TEST Sniper Elite 5: trip in contact with Normandy

Carl Fairburne is decidedly not ready to retire, the American sniper is once again back in a new shooting and stealth game, still developed by Rebellion. The Second World War is about to change as the Americans prepare to land in France. Does this Sniper Elite 5 manage to hit the mark by offering a refreshing adventure and erasing the flaws of the previous part? Well, yes and no.

The gameplay is very free, the possibilities are numerous.

Sniper Elite 5 begins in May 1944, when the war will experience a major upheaval with the arrival of the Americans in Europe. Karl Fairburne is responsible for preparing the ground for them by carrying out several sabotage missions and eliminating Nazi officers, thanks to the help of the local Resistance. Quickly, his actions go back to the ears ofAbelard Mollera general SS who secretly prepares the operation kraken. Carl will have to find out what it is and above all prevent it. On the writing side, Rebellion does not revolutionize anything, we have here a very conventional and predictable war story, especially if you know the franchise well. The goal is to kill Nazis and destroy their military complexes to win the war, nothing original on the horizon, the scenario can be followed through cutscenes and dialogues featuring unattractive characters. Same Karl Fairburne remains flat, carrying his nickname “Shadow” so well that he never shines, except in his actions.

Where the developers have tried to innovate a bit is with the gameplay. As a reminder, the franchise Sniper Elite proposes to infiltrate increasingly open levels over the episodes, to accomplish various objectives in a fairly free manner, and above all to stick bullets in the skull of the Nazis at long distance, taking care not to get locate, by camouflaging the sound of his shots with the environment in particular. Well, that point is pretty much left aside in this Sniper Elite 5, with many more closed levels. half the time, large expanses for shooting anything that moves give way to narrower alleys or corridors, transforming the gameplay in real stealth game to the Metal Gear Solid or at the Splinter Cell. Discretion remains in order, with the possibility of distracting or circumventing the enemies to attack them in close combat from behind (then to hide their corpses in bins), and especially to use silencers on all weapons. Players have access to an armory before each mission or directly in the level, provided they find it themselves, to personalize their equipment, whether it is the objects carried (bandages, grenades, mines) and especially the accessories on the firearms, including silencers and sonic bullets, necessary to discreetly eliminate an enemy without making noise from a distance if the environment does not allow to cover the noise of the shot. This happens a lot, in tight levels, but bullets are rare, so you have to explore the environment well to get the most out of it, but there are always multiple solutions to a problem.

A point that is reminiscent of the last trilogy Hitman, Sniper Elite 5 features an open map with collectables to open passages, secondary objectives, and a bunch of ways to complete the mission. the gameplay is very free, the possibilities are numerous : Avoid the guards to focus on the mission, shoot everyone with machine guns, eliminate soldiers from a distance and make everyone panic, lay mines or explosives to destroy patrols on foot or in vehicles, the player is free to play as he pleases in this sandbox, even if the noisy sniper rifle is put aside. But if you still want to force the shot from a distance, the gameplay don’t change here, with more or less realistic ballistics depending on the difficulty mode, the player must anticipate the direction of the ball according to the wind and the distance. With help activated, it’s simple, indicators are present on the viewfinder, but without… it’s up to talent (or luck), because if managing the fall of the ball is quite simple, compensating for the wind without visual elements is impossible. At least the infamous x-ray camera is even more satisfying to get in those cases, showing the bullet’s trajectory through the enemy’s body in slow motion, and it now works for pistol or submachine gun fire. ! It’s still so funthe player can even move the camera slightly and manage the slow motion speed to make the most of the moment.

Going back to the cards, there are eight in this Sniper Elite 5, or as many missions (with a 9th mission as an epilogue), with therefore open environments, often in nature, or closed places, such as military installations. Well, given the era in which the game takes place, there are not many surprises, we find green expanses, French villages in ruins, white and cold Nazi corridors, the artistic direction has a hard time surprising or seducingwhere the last two opuses in Africa and Italy offered more atypical settings for a game during the Second World War.

The AI ​​is still not the strong point of the NPCs, adding a real threat with an enemy player increases the tension.

Places already seen, except perhaps Mont-Saint-Michel, at the heart of the promotion (it is on the jacket), but which is named here Beaumont-Saint-Denis. The islet and its abbey are still recognizable, giving a very original level, based on verticalityideal for familiarizing yourself with the new climbing possibilities of Karl Fairburne, now able to climb specific walls to bypass or surprise his enemies. Another level in a large castle is also worth the detour, with still corridors, but an open architecture, for a particularly stressful infiltration. But in a general way, the player evolves in known ground and it is a pity, because the content is substantial and invites us to explore every corner : secondary missions, assassinations of officers in a precise way to unlock a weapon, gameplay free, the replayability is great. And fortunately, because for a first part without taking the lead, Sniper Elite 5 ends in about ten hours. Add a few to carry out the optional objectives perfectly and we have a very correct lifespan, not to mention the possibility of restarting the mission to discover new passages and possibilities of gameplay.

This only applies to the single-player campaign, as the title of Rebellion includes other modes, including classic multiplayer (deathmatch alone, two or four, scoring and shooting where the teams are separated by a barrier), cooperation for the full campaign or even survival. But the big novelty of this Sniper Elite 5 is the mode Invasion, to activate or not in the options. When a player completes a single-player mission, they can be invaded by another online, playing as a Nazi soldier who must track them down and eliminate them. Carl must therefore remain discreet or on the contrary trap the invader to eliminate him, at the risk of being killed (and leave again at the last checkpoint, death not being very punitive in the game). The AI ​​is still not the strong point of the NPCs in this opus, adding a real threat with an enemy player increases the tension, Carl finds himself really cornered between the soldiers and his adversary this time endowed with intelligence and capable of surprising him. A multiplayer duel dimension that invites itself into the solo is appreciable, even if it can sometimes happen at the worst of times, but it is possible to deactivate the option ofInvasion in the settings, even if the mission is already launched.

Finally, let’s focus on the technical part of Sniper Elite 5. If the artistic direction is struggling to shine, on the graphics side, it’s a bit the same thing. The title reminds us that Rebellion doesn’t have the budget yet to make a real AAA who drops the jaw, it’s far from ugly, a few small reflections and lighting effects raise the level, but overall it’s very classic, with conventional textures a little too reused left and right in the levels. The English dubs are of the same ilk, effective, but nothing more, while the sound effects of the weapons manage to be punchy, especially when it comes to accompanying a long-range shot with the bullet ejecting from the barrel afterwards. a loud explosion to end up in an enemy’s head, shattering their skull or cracking the bones in their body. Technically correct on all pointsSniper Elite 5 still suffers from sometimes tense controls when it comes to moving in very closed places or climbing certain surfaces, but the developers should correct this very quickly.

Sniper Elite 5 is the logical continuation of the franchise of Rebellionfor a fairly predictable result despite some changes. Contact infiltration is now central to the gameplay, although the long-range shots are fortunately still there. But the developers seem to want to change the recipe, sticking a bit more to Hitman Where Splinter Cell, providing a large sandbox for players. It’s fun, but not very original, although ideas like the mode Invasion are there to vary the pleasures. A fifth opus which shows that the license is still going around a bitdifficult to say if it will one day manage to break the monotony.

Find Sniper Elite 5 on Amazon from €59.99.

Clint008 Writer – Tester