bullet to send tiny bits of bone flying before penetrating through your enemy’s flesh in slow motion remains as glorious a coup de grâce as ever.
Sniper Elite 5 is living proof that the series’ iconic, visceral X-Ray kills – which trigger as you (literally) bust Nazi testicles and various other organs – are still in style even 17 years on.
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