Sniper Elite: Resistance Doubles Down on the Saboteur Sandbox – Hands-On Preview

As the Sniper Elite series has dived further into its World War II setting, it’s embraced more of a Hitman-esque sandbox approach to stealth-action gameplay, getting players in the shoes of a saboteur aiming to cripple the Nazi empire from the inside. But what the series still excels at is capturing the suspense and rush of carefully sneaking behind enemy lines to land that one critical shot against an unsuspecting Nazi scumbag – and showing you the bloody results with the classic X-ray kill cam.

With Sniper Elite: Resistance, developer Rebellion continues Sniper Elite 5’s open-ended approach to sneaking into enemy territory and smashing Nazis in gory, schlocky fashion, and this time it gives the series’ secondary protagonist their time in the spotlight. Just ahead of its January launch, we played over an hour of a mission focusing on destroying a German super train and sneaking through a hotel in search of valuable intel – all of which showcased what Sniper Elite does best.

In parallel to the events of Sniper Elite 5, Resistance focuses on the exploits of British commando Harry Hawker. Returning players will recognize Harry as one of the second playable characters in the series’ co-op campaigns alongside Karl Fairburne, so think of Resistance as an opportunity to see what he was up to while Karl was flying solo in the fifth game. The main story of Resistance focuses on Harry weakening the empire’s influence and helping the French resistance gain the upper hand – all while channeling some strong Jason Statham energy as he does it.

Sniper Elite 5 saw a steady release of DLC missions that saw Karl Fairburne invade secret weapons facilities hidden in France, but the developers saw an opportunity to create a new campaign within the occupied country that told a different story, which led to the decision to create an entirely new game.

“We felt that there was much more to explore in the French theater for the war, and we ended up making basically a full fledged campaign from what we wanted to do,” said Shaw. “It was just better for players if we could release one big game rather than lots of little updates like for Sniper Elite 5.”

Much like Sniper Elite 5, Resistance is a stealth-action game where you carefully maneuver through dense levels packed with Nazi guards, outposts, and other encampments filled with supplies and valuable intel. Along with your reliable long-range sniper rifle, which includes different ammo types to mask sound and amplify damage, you also have a pair of binoculars to scout ahead and mark targets. Harry also possesses secondary weapons and gear to distract enemies and sabotage structures.

Resistance continues with that Hitman-style approach to taking out key targets and objectives with direct action or some off-the-wall problem-solving. There’s that familiar thrill being able to quietly whittle down enemy presence with stealth kills and distracting guards with bottles to sneak through well-guarded areas. While the quiet approach is often the best way to make it through, Harry can still hold his own when all hell breaks loose – yet you’re better off keeping a low profile, as Harry can be quickly taken out if peppered with enough bullets. Generally, the enemy AI is competent and kept me on my toes. However, there were some odd moments where I felt their behavior was a bit off when ignoring obvious signs of sabotage or having some weird instances of the enemies not being able to maneuver through areas as well as you’d think.

This was an area that fans responded to well with Sniper Elite 5, and the developers wanted to lean further into that open ended experience. According to Shaw, the levels of Sniper Elite: Resistance was designed to allow for multiple playstyles from players.

“What Sniper Elite does well is give players a lot of different tools and avenues to tackle any situation as they please,” said Shaw. “As we see it internally, we allow players to observe first, examining their points of interests and enemies in the area, and try to figure out ways in which they might want to move through the level and complete the objective. We want to make sure players can get high up to get those sniping shots in there, but also allow for players to stick to the stealth side of things completely – we try to cater as many play styles as we can.”

What impressed me the most about this particular mission was how dense and multilayered the level design was. This level featured an impressive amount of verticality and different pathways to reach my goal of getting to the city’s main hotel-turned-Nazi-command-base. In one ill-fated attempt, I tried a stealthy direct approach across a fortified bridge, but that quickly went south after getting spotted. In another go, I went to the opposite side and found my way to a train yard where one of the side objectives was to destroy a train. Along the way, I was whittling down targets and taking out high-profile marks to score extra experience.

The standout moment in the mission was reaching the hotel, which had multiple points of entry and hidden pathways into locked rooms by climbing on the side of the building. This was my favorite section of the mission, and it was satisfying to escape from the zipline above and down into the streets below.

From what I played, Sniper Elite: Resistance largely sticks to the same formula as Sniper Elite 5, featuring the familiar loop and objectives that fans are accustomed to. It’s not quite aiming to be a massive leap forward, but rather doubles down on Sniper Elite 5’s open-ended stealth-action gameplay. One new feature that I didn’t get to dive into was the new propaganda missions, which the developers state are hidden within each stage and unlock micro-missions where you take control of other members of the resistance, showcasing their stories and particular objectives.

With a campaign aiming for a similar length to the Sniper Elite 5, Resistance works as a worthy companion to the previous game, but also seems like a compelling entry point for newcomers to the series. So far, Sniper Elite: Resistance maintains that familiar yet still satisfying action of being an assassin in an open world where you smash fascists and liberate towns from the Nazi scourge – and yes, it’ll never get old seeing those kill cams in action.