It’s been a little while since the “initial thoughts” piece on Sniper Elite 5, and I’ve had more time to invest into it, but also more time to digest what’s on offer.
Sniper Elite 5 is a package of content above all else. So it’s important to look at what’s there, what works, and perhaps what doesn’t.
The aesthetic impression is crucial, too.
So yeah, here we are, the second stage of our Sniper Elite 5 review.
Looks good
Holy cow, Sniper Elite 5 has moments of pure beauty. Maps are well-detailed, lighting is fantastic, particularly in open daylight. Those god rays peeking through branches and leaves.
Draw distance is pretty crucial in a game with a significant focus on long-range sniping. Luckily, it rarely disappoints. Assuming you can zoom that far, the detail and clarity are great. Being able to not only see a blur moving at 200m, but actual people with animations. Being able to clearly see the way people are facing, surrounding areas and people means you can make informed decisions to take action.
As much as I’d like to blame Sniper Elite 5 for my poor execution of terrible plans, I can’t because it never lets you down when looking for detail.
Each map has it’s own style, with the over-arching 1940’s WWII theme injected into everything. Sniper Elite looks the part, visually plays the part and sets the tone in wonderful style.
Of course, we can’t ignore one of the flagship features of the series…..x-ray shots. The x-ray view of your victims, is always always satisfying. Seeing bowels, brains, lungs etc get pierced, giving context to your shot. Sure it’s grim, but it’s that cool fun feature that has you going back over and over, because it’s so satisfying.
Sounds good
The underlying score of Elite Sniper 5 deserves recognition. Punctuating the action, causing tension and calm as events unfold on-screen. It’s actually remarkable.
Certainly it doesn’t feel innovative or anything, but it takes the fundamentals of good tonal delivery, adds some era-appropriate music and sounds and deploys it to a high standard.
Atmosphere is set wonderfully with the sounds of the world around you. Massive explosions in the distance, gunshots and aeroplanes overhead. The weapons sounds fantastic, along with reloading, dialogue and everything in between. Sniper Elite 5 has often times pushed me into levels of stress because of how the atmosphere intertwines with the score, and I’ll be honest it’s unnerving.
From an objective perspective, this is incredible work, all the audio elements coming together to impact the player from moment to moment.
From a personal perspective, I don’t always need that level of stress when I’m trying to wind down in an evening. Still Sniper Elite 5 is exceptional at delivering the sights and sounds of the world, and we have to absolutely give credit where credit is due!
Multiplayer
Here’s an interesting one. Sniper Elite 5 multiplayer.
My few matches have proven to be a mixed bag, and that’s perhaps due to being so far past initial release.
Matches have been easy enough to get into which is great, and I’ve never seen any issues with latency, empty lobbies or our usual online mode chaos. Sniper Elite 5 has been stable and playable without exception.
The idea of a sniper-focused PvP is fascinating, and I think it mostly works. Getting a long-distance shot on someone else is never not satisfying, and the sped-up X-ray shots (got to be quick so you don’t get caught-out watching a cutscene) are always a treat.
The slower pace and the cat and mouse style of gameplay is interesting, but you can sometimes go minutes without seeing anyone. It does work, but doesn’t quite have the pace I’m looking for in a day-to-day online shooter.
It is a nice change of pace though, so I like to dip in from time to time just to mix things up.
Up next
The next part is the last part, and that’s a brief focus on the campaign, overall thoughts and a rating.
That’s likely to be another few weeks. We’ve been working on maybe 3 other games in tandem with Sniper Elite 5 and getting everything in order is no mean feat!
Still, we’ll continue to have fun, blow-up Nazi’s and get those sweet sweet x-ray kills!