Sniper Elite 3

72%
Game Brain Score Based on 6,326 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Sniper Elite 3 Game Cover
More than just a showcase for slow-motion gore, Sniper Elite III shines for its open-ended approach to stealth.
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"Sniper Elite III" is a warfare shooter game set in the North African desert during WWII, where you can play solo or with up to two players in multi-player or co-op modes. Experience tense long-range sniping and tactical combat as you sabotage a Nazi super-weapons program, with various ways to take down enemies, from stealthy takedowns to explosive traps. As a lone sniper, your actions can alter the course of the war, making every bullet count.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

72%
Audience ScoreBased on 6,326 reviews
story352 positive mentions
stability148 negative mentions
  • story1,714 mentions

    The story in "Sniper Elite 3" is generally considered weak and predictable, serving primarily as a backdrop for the gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. Players noted that the plot revolves around typical World War II tropes, such as thwarting Nazi plans, but lacks depth and character development, making it feel generic and uninspired. While the missions are designed to allow for various approaches and strategies, the overall storyline is often described as forgettable, with many players opting to skip cutscenes and dialogue.

    • “The story in Sniper Elite 3 follows Karl Fairburne as he fights across North Africa during World War II, targeting high-ranking Nazi officers and sabotaging their plans.”
    • “The campaign story is an interesting one, although there is little depth to the characters.”
    • “The simple yet intriguing storyline effectively motivates players to progress through various missions while encountering a mix of historical events and fictional narratives.”
    • “The story is forgettable and the maps are linear, but the gunplay is fun and still hasn't gotten old to watch the killcam.”
    • “The story is very forgettable and not really a massive thing in this game.”
    • “The story is absolutely exchangeable and as always, childishly overdrawing the nazis and their machinery.”
  • gameplay951 mentions

    The gameplay of Sniper Elite 3 is characterized by its solid sniping mechanics, including realistic bullet physics and the engaging x-ray kill cam, which many players find satisfying. However, the game suffers from clunky stealth mechanics, repetitive mission structures, and various bugs that can disrupt the experience. While it offers a more open level design and improved graphics compared to its predecessor, the overall gameplay can feel monotonous and lacks significant innovation, leading to mixed reviews regarding its depth and replayability.

    • “The gameplay of Sniper Elite 3 offers a refreshing blend of stealth, strategy, and intense action.”
    • “With its focus on stealth and precision shooting, it provides intense sniper gameplay set amidst the backdrop of World War II.”
    • “The sniping mechanics in Sniper Elite 3 are top-notch.”
    • “Perhaps the worst thing I can say about the gameplay is that it is still janky and rough around the edges.”
    • “The gameplay can also feel clunky and frustrating at times.”
    • “The stealth mechanics feel broken and annoying, close combat is just awful, and the story is meh.”
  • graphics719 mentions

    The graphics in "Sniper Elite 3" are generally praised for their impressive quality, especially considering the game's 2014 release date, with many reviewers noting that they still hold up well today. The visuals effectively capture the North African setting and feature detailed environments, though some players mention issues with optimization and occasional graphical glitches. Overall, while the graphics are a significant improvement over previous entries in the series, they are sometimes seen as not fully utilizing the potential of modern hardware.

    • “The graphics are stunning and the fast-paced action is hard to beat.”
    • “Sniper Elite 3 boasts impressive visuals, particularly when it comes to the game's attention to detail in recreating World War II environments.”
    • “The graphics are excellent, and the bullet strike shots are entertaining, especially blowing someone's head off.”
    • “Graphically, for a game from 2014, SE3 is bad.”
    • “The graphics make SE1 and SE2 unplayable in the modern era, but SE3 isn't too much of a step down from SE4.”
    • “The game feels very dated, and aside from its visuals, it really belongs to 2004 more than 2014.”
  • stability157 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent crashes, bugs, and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay. Issues include unresponsive controls, problematic AI behavior, and a faulty save system, leading to frustrating experiences. While some users noted minor glitches, the overall consensus is that the game is riddled with stability problems, making it less polished compared to its predecessors.

