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Gaming history has some long-running franchises, especially in the realm of first-person shooters with yearly iterations (you know the one). One of the more unassuming series in that regard is Rebellion’s Sniper Elite. It started in 2005 and has been going fairly strong ever since with new entries, DLC, spin-offs, and more. With its latest title, Sniper Elite: Resistance, launching on January 30th for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, join us as we rank the best titles in the franchise.
11. Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2
After the Nazi Zombies wreaked havoc in the first standalone expansion to Sniper Elite V2, who could guess they’d return for another around? Nazi Zombie Army 2 offers a new campaign with fresh locations and enemy types, and you’ll once again slay undead by the droves solo or with up to three other players. Don’t fix what isn’t broken, but when it feels more repetitive than its predecessor, you have to wonder if it’s really worth it. Nevertheless, it’s more maps for slaying zombies, which counts most for some.
10. Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior
Another follow-up that noticeably falls short of the original, Winter Warrior is developed by Just Add Water of Oddworld fame. Given how well the first title fared, you would expect the momentum to continue. A forgettable narrative and iffy controls later, and you realize that’s not the case. The sequel doesn’t even do enough to switch up the formula or spruce up the visuals. The gunplay is still on point, but there isn’t enough content to justify jumping in. A mixed bag overall.
9. Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army
The original and Rebellion’s first attempt at a Left 4 Dead-style undead spinoff starring Karl Fairburne but set in an alternate universe World War 2. The shift from careful and methodical sniping and stealth to gunning down zombie hordes en masse is still a huge shift for the series. Nazi Zombie Army handles it well enough, combining the realistic gunplay and X-Ray Kill Cam with new kinds of threats and co-op. Though it won’t be competing with the best co-op zombie shooters in the genre, it’s a fun ol’ time, if nothing else.
8. Sniper Elite V2
The first sequel in the series, Sniper Elite V2 focuses on Fairburne attempting to stop the V-2 rocket program in Berlin (which explains why it didn’t get a simple “2” in its title). While it received some praise for the realistic ballistics, the AI was a mixed bag, alternating between competent and imbecilic. Respawning enemies and stealth were also points of contention, with sniping being the only aspect that resonated. That’s because Sniper Elite V2 introduced what would become a staple of the series for over a decade – the X-Ray Kill Cam, rewarding kills with a bloody showcase.
7. Zombie Army Trilogy
It’s a close tie between Sniper Elite V2 and Zombie Army Trilogy in quality. However, the latter wins out by not only remastering the first Nazi Zombie Army expansions but including a third campaign. You can play through them with up to four players, choosing from eight different characters (with Left 4 Dead 1 and 2’s cast joining later for an additional eight), and even adjusting the difficulty. The famed ballistics and X-Ray Kill Cam are also present alongside dismemberment, which adds a bit more strategy. It’s still pretty repetitive and lacks much of the series’ nuance, but it’s still good for mindless fun with friends.
6. Sniper Elite VR
The first Sniper Elite VR title and one that boasts a poor narrative with some strange gates stopping you from completing the last few missions. No autosaves, bugs, underwhelming melee combat – it’s almost hard to get on board. Where it excels is in the fine mix of arcade shooting and realistic ballistics. It’s also responsive enough to make racking up points with the most creative kills enjoyable. Still far from the best in the series, but a solid option for those who want a fun sniping title in VR.
6. Sniper Elite 3
After Sniper Elite V2 underwhelmed, Sniper Elite 3 came along and…marginally improved things (while flailing even more in other departments). Technically a prequel, it saw Fairburne venture to North Africa, with new desert locations to deal with. Unfortunately, the story wasn’t much to write home about, and the AI still had its failings. Where Sniper Elite 3 succeeded is in presenting larger more open levels for players to plan out a myriad of approaches.
Sabotaging generators to mask your shots with the sound, leveraging the revamped stealth to tactically take out threats, scrounging for weapon parts, setting up traps – it all felt so liberating (and, of course, the sniping was still on point). Add on improvements to the X-Ray Kill Cam to factor in organs and bone shattering, and on several gameplay levels, Sniper Elite 3 could be a fun time.
4. Sniper Elite 1
It’s somewhat ironic that one of the better games in the franchise is the one that started it all. Sniper Elite launched in 2005, and as far as sniping-focused titles were concerned, it was unlike anything else in the WW2 shooter space. The realistic depiction of ballistics, where factoring in things like the wind, felt fresh and challenging. Sure, you didn’t get the explosive viscera of the X-Ray Kill Cam, but it was still satisfying for a bullet to dramatically reach your target in slow motion. With all the other relatively new tactics, like using louder sounds to mask your shots, it’s no wonder it received attention despite some shortcomings.
3. Zombie Army 4: Dead War
Considering its predecessors, there may not have been many expectations from Zombie Army 4. Yet somehow, everything fell in place, from the campy campaign with its zombie sharks and zoo to the X-Ray Kill-Cam triggering off explosions and well-placed shots alike. Each character has extensive progression and some fun talents; the weaponry went above and beyond, straight-up embracing the elemental and bizarre new enemies debuted, including a zombie tank. Yes, it has overpriced DLC, and yes, the gameplay can still get repetitive, but it’s the series’ – and one of Sniper Elite’s – best offerings yet.
2. Sniper Elite 5
Sniper Elite 5 is not where the series’ truly started to take a turn and really come into its own with the sandbox-style levels and freedom of playstyles. It still excels in those regards, refining the realistic sniping we know and love while presenting some of the best levels in the series. There’s also Axis Invasion, a new mode where an enemy sniper can invade your game, leading to even more tense encounters. The key shortcomings of the series remained, but it felt like Sniper Elite finally carved its winning formula.
1. Sniper Elite 4
And it all truly began with Sniper Elite 4, which took the sandbox-like maps of Sniper Elite 3 and went even bigger. Fairburne was more agile than before, capable of clambering up structures to set up his shots. Night missions introduced new twists to the stealth formula and players were freer than ever to strategically take down enemies, go guns-blazing or take a completely silent approach. While it couldn’t overcome the series’ curse of middling story-telling and AI, Sniper Elite 4 achieved a new level, elevating it into something incredibly fun.