Sniper Elite 5: Next-Gen Sniping in Occupied France

Karl Fairburne's latest mission takes him to occupied France in 1944, just before D-Day. Released in 2022, Sniper Elite 5 is built from the ground up for current-generation hardware, delivering the most visually stunning and technically advanced entry in the franchise. But does innovation match the tactical excellence of SE4?

The Setting: 1944, France

Operation Overlord is approaching. Karl infiltrates occupied France to investigate a Nazi project that could devastate the D-Day landings. Your missions span the French Atlantic coast, inland countryside, and fortified German positions.

The French setting is meticulously realized. Coastal bunkers from the Atlantic Wall, charming French villages, Gothic châteaux, dense forests, and massive industrial complexes provide varied and beautiful environments. Rebellion's research and attention to historical detail are evident everywhere.

The PUG Empire 10-Point Rating System

Before we dive into the details, here's how we evaluate every game:

Gameplay Mechanics (1.0 point): Core systems, controls, and moment-to-moment gameplay
Graphics & Visual Design (1.0 point): Art direction, technical performance, and visual fidelity
Audio & Sound Design (1.0 point): Music, sound effects, voice acting, and audio immersion
Story & Narrative (1.0 point): Plot, characters, writing quality, and narrative delivery
Replayability (1.0 point): Reasons to return, content variety, and long-term engagement
Multiplayer/Co-op (1.0 point): Online features, community, and multiplayer design
Performance & Optimization (1.0 point): Technical stability, frame rate, and polish
Innovation (1.0 point): Originality, creativity, and contributions to the medium
Value (1.0 point): Content-to-price ratio and overall worth
Fun Factor (1.0 point): Pure enjoyment, entertainment value, and engagement

Now let's see if Sniper Elite 5 advances the franchise or simply iterates on SE4's excellence.

1. Gameplay: 0.89 / 1.00

Evolved Mechanics: Sniper Elite 5 refines the formula while adding meaningful innovations. The core sniping remains excellent-ballistics, wind, distance, and all the calculations that make long-range kills satisfying.

New: Invasion Mode: Other players can invade your campaign as enemy snipers hunting you. It's asymmetric PvP that creates incredible tension. When invaded, you're hunting and hunted simultaneously. This mode is brilliant and transforms the experience.

You can disable invasions if you prefer pure PvE, but it's worth trying. The cat-and-mouse gameplay when another skilled sniper is tracking you is thrilling.

Traversal Evolution: Expanded climbing and movement mechanics. Ziplines between buildings, drainpipes for vertical navigation, destructible walls for alternate routes. The traversal options surpass SE4, creating even more tactical approaches.

Weapon Customization: Extensive gun customization with workbenches scattered through missions. Change scopes, barrels, stocks, magazines-adjust weapons to your playstyle mid-mission. It's deep without being overwhelming.

Non-Lethal Options: You can complete missions without killing anyone except mandatory targets. Tranquilizer rounds, distractions, and pure stealth enable pacifist runs. This adds significant replay value and tactical variety.

Level Design: Maps are slightly smaller than SE4's massive scales but more densely packed with content. Every area has purpose. Less empty space, more strategic positions and tactical opportunities.

Missions have multiple infiltration and extraction points, optional objectives, and hidden areas. The design encourages exploration and experimentation.

Kill List Targets: Each mission has optional kill list targets-high-value enemies hidden throughout levels. Finding and eliminating them requires exploration and skill. They add objectives beyond main missions.

AI Improvements: Enemy AI is the smartest in the series. Soldiers investigate intelligently, coordinate effectively, and adapt to your tactics. They're challenging without being unfair.

The Flaws: Occasionally the game feels slightly more "gamey" than SE4's naturalism. Some mechanics-invasions, extensive customization-might feel like feature creep to purists.

Weapon balance isn't perfect. Some loadouts trivialize challenges.

Score Justification: Excellent core gameplay with meaningful innovations. Invasion mode is brilliant. Minor balance issues and slight loss of naturalism.

2. Graphics: 0.93 / 1.00

Visual Masterpiece: Sniper Elite 5 is gorgeous. Built for current-gen hardware, it's a significant visual leap from SE4. Lighting, textures, environmental detail-everything is elevated.

