Sniper Elite 5 Preview: Small Improvements to a Solid Gameplay Formula

Sniper Elite 5 seems like it's largely going to be more of what we've come to expect from this series. I don't say that in a diminishing way whatsoever, especially since past installments have been quite enjoyable. Still, after having played Sniper Elite 5 for a bit during a recent remote hands-on session, it's clear that this entry is likely going to be quite similar to past outings with a few new features in tow. 

My brief time with Sniper Elite 5 allowed me to check out one of the early levels from the game. In this mission, I was tasked with infiltrating a Nazi fortress, examining some documents within a German officer's office, and then exfiltrating. The parameters of the mission were very straightforward, but the way in which I could look to complete the objective was left up to me. 

The best way I found to complete the task was to use some of the new traversal tools that Sniper Elite 5 features. Specifically, certain walls in the game can now be shimmied up, which means that you have more ways than before to get around each level. I ended up using this to my advantage by scaling the outside walls of the Nazi compound and crawling into the building through an open window. After sleuthing around  inside (and taking out a few soldiers in the process) I was then able to complete the mission and begin firing my way out of the building before reaching the exfiltration zone. 

As you might expect, the actual sniping in Sniper Elite 5 is still quite good, especially since the series' popular kill cam has returned. Even though I've seen kills like this hundreds of times in the past, it still feels great to perfectly line up a shot from a long distance and then be treated to a brief cinematic showing the effects of your shooting abilities. 

While sniping remains the best part of Sniper Elite 5's gunplay, though, one thing I've never loved with this series has been the gunplay with machine guns, pistols, or weapons. Part of that is because I'm someone who is very particular about going guns-hot in a series of games that has always been stealth-focused, but I've also just never found that these weapons feel as good to use. In addition, shaking off enemy soldiers from your tail once you are found can be extremely difficult to the point of annoyance. While I feel like the player should be punished if their cover is blown, hiding in a patch of grass and waiting what felt like multiple minutes for the soldiers to go back to their previous routines was a low point of my demo. 

Likely the best thing about Sniper Elite 5 based on what I've seen so far is that it will be highly replayable. This is something that has been true of previous entries as well, but based on this single level of SE5, there's a lot of depth here. In order to finish every objective or find every collectible, you'll surely have to play each mission more than once. And given the game's sandbox nature, this will in turn allow you to try out new paths through each level to see which one works the best. 

Another new feature of Sniper Elite 5 this time around comes with the customization system that is available for your weapons. Each gun has a number of customizable features similar to what you would see in something like Call of Duty. Even though I wasn't able to toy around with this system a lot, it was clear that there's quite a bit of depth to how you can mix and match the options given to you. The only question is how impactful it will actually be.

Sniper Elite is a pretty well-known quantity at this point and Sniper Elite 5 doesn't feel like it's going to drastically shake up the formula of the series one way or another. Although there are new features here, my time with the game so far makes it feel like these are more quality-of-life improvements rather than additions that will alter the core of the game. Despite this, Sniper Elite 5 still has an established audience by now, and if you're one of those fans, this game should be to your satisfaction.

Sniper Elite 5 is set to release next month on May 26, 2022, and will be coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC. In addition, it will also be coming to Xbox Game Pass subscribers on the first day of its launch as well.