Inferior to Sniper Elite 4
Compared to Sniper Elite 4 the gameplay overall feels a lot more streamlined. Everything has been simplified, resulting in a much more casual feeling experience even on authentic difficulty. For a game called SNIPER Elite I was expecting less arcady mechanics. This feels especially jarring since the previous entry already had a well working, much superior system.
Even on Authentic the game clearly shows you where to aim. The wind indicator doesn’t show you wind strength like in SE4, no. It straight up shows you where to aim. Same story with the range adjuster.
Movement feels bad. Very floaty and weightless, yet unresponsive and slow at the same time. Even if it was a design decision it still feels bad.
Map design has regressed. The Maps feel a lot more linear in this entry. More chokepoints, invisible walls and fences you can’t vault.
Graphically it looks alright. Anti aliasing is sub-par and it lacks any sort of distinct art style, not that it is strictly necessary, however a more unique visual direction could help this game since most AAA games look all the same nowadays, especially in the shooter genre.
They did improve the killcam though. It sounds very crunchy and feels very satisfying landing a perfect ballshot.
Now onto politics.
The overrepresentation of certain people feels a little out of place. I am sure there were some women and black men serving the French resistance and they probably valiantly fought for their country, but I start wondering if this game received some external funding when half of the French countryside resistance is either Black men or women. This doesn’t feel very time accurate.
Then there are a few more specific things, like a black man who (game description) “Their civilian attire allows them to blend into a crowd at a moment's notice”. Don’t know how well that's supposed to work in 1940s Nazi France but whatever. Also, this is not a game mechanic to clarify. And there is a black woman that somehow got be the leader of the French resistance. Ehhh we are pushing it with this one.
I personally think this is disrespectful towards the veterans and people that fought during that time, them being portrayed like this, but you do you.
In the end, those are all story characters and they don’t detract from the gameplay experience in a noticeable way.
Still, I paid for a game about WW2 France, so please give me a game about WW2 France.
