2017 is the year of Sniper Elite 4. And I will now tell you why is that.
Rebellion’s self-published ‘indie with triple-A production’, fourth in series of WW2 stealth romps doesn’t bring a hell of a lot new to the table on which all stealth romps… romp. But by Gods what it brings matters!
What it brings in heaps no less than generous is emergent gameplay. And that making Nazis look like damn fools before shooting them in the face thing? Take that as a welcome bonus.
Where many a stealth game suffers from that cringy afterthought feel when your attempts to ghost a mission go south, Sniper Elite 4 absolutely shines. The sense of panic is very real whenever an open gun fight breaks out. At the same time, one is never subdued by that usual hopelessness of a cornered animal, immediately reaching for the quick load button. One is always happy to reassess, adapt, kill to survive, and once again disappear from the foes’ sights.
Pair that with a massive campaign taking you through fantastic variety of environments in either solo or a hoot of a co-op and what you have here is a gem. A gem that has been for some inexplicable reason omitted in most of the popular GOTY lists. Well, here’s your fix then.