The French setting showcases Rebellion's artistic evolution. Atlantic coastal fortifications, charming villages with authentic architecture, imposing châteaux, industrial complexes-each environment is meticulously crafted and stunning.

Technical Excellence: Character models are exceptional. Facial animations and motion capture are significantly improved. Karl looks and moves like a real person.

Weapon models are extraordinarily detailed. Environmental destruction is impressive. Physics systems create dynamic interactions.

Lighting Revolution: The lighting is spectacular. Volumetric fog, realistic shadows, dynamic time-of-day lighting-it all creates incredible atmosphere. Sunrise missions look different from sunset missions in meaningful ways.

Ray tracing support (on capable hardware) takes visuals to another level.

X-Ray Evolution: The kill cam continues advancing. The level of anatomical detail is absurd (and optional if it's too much). Slow-motion tracking is cinematic. Explosive kills are spectacular.

Performance: Demanding on hardware but well-optimized. Scales from current-gen consoles to high-end PCs. The visual fidelity you get for the performance cost is impressive.

2025 Perspective: Looks cutting-edge by 2025 standards. This is Rebellion's most technically accomplished work and one of the best-looking tactical shooters available.

Score Justification: Stunning visual presentation with cutting-edge technology. Exceptional art direction. Minor performance demands on lower-end hardware.

3. Audio: 0.92 / 1.00

Audio Excellence: Sniper Elite 5 continues the franchise's audio excellence. Sound design is exceptional-rifle reports, bullet impacts, environmental sounds all crafted meticulously.

The 3D spatial audio is even better than SE4. You can pinpoint enemy positions precisely by sound. Audio is crucial tactical information.

Environmental Soundscapes: Each location sounds authentic. Coastal missions have waves and seabirds. Forest missions have wildlife and wind through trees. Villages have civilian ambiance. Industrial areas have machinery.

Sound Masking: Masking shots with environmental noise remains central. The game provides consistent opportunities-generators, artillery, aircraft, church bells-but requires attention and timing.

Music: The score is outstanding. French-influenced orchestral themes blend with tense stealth music and explosive action. Composer Daniel Pemberton created a memorable soundtrack that enhances every moment.

Voice Acting: Excellent across the board. Karl is fully voiced and characterized. Supporting cast-resistance fighters, handlers, enemy soldiers-are professional and convincing.

German and French dialogue sounds authentic. The localization work is impressive.

Score Justification: Exceptional sound design core to gameplay. Outstanding musical score. Excellent voice work. Franchise audio peak.

4. Story: 0.84 / 1.00

Strong Narrative: Sniper Elite 5 has an engaging story. Investigating Project Kraken and preventing a devastating superweapon creates clear stakes. The plot has momentum and surprises.

Supporting the French Resistance adds emotional weight. You meet memorable characters fighting for liberation. The personal stakes feel real.

Character Work: Karl Fairburne is fully realized. His relationship with resistance members, reactions to Nazi atrocities, and professional competence create a complete character.

Supporting cast is excellent. Resistance leader Rousseau, SOE handler Kagawa, and others are distinct personalities you care about.

Antagonist: Abelard Möller is a proper villain-intelligent, ruthless, and personally threatening. The confrontation with him across missions builds tension effectively.

Mission Context: Every mission has clear narrative justification and consequences. You understand how it fits Operation Overlord. Briefings, in-mission events, and debriefs maintain story flow.

Historical Integration: Incorporates historical events, real locations, and authentic context. The approach to D-Day and French Resistance operations are well-researched.

Limitations: Still fundamentally a WW2 military thriller. The superweapon plot is fiction. Not aiming for profound themes beyond "Nazis bad, liberation good."

Score Justification: Engaging story with strong character work. Best narrative alongside SE4. Historical grounding. Still serves gameplay primarily.

5. Replayability: 0.87 / 1.00

Extensive Replay Value: Maps designed for multiple approaches and playstyles. Non-lethal runs, ghost runs, loud runs-each feels distinct.

Kill list targets encourage thorough exploration. Finding every workbench, document, and hidden item rewards completionists.

Difficulty and Customization: Custom difficulty returns with extensive options. Tailor every aspect of the experience. Authentic difficulty is brutally challenging.

