
Sometimes more of the same is exactly what fans want. The Sniper Elite series from Rebellion is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025, and Sniper Elite Resistance is a fresh installment in the series that aims to bridge the gap between part five and the upcoming sixth installment. After we were able to take a look at the game in a preview back in November, our test now clarifies how good the game really is.
Sniper Elite Resistance at a glance
Title | Sniper Elite Resistance (official homepage) |
Genre | Third-person shooter |
Developer: Rebellion | Rebellion |
publisher | Rebellion |
Release date | January 30, 2025 |
Platforms | PlayStation 5/4, PC, Xbox Series XS, Xbox One |
Number of players | 1 – 16 |
Price | € 55.99 * |
Sniper Elite Resistance Review: Behind enemy lines
Sniper Elite Resistance tells a new story during the Second World War. You slip into the skin of sniper Harry Hawkes in occupied France. But this time not on the front, but deep inside the country.
Early on in the game, Hawkes discovers that the Nazis are developing a secret super weapon there. Together with the resistance, you set out in the game to find out more about the superweapon and its location, take out high-ranking Nazi targets and stop the weapon before it is ready for use.
Okay, the story certainly doesn’t win any innovation awards. However, it is well presented in the nine missions of the campaign with coherent intro sequences. And it’s not really that tragic anyway, because the gameplay easily makes up for the fluff with the plot.
However, Sniper Elite Resistance could have done with a little more love in terms of the storyline. Although you will meet a few supporters over the course of the 10-15 hour campaign, including radio officer Morris Ahmed or Marie Renarde from the French Resistance, they unfortunately remain rather pale.
Skillful sneaking
And here you are. At the beginning of Sniper Elite Resistance, you find yourself near a huge dam. Several anti-aircraft gun emplacements are perched atop the gigantic structure. Take a look through your binoculars and you’ll spot a massive enemy presence. Snipers guard the towers, whole groups can be found at the anti-aircraft guns and there is also a lot going on on the road over the dam.
As in the entire campaign, Sniper Elite Resistance leaves it entirely up to you how you want to proceed. Hawkes has a wide range of weapons at his disposal, including a sniper rifle, pistol and submachine gun as well as various gadgets such as grenades, mines and the like.
By completing main and secondary objectives, you not only unlock new attachments for the shooting irons, but also completely new weapons that open up new paths. With silenced weapons and a rifle with almost silent subsonic ammunition, progress within the heavily guarded levels is much more relaxed.
However, a cautious approach is still essential, as Hakwes only takes a few hits before it dies and you have to restart from the last checkpoint. Open confrontations are theoretically possible, but rarely the best option.
Another practical feature is that you can also find alternative starting points within the huge and expansive levels. So if you want to start the mission again to find all the collectible items and complete side missions, you can sometimes start much closer to the action.
Playing freedom
A later mission called Special Train Sabotage will once again serve as an example of the playful freedom of Sniper Elite Resistance. The main objective of the mission is to find a snitch called Vertigo. To do this, we first have to search for clues and information about Vertigo in a heavily guarded city in order to uncover his position in the first place.
But that’s not all, because each mission also has various side missions. These include eliminating high-ranking targets, gathering more information about the super weapon or destroying trucks, submarines and much more.
The order in which you tackle the targets and how you go about it is entirely up to you. In this mission, for example, we could cross a central bridge to the other side of the river, where we suspect Vertigo to be. However, it is extremely heavily guarded.
Things are much quieter on the railroad on the right-hand side of the map, where we can use the numerous wagons as cover. The same applies to all mission objectives in the game, as there are always three, four or even more alternative solutions and it’s great fun to explore them all.
At least when they work, because every now and then a few minor bugs creep into the game, meaning that we can’t crawl through a ventilation shaft, for example, or simply can’t climb a normal staircase. But that’s not really tragic, as there are plenty of other ways.
Motivatingly good
The rest of the gameplay in Sniper Elite Resistance will prove all too familiar to those familiar with the series, but it still works motivatingly well in the latest installment. It’s great fun experimenting with the various items and weapons, distracting guards with a whistle or thrown bottle or sending the henchmen to sleep silently from the tall grass – including special points for stunned enemies.
The stealth gameplay works excellently, which is not only due to the fair and numerous hiding places, but also to the manageable enemy AI. In any case, the Germans in the game are not really smart. At least until you are discovered. Then it is quite possible that a sniper will send you to the afterlife with two shots from a distance of 300 meters.
Admittedly, there are a few unfair peaks in the difficulty level. But at its core, it all works wonderfully. And that’s also because there are many game elements that work very well together.
Loud noises such as the thunder of an approaching storm or the chime of a bell drown out your shot, elimated fairies can be equipped with traps and so on. It all works wonderfully, but lacks a little variety towards the end.
Fortunately, the replay value is kept constantly high thanks to collectible items and much more. You also unlock new abilities for Hawker by completing objectives, which increase his health or allow him to hold his breath for longer, for example.
And if you don’t want to take on the Nazis alone, you can also do so with another person in online co-op mode and play the entire campaign as a pair. Alternatively, there is an invasion mode in which another player can infiltrate your campaign mission as an enemy sniper – very exciting.
Unfortunately, we can’t say much about the multiplayer mode for up to 16 players yet, as the servers were still quite empty at the time of our test. However, with free-for-all, team matches, squad matches and other game modes, there should also be plenty of variety here.
The technology of Sniper Elite Resistance
From a technical point of view, Sniper Elite Resistance cuts a fine figure. The extensive levels are incredibly detailed and look pleasantly lively and varied. They also impress with their incredible long-range vision, which makes it possible to hit from distances of 400 meters and more.
Of course, there are also the brutal X-ray cameras again, which show a deadly hit on enemies in an X-ray image display. However, if you don’t fancy this, you can also switch them off.
Unfortunately, the animations can’t quite keep up. The enemies in particular move through the areas in a somewhat clumsy manner and sometimes get stuck on corners or stairs. Fortunately, this does not detract from the fun of the game.
The whole thing is accompanied by a harmonious soundtrack and good English voice-overs (although the Germans in particular sound unintentionally funny, for example when they offer a prisoner “the good stuff, Schnapps” or similar). The weapon sounds and effects in particular are pleasantly powerful, which skillfully underlines the successful atmosphere.
Sniper Elite Resistance Review: Conclusion
Fans of the third-person shooter series will undoubtedly get their money’s worth with Sniper Elite Resistance. But newcomers will also find a wonderfully motivating and varied sneaking game that scores with a greatly improved level design and exciting missions.
Experimenting with different solutions and approaches is particularly fun, even in co-op mode if desired. Graphically, the sniper adventure is also absolutely impressive.
However, the title has to be criticized for its lack of innovations, as changes compared to the fifth main part – apart from the plot – have to be looked for with a magnifying glass. If that doesn’t bother you and you can do without a gripping story, you will certainly enjoy Sniper Elite Resistance.
- Lots of freedom
- Extensive levels
- Motivating gameplay
- AI dropouts
- Lame story
- Hardly any real innovations
Sniper Elite Resistance
Story
Gameplay
Balance
Scope
Graphics & Sound
82/100
Motivating sneaking game with lots of playable freedom, varied missions and coherent technology. However, the story and enemy AI are manageable.