Teasers
Rebellion gives elite sniper hero Karl Fairburne some rest and sends another protagonist in Resistance on new missions in France.
Sniper Elite is probably the most successful brand of the developer Rebellion. In addition to five main parts, the series also brought VR spin-offs and the Zombie Armygames. Now the British studio is presenting at the Gamescom2024 (next to Nuclear case) is the latest trick in the series, but it does not come as number 6. Sniper Elite – Resistance rather represents an intermediate step.
Instead of taking you to a new location, it goes like in Sniper Elite 5 (in the test) back to France. The plot also takes place parallel to the events of the fifth main part and therefore this time you do not take on the role of the main hero Karl Fairburne. Instead you control the Brit Harry Hawker, who has often been the avatar for other players in co-op mode. Hawker works with the French resistance groups, from whom he receives his orders. In the end, however, it is (as always) about a Nazi wonder weapon that must not be completed.
Even if it stays in the same country, the Gamescom playable levels have successfully set their own unique accents. An informant has asked for help, so I have to infiltrate a castle town with Harry. From the outside, I can climb up ivy into a broken tower or tear down boards that block a tunnel to a backyard, but both paths lead back together almost immediately at the same place. A town with castles might remind connoisseurs of the spy school from the Sniper Elite 5 campaign, but the new setting doesn't give me the impression of asset recycling.
The setting has all kinds of houses and seems very dense. For the mission, I have to search a secret hiding place in the tower of the local cathedral, check on the informant's apartment (preferably through the telescopic sight) and then search the SS headquarters. The church is a blessing because the bell rings regularly and, in the usual way from the series, masks my shots. Even if I try to sneak ahead and mark lots of Nazi henchmen to keep an overview, I quickly become too impatient in the context of the mass. And since the town is, as I said, densely built up and the Wehrmacht patrols everywhere, I soon have dozens of enemies on my heels when an alarm goes off. It's a good thing that a network of underground tunnels runs through the city, and the enemies usually don't follow me into them.
In addition to the campaign missions, Sniper Elite Resistance will introduce a new type of side quest, the so-called Propaganda Missions. You unlock these in the campaign by tearing down propaganda posters. You can then start these shorter quests, which give you new targets on the maps of Resistance. These shorter missions are intended to give newcomers to the series quicker ways to improve their stealth and sniping skills. Veterans looking for a challenge, on the other hand, can go on a record time hunt. A member of the team also assured me that, like in Sniper Elite 5, there will again be special ways to lure out or eliminate targets.
Sniper Elite Resistance is not doing anything groundbreakingly new if the level design on the other maps is as successful as the map from the Gamescomdemo, fans can look forward to a fine follow-up next year.