After my first attempts to sneak past German patrols fail, a combination of brute force and desperate sprinting lets me briefly evade my pursuers. The watchtower I climb is the perfect vantage point overlooking a trainyard where one of Sniper Elite: Resistance’s optional targets waits.
With enemies hot on my tail, it thankfully doesn’t take long before I spot my prey, aim, and fire my rifle, watching the bullet pierce tissue and bone in slow motion during one of the series’ trademark X-ray kill moments.
These detailed gory executions share a timeless quality, but Sniper Elite: Resistance’s third mission – which I had the chance to play during a remote press event – feels a little too safe to make me excited for Rebellion’s upcoming World War 2 game.
It opens up in a familiar manner, with new protagonist Harry Hawker – a Special Operations Executive agent working with the French Resistance – starting in a relatively safe position that overlooks an urban area.
I consult my map and decide which objectives to prioritise before encountering the first enemy patrols on the small hill I immediately descend. With the right timing, tools, and skill, I could make both a stealth and loud approach work.
Clusters of German troops patrol the entire town, protecting each of the bridges that provide inward access. Aside from the high-value target mentioned above, the trainyard on the right side also houses a weapon I must sabotage alongside useful information.
Right in the center of the map, a multi-story hotel converted into a Gestapo base contains vital documents that reveal details about the Nazis’ latest superweapon.
As a lone wolf operating deep within enemy territory, I must conserve ammunition and healing supplies to stay alive.
Taking resources from fallen foes and finding supply drops keeps my ammo pouch full. Using bottles to distract and separate foes, disabling alarms, masking gunshots by sabotaging engines, and leaving explosive gifts on bodies that might be discovered later are all familiar tactics that make a return.
When I inevitably fail to sneak past enemies or distract them, I have to turn to my trusty submachine gun and sniper rifle for a more lethal approach.
But loud noises prompt nearby opponents to investigate the area. If I’m spotted, impromptu firefights against one or two opponents can take a turn for the worse, should enemies successfully set off alarms and call in reinforcements.
While proper use of cover, equipment, and a good amount of patience open the way to creatively singling out and eliminating foes, entering the hotel makes for a much rougher experience.
Close-quarters combat isn’t terrible, but automatic weapons feel slightly janky, at least when compared to the sniper rifle.
This central piece of the mission is also a nuisance to navigate, having the stairs to its upper levels blocked. I had to look for balconies and use pipes to reach the upper floors, engaging in clunky and rote platforming sequences that didn’t exactly make me feel like an undercover agent improvising a path through unknown territory.
It didn’t help that, minutes after wiping out two floors’ worth of enemies and alerting the entire building to my presence, the Gestapo agents above – who had skipped pipe climbing classes– decided I wasn’t that big of a threat after all, completely forgetting about me.
As immersion-breaking as this was, I acknowledge that it’s not a mechanical limitation specific to Sniper Elite: Resistance. The AI’s awareness can be quite gamey, but I certainly had less success channeling my inner Rambo in other parts of the map, where reinforcements swiftly shut down my misguided attempts of taking on the entire German army while armed with just a Sten gun.
My experience was further hampered by occasional input lag that required multiple button prompts to interact with ledges and objects – not great when you’re in a rush – alongside blurry visuals that made spotting foes at a distance difficult. It is worth noting that both were likely caused by the streaming software used to host the event remotely rather than the game itself.
Furthermore, I had trouble landing precise shots due to the unstable framerate, leading to several clumsy moments that turned what should have been clean kills with the Welrod silenced pistol into a string of misses that led to my death. The build I played also lacked save points, meaning that I had to restart upon death, so I couldn’t explore as much as I wanted.
One memorable moment involved walking into a bush, only to spook some nearby pigeons and attract the guard I was trying to avoid. I hope the rest of the campaign pays attention to small details like these since they could elevate the improvisational side of the missions.
Sniper Elite: Resistance has the series’ core framework firmly locked in, but despite its new protagonist, the third mission showcased a game that’s simply going through the motions.
Sure, eliminating scores of Nazi soldiers is good fun; thinking about the seemingly endless stock of weapons or plans that can certainly turn the tide of the war makes me chuckle; the freedom to choose how I approach my objectives and the need to change plans on the fly when enemies spot me are as welcome as ever.
But they aren’t exactly fresh and, after playing Sniper Elite 5, I’m not convinced that gloriously visceral X-Ray kills and adequately punchy sound effects can carry forward a stagnating formula on their own.
That being said, Sniper Elite: Resistance’s full version will obviously feature way more than I saw during my limited time with it including “all new” Propaganda missions that put you in the shoes of a French Resistance fighter.
But, while it certainly understands what makes the series tick and executes it adequately, revisiting war-torn France might only prove immediately appealing to those who want more of the same action only in a slightly different setting.
Sniper Elite: Resistance is slated to release on January 30, 2025, and is headed to PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. Deluxe Edition owners gain access starting on January 28.
For the latest gaming news, follow GameWatcher on BlueSky, check out our videos on YouTube, or give us a like on Facebook. We sometimes include affiliate links in our posts, which grants us a small commission, thank you.
