Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior

While VR might not yet have become the new normal for gaming, the technology has certainly improved since it first came about, and even if it can't yet compete with the best experiences traditional gaming can offer, there's something it can do better in the right circumstances, and that is immersion.

Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior is a great example of this. As soon as you put on that headset, you're transported back in time to World War Two, in the bitter winter of 1944 to 45 as you, playing as The Partisan, look to rid your home country of Italy from the Nazi occupation, one slow-motion shot at a time.

The environments - while not great in their appearance - do help embed you in that setting, but what really gives you the feeling of being an elite sniper is the gunplay. You can tweak the settings however you like to make shooting as difficult or as easy as possible, but if you're a long-time fan of this series, or you really just love war history, you're going to love pulling back the bolt for each ringing shot of your rifle, or desperately clutching for a new ammo clip for your pistol as you find yourself being ambushed by an unseen enemy.

It's worth noting the gunplay in Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior is not terribly easy to pick up. Even on the easiest settings, you're still going to need to get used to bullets dropping, and likely you'll want to be using the Focus mechanic to get some precise aim on each shot. But, if you're looking for a more challenging VR shooter, you may have hit the mark. It can be frustrating at times, especially as the scopes on the rifles prove to be a bit finicky, but if you're looking for that sense of realism and immersion, it's got you covered.

As mentioned, you play as The Partisan, an Italian resistance soldier tasked with gaining information on and destroying Nazi super weapons. In the campaign, a lot of the missions revolve around a stealthier approach, where you're actually not doing much sniping and are instead just whacking enemies on the back of the head with your pistol. This can be a bit iffy at times as I was never really sure how close I needed to get in order to get a good smack in, which led to me getting a bit too close to enemies' behinds. Not a fun time for either party, really.

These stealth sections are often broken up with the odd segment where the game tells you it's time to start sniping. Of course you can go loud and proud into any mission, but you do get shredded within a few hits so it's pretty clear sneaking is your best bet. Most of the missions do have a rather linear structure as well, and while you do get open areas there's not much to do besides picking up a lost letter or scarf. But, when the action does pick up, and a sniping streak gets going, it's easy to get lost in the thrill of it all. Taking on a tank after you've gone through the effort of placing mines in the road is a lot of fun, especially when you have to dodge the oncoming fire of the beastly machine as you search for the rocket launchers needed to take it down once and for all.

Once you're done with the campaign, there are a couple of other game modes to try out as well. Sniper Hunt pits you against AI snipers that can pick you off from afar unless you're smart about where you take cover and when you decide to leave it. Last Stand was a personal favourite, where you just snipe wave after wave of enemies until you're eventually brought down. Considering some VR games don't offer that many hours, it's nice to see something that can keep you coming back even after you've beaten the main story.

The biggest critique I can throw Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior's way is that it doesn't always feel fun. Due to manual save points, there are times when you can play for about 20 minutes and then have that progress thrown away by dying. This doesn't sound like much at all, but considering in VR you don't want to play for hours on end, it can be quite disheartening to lose this way. Moreover, the immersive shooting can sometimes feel a little frustrating. If you struggle to keep your hands straight like me, you'll often find your shots hitting nothing but the wind, and the scopes in the snipers can be very tough to get the hang of. Again, this won't deter those who are looking for the tight shooting mechanics that the Sniper Elite series has always offered, but those wanting a fun new VR shooter should know this takes some time to get used to.

It's quite hard to come to a decision on this game. Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior mixes a solid campaign with some fun setpieces that feel just like the thrilling experience of the traditional game. Yet, with some clunky controls and visuals that often feel more okay than anything else, it can't fully reach its greatest heights.