Sniper Elite: Resistance review – brilliantly bloody and bloody brilliant

I love killing stuff. Always have. It’s good for the soul, I reckon. It’s tough to fester rage and resentment when you’ve just slo-mo-shot a Nazi in the gonads (hey, there’s an achievement for it!), which is why I’ll shortly be petitioning the NHS to have Sniper Elite: Resistance available on prescription. It can’t pay off your credit card or make your nine-to-five any more palatable, no, but an hour of this a night to be good for you. Like an apple a day. Or flossing. But, you know, violent.

Sniper Elite: Resistance reviewDeveloper: Rebellion DevelopmentsPublisher: Rebellion DevelopmentsPlatform: Played on PS5Availability: Out on 30th January 2025 on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One

Before I tell you why my time with Sniper Elite: Resistance was so thrilling – and it was – I’ll let you in on a little secret. For all the shooters I play – and I play a – I’m not much of a lone wolf. Sure, I’ll jump in for a couple of matches on my tod, maybe. Spend a little time in a PvE playlist for an hour or two, perhaps. Ultimately, though, for me, hunting is a group sport. I’m happiest in the throes of friendly fire and frantic comms and kill-steal accusations, celebrating or commiserating as part of a wider fire team (I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact my KDR sucks, and I spend more time waiting to be respawned than actively assisting my teammates. Honest).

The exception to this is Ubisoft’s well-worn open-world PvE blueprint. You know the one. Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed: the execution (pun not intended, but certainly applicable) is almost identical. Sneak up on an unsuspecting stronghold or camp and creep around in the undergrowth, assassinating any and all enemies should they wander too close. Although – unabashed coward that I am – I’ve always preferred scaling a nearby mountain, getting comfy, pulling out my trusty sniper rifle and pop-pop-popping until there’s not a soul left. All without setting foot in the place! Honestly, few things in this world make me happier.

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Unsurprisingly, then, I am having a with Sniper Elite Resistance. Much like one of my favourite series of all-time, Dishonored, there’s no single “correct” way to get through its World War 2-flavoured campaign, which means I can’t technically do anything . Can things go off-script? Oh lordy, yes – just ask my BFF, Mission 3: Sonderzüge Sabotage, which I got to know in detail after three hours and a hell of a lot of save-scumming. But once you find your rhythm and start tweaking your loadout and tools to best suit how you play, Resistance’s thoughtful map design, dramatic score, and bombastic gunplay come together in an exquisite symphony that makes it a challenging, rewarding, and deeply satisfying romp despite the fact your leading man, Harry bleedin’-ell-up-the-apples-and-pairs-right-‘ere-guv’ner Hawker, has chill. If you remember him from prior Sniper Elite games, all I can say is I’m sorry. I can only hope he wasn’t as stupefyingly chatty then as he is now.

Sniper Elite: Resistance takes us to Vichy, France, and the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe in the midst of World War 2. The summer of 1944, to be exact. Hawker’s been drafted into… actually, I don’t know. For all his blathering, the story is bookended on each mission via a voice-over and a few cinematics in a way that makes it feel superfluous to the action. Suffice to say, Hawker’s working for the Allies, infiltrating Nazi strongholds to grab intel, assassinate targets, or destroy key infrastructure, depending upon what the Allies or the French Resistance need. Oh, and he murders Nazis, of course; there’s lots and lots of lovely Nazi murdering.