Sniper Elite: Resistance Review (PS5) – Hunt Like A Hawk-er

It’s genuinely impressive to see the Sniper Elite series running this long. Whilst it hit more mainstream success with Sniper Elite V2, it’s actually been around since 2005 on the sixth generation of console (and PC). So that we’re now on its twelfth title, or tentatively sixth in the “main series”, with Sniper Elite: Resistance is some good innings.

One might be familiar with the score by now: enter an occupied country during World War II, sneak about a bit, pop some Nazi heads and return relatively unscathed. Yet whilst it is this and then some, there is a twist in that we don’t play as series mainstay Karl Fairburne this time. I know, what a shocker.

So, with a fresh set of eyes to scope locales and enemies with (unless you’ve played co-op in previous games), does Sniper Elite: Resistance go the distance and keep the flag flying for the series? Polish your sights and let’s have a look.

NB. There are some screenshots of X-ray gore in the review.

Once More Into The Breach… Again

If you’re not familiar with the events of the Sniper Elite series, allow to recap: it’s set during World War II. As in, all of it, through various campaigns during the six years of warfare that the Americans love telling everyone they won. That’s right, the Sniper Elite series has been running for three times longer than the actual war did.

This time, however, the mantle has been passed from the red, white and blue hero to the… uh, other red white and blue hero. Harry Hawker, agent for the Special Operations Executive branch of British military, is our protagonist this time around. Whilst German-American sharpshooter Karl Fairburne is off doing his own thing (see Sniper Elite 5 for that), Hawker is sent on his own mission.

Dropped into occupied France, Harry is tasked to investigate some mysterious new weapon know as the Wunderwaffe. Along the way, there’ll be various ranks of Nazi generals, officers and whatnot to perforate with bullets in spectacular fashion.

The first mission is particularly noteworthy, as it replicates scenarios from Operation Chastise, more commonly known as the Dambusters bombing campaigns. As with previous stories, liberal application of wartime fun has been added to the historical element.

Hawker The Stalker

The gameplay of Sniper Elite: Resistance has, funnily enough, not changed since the last one either. If you’re not sure what that is, it’s pretty standard third person shooter affair. Which, thinking about it, you don’t tend to see a lot of it when it comes to stealth and hunting. The gameplay always put me in mind of a lower tier MGSV: Phantom Pain model, or even further back, like Syphon Filter.

Players will steer Harry around one mission map at a time, following a range of objectives. These can be tackled in any order, with occasional objectives popping up when in the vicinity. It also pays to go exploring, as special weapons or crafting workbenches can be found to unlock new weapons or parts.

How one plays is also up to them too, to an extent. I tend to favour stealth, using tall grass to lure guards in and generally aim for sound-masked shots when I’m able to. Should players want to do the opposite and go all Inglorious Basterds on the Nazis, they’re free to do that too.

There’s no penalty, per se, but it is harder with guards calling in support via distress alarms, being shot at by the occasional tank and on some occasions, mortared from afar. Objectives are often multi-approach too, giving players some freedom of choice.

You could be an anachronistic Rambo and kick down the front door, or climb up a conveniently placed drainpipe for stealth. Entirely up to you.

Have A Proper Gander

Alongside the campaign, which again can be played solo or with a chum, as a member of the French Resistance (or more when they’re unlocked), there’s the standard smattering of multiplayer options. There’s PvE deathmatches, as well as the classic Invasion mode. This is optional, but it allows players to spice up their game by allowing random enemy snipers to invade and take them out, or vice versa. Or better yet, join someone else’s game and disrupt them.

What is new for Sniper Elite: Resistance, however, is the Propaganda mode. Throughout the campaign there are propaganda posters, and by collecting enough they’ll unlock Propaganda missions (surprisingly enough). These, in turn, are optional challenges that will test player’s sniping, stealth and combat abilities.

A cross between the Hitman Sniper Challenges and Batman’s Predator missions, these points-based missions are a nice little aside between campaign or multiplayer missions. As I say, I like stealth, so that the first two missions are stealth and sniping challenges respectively, I was in my element. Popping heads from a static rooftop position whilst being timed and scored is particularly satisfying from the stealth of the campaign.

I didn’t get to test the PvE though, as my review copy was early and couldn’t find a game in the time I had. But I did play some of Sniper Elite 5’s and I can’t really see much changing in that regard. If I’m wrong, let us know below, but politely.

The Insides Look Better Than The Outside

When I think of Rebellion, I always have in mind sturdy and competently made games, but never hitting that spit and polish that say, Activision has to throw at Call of Duty. On the surface, Sniper Elite: Resistance is a pretty enough game, the locales all look stunning as mini-sandboxes. Yet the character models always look a bit Westworld: not quite human, but passable enough. That’s old Westworld, mind, the Yul Brynner classic. Sniperworld, if you will.

