Sniper Elite 4 Is Worth Having in Your Sights

Sniper Elite is a series that’s been going strong for over a decade at this point. The odd thing, then, is that it doesn’t have a lot going for it in the eyes of mainstream consumers. Reviews for the series tend to be middling, and sales are modest at best. Yet, it keeps going forward, carving out a comfortable niche in the gaming landscape. And while this paragraph might sound a bit disparaging, make no mistake—I kind of love this series.

It’s an unforgiving, pure-stealth experience full of pulpy Nazi-killing thrills, something the gaming landscape desperately needs more of. I’ve always hoped the franchise would catch on with more people, and iron out some of the lack of polish that’s plagued the games since way back when.

With Sniper Elite 4, which I got my hands-on time with, I genuinely believe we may see that happen.

Karl Fairburne and his trusty arsenal are back, ready to mow down hundreds of Hitler’s worst and vilest. This time around, Karl is enlisted by the underground Italian resistance, tasked with knocking fascists out of the country and reclaiming it. That’s all we have to go on at this point, but let’s be honest—not much more pretense is needed. Killing Nazis is enough of an impetus to jump into the line of fire. It’s gotten Wolfenstein this far, after all.

That said, jumping into the line of fire is an awful idea, as per usual with this series. My time with the game saw me weaving through a forested canyon and enemy encampments surrounding a massive bridge. The mission was plant a bomb on the bridge and detonate it, taking out a train and crippling the Nazi’s supplies. Of course, running in guns blazing was off the table (it’s not called Kalashnikov Elite), so it was up to me to figure out the best, quietest route to the objective.

This led to me being struck with the most overwhelming sense of scale and variety I’ve encountered in the series thus far. The map I found myself on was huge, and there was no one right way to go about it. While Sniper Elite has historically given players a degree of freedom as to how they want to progress, there’s always been a basic direction you’re intended to follow. Not so here, at least in this build. In what feels like a cue from the underwhelming Metal Gear Solid V, there are virtually limitless options at Karl’s disposal, something he actually muses to himself in-game.

Practically nobody was at the booth for this game, so I got plenty of time to put it through its paces. I did a pure melee run, outside of taking out an enemy from afar, where I stabbed anyone in my way before hiding their bodies. I ran in, guns blazing, just to see what would happen. I tried taking out every soldier on the bridge before proceeding. Each and every time, the game played differently, no one experience better or worse than the other.

Enemies scaled and adapted to my behavior, demonstrating what seems to be an overhauled AI system, something that’s been long overdue for the franchise. These aren’t the walking sacks of guts ready to burst at the seams that we’re used to. If you aren’t careful, you’ll end up on the tip of a Nazi knife or riddled with bullet holes before too long. It’s genuinely refreshing, as the AI in past titles is notorious for being a bit on the slow side, to say the very least.

Eventually, what worked best for me was cutting through enemy camps, clearing them out from afar when need be. I took out the sniper on the bridge from a hidden cave, tucked away out of sight, before advancing on the bridge and taking enemies out with melee. But even though that was what worked for me, I have no doubt my other attempts would have panned out had I pushed forward with them. That’s what’s so great about this entry—there doesn’t feel like a particularly wrong way to play. Although I will say going full frontal on the enemies is more trouble than it’s worth, which is very much by design.

At the Expo, I got my hands on a lot of shooters. After all, they’re one of the most perennial popular genres out there. But none of them, not even the much-hyped Gears of War 4 or Battlefield 1, left me feeling as inspired as Sniper Elite 4. Because while those aren’t bad games, and the former is actually quite good, Rebellion’s latest is the one that’s changed the most. I would know—I’ve played everything this series has to offer, if I’m not mistaken. And as someone who’s watched this series grow over the years, this feels like a full maturation of the formula, a truly flexible stealth game with smooth gameplay, sharp-as-a-tack AI, and absolutely stellar sound direction. The lush graphics don’t hurt, either. Sniper Elite 4 impressed me not only because it already feels like the next great stealth game, but because it felt like every criticism of the series has been taken to heart by the developers.

With any luck, Sniper Elite 4 will shoot gamers right through the heart when it launches on Valentine’s Day in 2017 for XOne, PS4, and PC.