Campaign Length: Substantial 12-15 hour campaign. Missions are dense with content without feeling bloated.

Invasion Mode: Playing with invasions enabled dramatically changes the experience. Every playthrough feels different when human opponents hunt you.

You can also invade others' campaigns as the Jäger. It's a completely different experience-tracking and hunting skilled players.

Co-Op Campaign: Full campaign in two-player co-op. Coordination across large maps creates tactical heaven.

Multiplayer Modes: Survival mode with multiple maps.

Competitive modes: Team deathmatch, free-for-all, and objective-based modes.

Invasion mode as dedicated gameplay option.

Score Justification: Excellent replay value from varied approaches, invasion mode, difficulty options, and substantial content. Better than previous entries.

6. Multiplayer: 0.81 / 1.00

Invasion Mode Innovation: The standout feature. Invading campaigns or defending against invasions is thrilling. The asymmetric gameplay creates unique tactical scenarios.

The cat-and-mouse tension when hunting or hunted by skilled players is exceptional.

Co-Op Excellence: Campaign co-op remains fantastic. Coordinating with a partner across complex missions is tactical bliss.

Traditional Multiplayer: More robust competitive modes than previous entries. Team deathmatch and objective modes are competent if not revolutionary.

The sniping mechanics translate surprisingly well to competitive play.

Community: Active multiplayer community in 2025. Invasion mode keeps populations healthy. Finding co-op partners and invasions is easy.

Limitations: Still no local split-screen. Some competitive modes feel underutilized.

Invasion mode is polarizing-some players love it, others disable it immediately.

Score Justification: Invasion mode is innovative and excellent. Strong co-op. Competent competitive modes. Active community. Best multiplayer in series.

7. Performance: 0.88 / 1.00

Technical Performance: Sniper Elite 5 is demanding but well-optimized. Runs at 60 FPS on current-gen consoles and scales well on PC.

On high-end hardware with ray tracing, it's stunning. On modest systems with settings adjusted, it still looks and runs well.

Optimization: Rebellion's optimization work is impressive given visual fidelity. Load times are fast on SSD, acceptable on HDD. The game makes good use of modern hardware.

Stability: Generally stable with occasional bugs. Launch had issues, but post-launch patches addressed most problems. By 2025, it's quite polished.

Cross-Play and Modern Features: Full cross-play between PC and Xbox. Cross-progression. Game Pass support. Extensive accessibility options.

Modern conveniences like FOV sliders, ultrawide support, and graphics options are all present.

The Flaws: More demanding than SE4, which might disappoint players with older hardware.

Some bugs remain-AI glitches, physics oddities, rare crashes.

Score Justification: Strong technical performance with impressive optimization. Excellent modern features. More demanding and slightly less stable than SE4.

8. Innovation: 0.83 / 1.00

Meaningful Innovation: Invasion mode is genuinely innovative. Asymmetric PvP in a stealth campaign is rare and brilliantly executed. It influences how developers think about single-player experiences.

Non-Lethal Options: Enabling pacifist playthroughs in a sniper game is bold. The mechanical support for non-lethal approaches is thorough and well-designed.

Advanced Traversal: Expanded movement and traversal options create new tactical possibilities. Destructible walls and environment interaction add strategic depth.

Refinement: Extensive weapon customization, smart AI improvements, and refined systems show commitment to evolution.

Limitations: Core formula is still SE4 refined rather than revolutionized. The innovations are features added to a proven base rather than fundamental reinvention.

Score Justification: Invasion mode is genuinely innovative. Non-lethal options are bold. Strong refinements across systems. Evolution over revolution.

9. Value: 0.87 / 1.00

Pricing: Full price is $40-50. Regular sales bring it to $20-30. Day one on Xbox Game Pass is exceptional value.

Content Volume: Substantial campaign, extensive multiplayer, invasion mode, co-op-lots of content. More than previous entries in several ways.

Post-Launch Support: Regular updates, bug fixes, and occasional content additions. Rebellion supports their games well.

DLC: Several DLC packs add missions and weapons. Season pass bundles everything. DLC is reasonably priced.

Game Pass: Being on Game Pass day one is incredible value. Subscribers get AAA tactical shooter at no additional cost.

