Sniper Elite 4 is an alright game that focuses around shooting Nazis in the testicles with a level of detailed ballistics to make even some of the most avid gun nuts shy away from shooting from a long distance. Repeatedly hindered by its own mechanics as it judders between the stealth ball shoot-em up, that involves levels of patience that may result to you relieving yourself into a bottle, and a wild run and gun scrap with an entire army encampment as everyone lines up their family jewels, ready for some penetrative measures, not in that way.

I think there comes a point in everyone’s life where they have a strong yearning to meticulously shoot fascists from great distances, with the added bonus of a slow motion camera. Without wanting to sound too much like a potential serial killer, although if I do go down that route this will be the point that the news and media pinpoint as “The Start”, this was the main reason that pulled me towards Sniper Elite 4. I wanted to work out a problem and that problem was killing Nazis without them noticing.

You can go to impressive lengths to kill your targets in this game. A simple jaunt to a vantage point can have you striking your targets with bullets like some well placed judgement lightning. You can place a plethora of mines and tripwires around town to really make those fascists jump with enthusiasm, as well as explosions. Defy the whole point of being a sniper by sneaking up behind your black shirted foe and take them down with a melee takedown. If none of those take your fancy you can just grab a machine gun and basically play some kind of awkward third person Call of Duty, it’s a very effective strategy.

This was where some of the issues begin to pop-up. You go in thinking that the simple pistol on your belt is there as an “in case of emergencies, please shoot pistol” kind of weapon. It’s a slow single shot pistol, the Welrod, it feels like the game is telling you that if you’re in a situation where you’re not shooting things with your rifle, from very long distances, you’ve messed up. But then, you also have a machine gun at hand, and you can even find an actual rocket launcher in the form of the panzerfaust. Sniper Elite 4 has an identity crisis and that crisis is on whether it is trying to have you be a stealth hunter of fascists or a high intensity run and gun Nazi slaughter machine.

Some levels in the campaign will have intermittent noise to mask your shots. A flotilla of planes fly overhead creating enough engine noise that no one will hear your sniper rifle and their fellow soldier has just fallen due to miraculous testicular rupture, and definitely not that bullet that’s probably now lodged in their thigh. A squadron of boats, the pounding of a railgun (or something) or even more planes, there are so many levels with some mechanic that allows the player to remain hidden and take down hundreds of Nazis without once being spotted. All it takes is a little bit of patience as you wait and wait for that eventual noise symbol to pop up and give you the cover that you need.

However, there’s also just as many missions that don’t involve any of that. It’s you and a quiet military base. The deafening silence leaving even the smallest gun shot easily heard. In situations like this the player finds themselves struggling all the more as fascists circle in on your position like angry hate filled ants. Then somewhere on the other side of the map some guy with a phone has finished their long panicked sprint and has called for back-up, but good luck trying to stop them because there are several waves of angry men trying to stop you. It’s normally at this point the whole “Sniper” part of the title goes out of the window, but I guess “Running Around Shooting Things Wildly Elite 4” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.

There is some sick thrill to be gained when you’re crawling through some grass in the middle of nowhere only for the camera to pull away and slow down because a fascist back near the other side of the map has discovered that dead body you put a mine in (somewhere, don’t ask where) and have subsequently blown up. This is where the wave defense mode of Sniper Elite 4 really shines. It’s ultimately where I had the most fun as the player no longer needs to worry about stealth or the punishment of being discovered, instead you can live out your Saw based fantasies, so long as they mainly revolved around mines and bullets through the balls.

The sniping itself is as complicated as you think you can handle. If your name is actually The End, from hit series The Metal Gear, you may want to turn things up to maximum where bullet ballistics are so advanced you may as well climb your nearest tower and let it rip, like in The Deadly Tower, except don’t do that, it’s a crime. For others there’s the humble concept of bullet drop and adjusting the scope that might provide enough of a puzzle to players to make things interesting. That is, if it weren’t for the holding your breath ability.

If all professional snipers had this ability then even I could do it. If you hold your breath then not only does your aim become steadier, a yellow diamond appears in the scope showing where the bullet would land, giving you the chance to accurately aim high enough to accommodate for the bullet drop and pretend you’re the deadliest thing since sliced bread. If it weren’t for my gross lack of understanding of bullet physics and firing actual guns I’d almost feel like I was cheating the entire time, even if the game penalises you in experience for NOT doing it.

There is a story in Sniper Elite 4, it takes place in Italy. That’s more or less all I can say about it as it’s not exactly the most engaging. You’re trying to take out some mafia leader or general or both? I’ll be honest, I’m not big into war. The story could be really good. To me it was just a lot of people talking in gruff American accents, which is odd given the main character is British, I think?

To say the characters are forgettable would be one thing, to say that some of them blur together would be more accurate. At the start of each mission you’ll have the opportunity to hang out with your allies and they’ll give you optional missions for your upcoming adventure. If these missions are meant to be specific to each person I’ll never know. There was never a point when I obtained some intel documents or destroyed a convoy and thought “This will help… The Angel?” Sniper Elite 4 is aware that you’re mostly there to solve the puzzle that is killing Nazis in this particular level, preferably without being spotted too much.

That said, the levels do tend to look quite nice. With the game being set in Italy it’s almost always sunny and the little rural towns definitely have a level of charm to them. The missions that involved skulking through a forest of concrete military base were less appealing though, managing to make Italy not seem like some beautiful postcard that the rest of the game pulls off. A beautiful postcard with a picture of exploding testicles on the front.

Sniper Elite 4 turned out to be more like Sniper Elite Bore, because it was a bit boring. The level layouts are massive and expansive and can provide some interesting puzzles on who to shoot first and then where to move to, but it’s also too easy to just sit back and let the Nazis advance on your position while you pick them off one by one. The hoard mode was the odd highlight of the game allowing the player to enjoy immediate action that involves some high level of ballistics… ball-istics, because shooting Nazi’s in the balls is still a fun enough pass time.