How do I know that Radulph Holland “Eats his toenail clippings”, or that Anton Dryer “Once wicked up Rudolph Hess in his cab. Pulling out your binoculars you can see what weapons and equipment a soldier carries, their distance from you, as well as their name and some background information. Much of your work as a sniper is spotting your targets, learning their patterns, and taking them out when the opportunity arises. In short, let the first impression this game offers be the last one – finish that first mission and the game really hits its stride.
It’s almost like that level came first as every level afterward is better than the last, and without all the movement hiccups.
I’m very happy to report, however, that the bulk of these movement issues are entirely bound to the first level of the game. Or, for the love of ludonarrative dissonance, let me just jump for crying out loud! The first level alone took me three hours to complete, so just let the map breathe and turn me loose. There’s just no need as the maps are huge. So many times the path from here to there is littered with pointless maze elements that serve to funnel the player into unnecessary killboxes. Small tank trap with a little bit of barbed wire? Completely impenetrable. Unless you can? Sometimes, who can say? That log that comes up to your shin? It’d be safer if you just walked around. That hedgerow you are ducked behind? You can’t climb it. Sniper Elite 5 does suffer from an unfortunate affliction that has plagued games like The Witcher 3, Pokemon, Gears of War, Mass Effect and more.