Sniper Elite: Resistance Hands-On Preview: Patience is a virtue

After doing my best to stay completely stealthy, popping guards with a pistol and finding secret routes to my objectives, of course I'm destined to fail. There's no reality where I don't end up getting spotted by a keen-eyed Gestapo agent and am forced to leave a pile of bodies outside an apartment building as I set up my sniper at a nearby window, placing mines for anyone who has the genius idea of getting the jump on me.

In that sense, Sniper Elite: Resistance is exactly like the Sniper Elite games you've played before. Plenty of Nazis to shoot, plenty of ways to go about your objective. After playing 90 minutes of the game at a recent demo session, it seems ready to slot in with the rest of the entries in this beloved shooter series.

In this game, you play as Harry Hawker, a British sniper who fans of the series will know from his stints as the secondary main character in previous titles. Usually, Hawker is a sniper who joins the regular protagonist Karl Fairburne if you get someone to lend you a hand in co-op. However, this is Harry's first proper foray into the spotlight, as he's the primary main character this time around, with Fairburne off on the main mission of Sniper Elite 5.

Sniper Elite: Resistance runs parallel to Sniper Elite 5, which explains why it doesn't have the number 6 slapped onto it. In this game, you're going into enemy territory as Harry, dismantling the Nazi occupation from this inside. It's not necessarily a widely unique tale, but it is what fans of the series will know and love, as they can dive right back into the stealth and sniping mechanics that have improved with each iteration of the Sniper Elite series.

The mission we got to play was the third mission in the game's campaign, and it proved to be quite a lengthy one, especially due to the lack of save points in the current build (don't worry, they'll be there for release). You die, no matter where you are, and you're sent back to square one. It helped me appreciate the opening of the level a lot, and the different routes you could take. While you're no John Rambo, and getting in a close-quarters gun fight is sure to end badly with your limited health, there are plenty of options for you to choose from when approaching situations, and as I mentioned at the beginning, while stealth is the preferred course, you'd best be ready to adapt when things don't go your way.

But, it's clear stealth is vital to any successful operation in Sniper Elite: Resistance, and the tools at your disposal are perfectly suited to clearing the field without anyone knowing you were there. The map is also littered with useful pick-ups, like silenced sniper rifles and bolt cutters to prevent an alarm from bringing in reinforcements. The attention to detail in the map goes beyond simple visual assistances and hidden routes, though you will find those aplenty in Sniper Elite: Resistance too.

As much as Sniper Elite: Resistance feels like a very solid stealth experience, you're not carrying around that big rifle on your back for nothing. Sniping in this game is simply a joy, and feels smooth as soon as you get the hang of it. You can't sprint from cover to cover and snipe, as you need to be able to hold your breath to hit perfect shots. Even then, you're going to have trouble hitting your first few moving targets. When you do get a great shot, though, and the camera pans to an enemy moments before their ribcage or skull explodes, you get an instant high that makes you just want to find the tallest tower and keep shooting until the streets are clear. The only issue I did find in my short time with the game was that sometimes cover can be a bit iffy. If you're on a slant or are trying to shoot through something with gaps like the balustrade of a balcony, it's difficult for the camera to figure out where you're trying to aim, and so in some instances I had to stand up out of cover to get a shot. Otherwise, though, I was almost happy whenever an enemy discovered me, as it meant I could see more of what made this series so famous in the first place.

With extra tools like mines and explosives, you can make life hell for any Nazi thinking they'll be able to gun you down in close range as well. The level design seems to be based around you sticking in stealth for as long as you can, before it gives you a position that's just so juicy you can't help but snipe from it. As mentioned, hidden paths and the overall layout add a huge amount of replayability, making me not mind dying even though it meant I was back at square one. The only thing I can really say that might detract from the game is that it doesn't feel as though Rebellion is trying something wildly new here. There's the Propaganda mode, which is a new game mode you unlock through playing the base game, but we didn't get to see any of that, so I can't comment on how revolutionary it is.

It's worth saying that I don't think Sniper Elite needs to be revolutionised, though. You don't build a franchise as beloved as Sniper Elite by throwing out the formula that has worked so well. It's nice to see the smaller, incremental changes like the fresh-faced Harry Hawker stepping onto the main stage for the first time. Combine that with the stealth and sniping that suits the setting and story so well, and it seems Rebellion is onto another winner.