    • “This game runs great on Windows 8.”
    • “Well polished and, for me, totally bug free.”
    • “The program is stable and versatile, the multiplayer doesn't bug, there are little to no glitches, and it's only £12 right now.”
    • “This game is so buggy that I never passed the third mission; it always bugs and random invisible walls appear in the objective place, or the next mission target never appears, being a loop of nothing.”
    • “Constant crashes, sound issues, graphical glitches, and general bugginess have physically prevented me from playing the game for more than 20 minutes.”
    • “The gameplay is fine, but it's just so buggy that it is impossible to enjoy this game.”
  • optimization74 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while many players report smooth performance on low-end hardware and commend its graphical fidelity, others experience significant issues such as frame rate drops, crashes, and inconsistent performance even on high-end systems. Some users highlight that the game is well-optimized for older PCs, but there are notable bugs and performance inconsistencies that detract from the experience. Despite these issues, several reviews praise the game's visuals and overall performance, suggesting that with further patches, it could achieve a more stable experience.

    • “Moreover, it's great to know that the game's visuals and performance held up well, even on older hardware.”
    • “This game is fantastically optimized and is downright fun to play.”
    • “The game is well optimized and runs like butter on my system, and the graphics are actually quite beautiful on maximum settings and with multisampling enabled.”
    • “The mechanics feel exactly the same from previous Sniper Elite games with no changes, just upgraded graphics that cause performance issues requiring a more powerful setup. It does not seem well optimized.”
    • “What was a fun 3rd person shooter that could be played stealthily and where you can obviously snipe people for some nice x-ray violence has turned into a thumbs down from me due to one big thing: performance and bug issues.”
    • “However, this game has some optimization issues on PC like crashes while playing, some frame rate drops, and a recent issue I discovered while trying to open up the game today where every time I start the game, it takes me back to the title screen, leaving the game unplayable for the time being.”
  • replayability73 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players praising the variety of play styles, collectibles, and multiple difficulty levels that encourage repeated playthroughs. However, some reviewers noted that the missions can become repetitive and that the narrative lacks depth, which may limit long-term engagement. Despite these criticisms, features like co-op play and achievement hunting contribute to a generally positive perception of replay value.

    • “Although this is not the best installment, it is very fun and has a lot of replay value.”
    • “Missions are also large enough and with a decent amount of collectibles and side objectives which promotes replayability.”
    • “The whole series is addictive and replayable over and over again!”
    • “Besides achievements, this game has little to no replayability.”
    • “The problem is replayability for me; there is little incentive to go back and replay missions.”
    • “A very boring game with very little replay value.”
  • humor49 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding the ragdoll physics, over-the-top gore, and absurd situations—like testicle shots and AI mishaps—hilariously entertaining. Many reviews highlight the comedic value of glitches and the fun of playing with friends, making for memorable and laugh-out-loud moments during gameplay. Overall, the game's blend of dark humor and slapstick elements contributes significantly to its enjoyment.

    • “Hilarious ragdolls.”
    • “Just recently got back into gaming and downloading again, I was shocked to see I only had 16 hours played because of all the funny memories I had playing this game.”
    • “It's amazing to find the stupidest and funniest way to kill.”
    • “The humor falls flat and feels forced throughout the game.”
    • “I expected some clever jokes, but instead, it was just cringeworthy.”
    • “The attempts at humor are so over-the-top that they become annoying.”
  • music45 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its ability to enhance the atmosphere and tension during gameplay, while others find it forgettable or annoying, often opting to mute it. Many reviewers note a lack of memorable themes compared to previous installments, with some describing the soundtrack as generic or repetitive. Overall, while the music complements the game for some, it fails to leave a lasting impression for others, leading to a range of ratings from mediocre to decent.

