Maps are bigger here than anything we've seen in previous Sniper Elite games too, and the scope for variety in how you approach each mission is likewise greater than ever before. A familiar haul of customisation options is extended to weapons, loadouts, character models, skills, and difficulty settings while the same organic hazards affect successful sharpshooting, not least wind speed, gravity, and Karl's increasingly elevated heart rate.

Sniper Elite 4 was treated to a complimentary PS5 upgrade last year, but Sniper Elite 5 marks the first proper stride onto new-gen hardware and it shows. Story-wise, protagonist Karl Fairburne has sided with the French Resistance against the Nazis at the start of World War 2, and, having been captured using photogramattery techniques, the game's real-world locations are as stunning as ever. When not preoccupied with its brilliant and brutal online invasions (which can be toggled on and off at the player's behest), Sniper Elite 5 offers everything we've come to expect from the shooter series. 'A familiar haul of customisation options is extended to weapons, loadouts, character models, skills, and difficulty settings while the same organic hazards affect successful sharpshooting, not least wind speed, gravity, and Karl's increasingly elevated heart rate.' Is that him? What about him? Or him? Should I break cover and seize the moment Rambo style? Or should I hug the shadows and wait for my hitman to reveal themselves? Dozens of NPC Nazi soldiers ran to and from cover on the stretch of land before me, but I stayed down. Wall-mounted telephones, each suddenly indicated on my map via corresponding icons, let me trace the Sniper Jager's last known location, but these were merely estimates, given that the stalker was constantly on the move, edging ever-closer to the spot where I was holed up. Instead, I was alerted to another player's presence in my game, and given little else to work with. In the above scenario, I was on the cusp of stealthily infiltrating an enemy stronghold in a bid to uncover information about a secret Nazi war plan.

Throwing a volatile, trigger-happy player into the mix, though, can turn everything on its head.

Because, while the AI in Sniper Elite 5 is the most intelligent it has ever been, enemy behavior patterns, routines, and patrols are, for the most part, pretty predictable.

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