Where Resistance does shine though is where it matters: specifically, the grey matter. That’s right, the ever-loved X-ray system is still going strong, showing us just what damage a rifle round can do from afar. Again this can be scaled down to off, or for every kill if some have that fascination. I like a nice, happy medium: a pleasant reward to show I’ve aimed properly.

It’s not just limited to rifle shots, mind. Get a cheeky headshot with a pistol and it’ll kick in, but that’s not all. Even melee kills now have that nice little X-ray flair as Harry parts a carotid artery with his knife.

It’s a system that’s become so synonymous with Sniper Elite now that to not have it featured would seem odd. Is it unnecessarily cathartic violence for the sake of it, glorifying the horrors of war and whatnot? Yeah, probably, but it’s also very fun to perforate a nasal cavity from 400m. Don’t judge me.

Grit On The Scope

On the whole, as I said above, Sniper Elite: Resistance is never going to pair up with The Last of Us Part 2 in graphics. But then, it’s not aspiring to. Rebellion have made that niche for themselves and it’s working for them. Yet that doesn’t mean that it’s a completely polished experience.

Again, might be that I started it pre-release patch (which is another thing we should stop relying on) but I did have some minor issues. Nothing game-breaking, but small things like enemies running into pillars or on the spot. Bodies occasionally clipping through objects, or takedown animations triggering but being five feet away.

On one occasion, I completed an objective (as in, the target was extremely dead) but the game didn’t register it. Nonplussed, I carried on, and the game woke up about ten minutes later to confirm he really was dead. Again, nothing that made me rage quit or lose progress, and presumably will be smoothed out on launch, but still.

It sounds like damning with fine praise and calling the game “adequate”, but it’s not meant as. What I like about Sniper Elite, on the whole, is that they’re a little rough but perfectly functional. And I like that. The core game, the sniping and such, is still just as fun. Even if the sniping seems more of an optional than an objective.

Kit Up, We’re Going Back

What else is enjoyable about Resistance, in keeping with the more recent Sniper Elite’s, is the replay factor. Each mission usually has three total objectives, one primary and the others optional. You could always smash them out in one go, as I try, but there’s again no penalty for not doing so (except the main one, obviously).

Yet players won’t get the full story, as it were. So if there’s an option to scuttle a U-boat or take out a key figure in the Nazi war machine, why wouldn’t you? Not only that, there’s a challenge in doing so.

Well, challenges, plural. As well the accumulative trophy/achievement based ones, there’s also in-game fun too. Bronze medal for hitting a long distance shot? Why not push the boat out, go for something spectacular from another postcode.

There’s also specific kill-based challenges too, such as specifically killing a target with fallen cargo, or knocking them off of a gantry, or with a particular weapon. Sure, players could just snipe and be done, but why not challenge themselves a bit more?

Then there’s the customisable difficulty, the weapon mods to play around with, as well as the aforementioned co-op play. Yes, you’ll become familiar enough with the maps after a while, but that’s not a bad thing. That the challenge is optional, rather than “optional but actually necessary to proceed” is quite refreshing, rather than forced.

Good luck finding all the stone bloody eagles though.

Hawk A Load Of This

To conclude, I am having a great time with Sniper Elite: Resistance. I can understand that, if you’ve come straight off the back of SE5, that this would seem like more of the same with a different skin. And essentially, it is. Rebellion are clearly of a “ain’t broke, don’t fix” mind. But then, if they’re this deep into a franchise and it sells well, then it obviously works.

I can see why they moved to a more action-based style of gameplay over just committing to sniping, for more broad appeal. I get it, but compared to Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts, which focuses on the longer shot, it feels like it’s trying to appeal too much at times. That being said, it doesn’t mean sniping is non-existent, and the beauty of playing [mostly] your own way allows for that creativity.

There’s plenty to do in here, as well as the usual suite of Hitler-hunting DLC and a Season Pass to look forward to. Yes, it is more of the same Sniper Elite gameplay, but this time it’s refreshing to hear someone more chipper than Karl Fairburne grumbling like BJ Blazkowicz in Hawker. With nine campaign missions, the Propaganda challenges, the skill challenges/medal, Invasion mode and multiplayer, there’s plenty to do. And that’s before you discover what on earth “Kleine Blume” is…

Turns out, it’s not a Rammstein song.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is available from 30th January 2025 on PlayStation 4 & 5 (reviewed on latter), Xbox One and Series S|X and PC via Steam and the Epic Game Store. Players who preorder the Deluxe Edition will have access from 28th January.

Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: Rebellion

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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