Cost vs. Experience: Strong value at full price. Excellent value on sale. Outstanding value on Game Pass. For genre fans, easily worth the investment.

Score Justification: Good value at all price points. Game Pass makes it exceptional. Substantial content. Fair DLC pricing.

10. Fun Factor: 0.89 / 1.00

Pure Tactical Joy: Sniper Elite 5 is incredibly fun. The refined sniping, beautiful environments, and tactical freedom create deeply satisfying gameplay.

Pulling off perfect long-range kills never gets old. The kill cam remains satisfying dozens of hours in.

Invasion Adrenaline: When invaded, the tension spikes dramatically. Being hunted while hunting creates adrenaline-fueled gameplay unlike anything else in the series.

Successfully countering an invader or pulling off the invasion as Jäger is thrilling.

Tactical Satisfaction: Clearing missions with different approaches-ghost, loud, non-lethal-all feel rewarding. The systems support varied playstyles excellently.

Co-Op Magic: Playing with a friend amplifies the fun. Coordinating tactics, saving each other, and completing challenges together creates great moments.

Beautiful Chaos: The French setting makes missions feel cinematic. Sniping from a château overlooking vineyards is absurdly enjoyable.

Frustrations: Occasional AI glitches break immersion. Some invasion experiences are unbalanced-highly skilled Jägers can dominate.

Performance issues on lower-end hardware can frustrate.

Score Justification: Incredibly fun core gameplay. Invasion mode adds unique thrills. Excellent tactical variety. Minor frustrations don't ruin enjoyment.

Final Verdict

Overall Score: 8.73 / 10.00

Sniper Elite 5 is the most technically advanced and feature-rich entry in the franchise. The stunning visuals, innovative invasion mode, non-lethal options, and refined mechanics create the definitive modern tactical sniping experience.

The question "SE4 or SE5?" divides fans. SE4 has slightly more naturalistic gameplay and the Italian setting is arguably more beautiful. SE5 has better graphics, more features, and invasion mode. Both are excellent-choosing between them is personal preference.

For new players in 2025, Sniper Elite 5 is probably the best entry point due to modern visuals and active multiplayer community.

Should You Play It in 2025?

Play it if:

You love tactical shooters and stealth gameplay
You want the most visually stunning Sniper Elite
You're interested in invasion mode's unique PvP
You have a co-op partner
You're on Xbox Game Pass (it's included)
You want an active multiplayer community

Skip it if:

You have older hardware and performance is a concern
You prefer SE4's slightly more purist approach
You're not interested in modern features

Recommendation: Sniper Elite 5 is an outstanding tactical shooter and the most accessible modern entry. For newcomers, start here or with SE4. For series fans, it's essential. For Game Pass subscribers, it's required.

The game represents Rebellion's technical peak and proves Sniper Elite can evolve while maintaining its tactical identity.

Pros and Cons

Pros: ✅ Stunning next-gen visuals
✅ Innovative invasion mode
✅ Excellent refined gameplay mechanics
✅ Non-lethal options add variety
✅ Engaging story and characters
✅ Fantastic co-op experience
✅ Active multiplayer community
✅ Outstanding audio design
✅ Extensive replay value
✅ Game Pass availability

Cons: ❌ More demanding on hardware than previous entries
❌ Some bugs remain post-launch
❌ Invasion mode is polarizing
❌ Slightly less naturalistic than SE4
❌ Some weapon balance issues

The SE5 Legacy

Sniper Elite 5 proves the franchise can evolve for modern audiences while maintaining tactical identity. Invasion mode influenced industry thinking about single-player experiences and asymmetric multiplayer.

The game's success ensures Sniper Elite's future. Rebellion has created a technically impressive, feature-rich entry that satisfies veterans while welcoming newcomers.

Whether SE5 surpasses SE4 as "best in series" depends on what you value - SE4's naturalism or SE5's innovation. Both are exceptional tactical shooters.

Have you survived (or pulled off) a memorable invasion? What's your favorite weapon loadout? Share your SE5 stories in the comments below, and join the PUG Empire community on Discord to coordinate co-op missions through occupied France.

Final Score: 8.73/10.00 - Next-gen sniping that advances the franchise.