    • “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
    • “The graphics and soundtrack are incredible and immersive, and sometimes you just have to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings.”
    • “The music accompanies the tense gameplay very well at times.”
    • “The music is awful and the bullet-cams with x-ray are idiotic (anyway you can switch it off).”
    • “I had to mute the music because it was nauseating on repeat.”
    • “The 'music' in the game gets annoying and I ended up turning it off; it's just a series of random sporadic drum beats and other instruments.”
  • grinding39 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often leading to frustration with mechanics like relocation and stealth. Many reviews highlight the lack of engaging gameplay variety, with missions feeling overly long and predictable, while some aspects, like weapon customization and progression, are noted as less grindy. Despite some enjoyable elements, the consensus is that the game can become monotonous, especially after multiple playthroughs.

    • “You can customize your weapons and tools before each mission; this is linked to a rank progression system which is great and not grindy at all. The sense of progression is always there.”
    • “The first game limited the amounts of saves you had, while the second didn't allow you to save at all, forcing you to replay the same sections again and again and again, which quickly became tedious.”
    • “Once you are spotted, which can happen quite easily (sometimes an enemy sees the top of your head peeking over sandbags from fifty feet away), it is tedious and time-consuming to relocate and start the process all over again.”
    • “However, it does get tedious doing essentially the same thing every level.”
  • atmosphere27 mentions

    The atmosphere in "Sniper Elite 3" is generally praised for its vivid depiction of the North African setting, enhanced by detailed graphics, immersive sound design, and varied environments that contribute to tense gameplay. While many players appreciate the game's ability to create a thrilling and authentic wartime vibe, some critiques highlight a lack of depth and immersion in certain aspects, leading to a mixed reception regarding its overall atmospheric impact.

    • “In terms of graphics, 'Sniper Elite 3' vividly captures the atmosphere of hot and dusty North Africa. The game's open-world maps feature a variety of environments and secret passages, which diversifies the way missions are completed.”
    • “The sound design, including weapon sounds and environmental effects, contributes to the immersive atmosphere of the game.”
    • “Sniper Elite 3 has amazing gameplay, set up in a beautifully crafted WWII atmosphere.”
    • “Usually I don't complain about bugs since I play and love some janky games like Stalker, but this combined with the rather bland story, characters, and overall atmosphere makes it hard to go through.”
    • “And this gets me to the second point which is that the atmosphere was flat.”
    • “It just feels so lazily thrown together, it's lacking any atmosphere, there's no tension at all and it's so, so, so very easy.”
  • monetization13 mentions

    The monetization practices of the game have drawn significant criticism, with many users labeling it a "cash grab" due to intrusive ads and a broken ad toggle feature. While some appreciate the inclusion of a firing range for testing weapons before purchase, the overall sentiment suggests that the monetization strategy detracts from the gaming experience. Users advise caution, as the game's marketing may be misleading.

    • “All in all, while I will enjoy some of the missions, the monetization practices, as well as the clunky movement, kind of puts me off.”
    • “Definitely a cash grab for just a mustache guy signing autographs.”
    • “It is so blatantly a cash grab despite me having dropped good cash for the game.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, with users describing the storyline as boring, cliché, and disappointing, leading to a lack of engagement and emotional investment. The gameplay is also noted to be repetitive and unchallenging, further detracting from any potential emotional impact. Overall, the game fails to evoke meaningful emotions, leaving players feeling let down.

    • “So mind-numbingly boring story that is full of clichés with an ending that was a major letdown.”
    • “Boring storyline, laggy movements.”
    • “Repetitive and not challenging at all, boring story, slow gameplay and only half-decent graphics.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development in the game is criticized for being superficial, with short missions and poor character designs that fail to engage players emotionally. As a result, players feel indifferent towards the story and character arcs presented.

    • “The missions are even shorter than those in the second game, and the character designs are also poor.”
    • “Character development feels rushed and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
    • “The characters are one-dimensional and fail to evolve throughout the story, leaving little impact on the player.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

67% average critic score

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Play time

14hMedian play time
21hAverage play time
7-20hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 36 analyzed playthroughs

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