Sniper Elite 5 Review: ‘A Safe Sequel Rescued by the Invasion Mode’

SNIPER ELITE 5 REVIEW FOR PC, PS5, PS4, XBOX SERIES X|S, AND XBOX ONE.

Sniper Elite 5 puts players back into the shoes of Karl Fairburne, the elite sniper who prides himself in being a constant thorn in the side of the Nazis. This sequel aims to push the envelope with larger levels, more ways to navigate across them, the chance to bring in online friends or invaders from across all platforms, more weapons and ways to customize them, and an enhanced killcam. The game hits more than it misses, and there’s one big standout attraction that I think both hardcore fans of the franchise and those entirely new to the Sniper Elite games will love.

Same sniping, different D-Day

Sniper Elite 5’s campaign takes place around the events of D-Day in 1944. Missions are based in various French locations where Nazi troops and officers are stationed. Soon into the game, it’s clear that Karl must once again use his talents to take down a potentially devastating Nazi operation, one that involves espionage and assassination. Luckily, Karl is perfectly equipped for this task, with his arsenal of weapons and abilities now bolstered by advanced customization and his newfound athleticism that allows him to climb and use ziplines.

As players make their way through the eight different missions and additional epilogue, which will take around 10-12 hours on average, taking out or dodging past soldiers, they will uncover workbenches that unlock bundles of new weapon attachments, new mission starting points for when missions are replayed, and other hidden goodies. It’s clear that Rebellion is trying to convince players to replay levels to “100%” them. To be fair, given the sheer size of the levels that the team has created, I don’t blame them. For those who have played the recent Hitman games, you will find familiarity here.

Though there are many ways to take out enemies, from environmental kills and carefully laid traps, the slow-motion sniping is still my favorite. Carefully lining up a shot and watching as the bullet zooms across the map, puncturing through flesh to obliterate a crucial organ is still wonderfully satisfying. What’s more, the game lets you speed up or slow down the slow-motion effect. Oh, and killcams now also apply to SMGs and pistols, which is a great addition.

Tired faces

Sniper Elite 5 isn’t a good-looking game when you compare it to many other current or last-gen titles. Though levels are much larger and can look impressive as you first approach them, the priority for 60 FPS over crisp visuals results in noticeable aliasing on PS5. There’s no “Quality” option here, either, so those who want to opt for 30 FPS and higher native resolution don’t have that choice. On the bright side, 60 FPS appears to be consistently maintained and I perceived no drops during my time playing.

Faces are perhaps the worst offenders in the visual department. Even the main protagonist is looking a little worse for wear and I was often so distracted by the last-gen mugs that I found it difficult to focus on what was being said.

Invasion is king

The highlight of the whole Sniper Elite 5 experience is undoubtedly the Invasion Mode. As seen with the Souls games and, more similarly, Deathloop, the ability for players to invade a player’s game can make for incredibly intense and fun cat and mouse situations.

Rebellion has crafted a stellar Invasion Mode here, creating a balanced system where all players have a good chance of locating and taking out the hosts/invader. Invading players can use AI soldiers to help track down the player/s, while the hosts can use phones to get intelligence on the invader’s position. This usually culminates in an epic final shoot-out, where the final blow is often shown in slow motion for all players to watch.

Though players have the option to disable Invasion Mode, I think it would be a disservice and lessen the overall enjoyment that can be had in Sniper Elite 5’s larger playgrounds. Helpfully, the game creates a save point to the moment before the invasion, meaning players can resume their progress as if nothing had happened. This is excellent as it means players can go all-out in an invasion with brutal aggression and alert all guards without a care, before returning to playing stealthily with enemy soldiers once again made unaware.

Multiplayer has some charm to it

My first impression of Sniper Elite 5’s competitive multiplayer wasn’t positive, mainly because I had disabled cross-play with the hope of only playing with fellow PlayStation users. Unfortunately, despite it being launch day, I couldn’t fill a lobby. I then begrudgingly enabled cross-play, putting myself in the crosshairs of keyboard and mouse users, but at least finding populated matches.

PvP in Sniper Elite 5 plays almost like a throwback to a time before Call of Duty revolutionized the shooter space. It feels clunky and clumsily put together, which I found almost nostalgic. If it wasn’t for the PS5 purring beneath my TV, you could have convinced me that this was an early PS3 game attempting to push the envelope with 8v8 matches on relatively detailed maps, but stumbling due to a lack of horsepower. But no, this is a multiplayer game in 2022 and from day one it feels outdated.

The Free For All and No Cross modes are the highlights, with the former encouraging complete chaos as players snipe an enemy and, a second later, have three or more enemies sniping back at them. The latter forces players apart, making the cowardly SMG and pistol options mostly unusable. Instead, players have to lean on the titular sniper to prove how elite they are.

Sniper Elite 5 Review: Is it worth buying?

While Sniper Elite 5 introduces a generous amount of game mechanics that are new to the series, they aren’t especially unique when looking at the shooter genre at large. Sure, it’s good that Sniper Elite is now catching up, but it’s still got a ways to go. With that said, it’s a marked improvement over Sniper Elite 4 and fans of the franchise will no doubt find a lot to like here. It’s also on Xbox Game Pass and will be a fine addition to the line-up during a tumultuous time for the service.

Invasion Mode is the saving grace in Sniper Elite 5, rescuing a safe sequel that would otherwise be tough to celebrate.

Sniper Elite 5 was reviewed on PS5 with code provided by the publisher.