It's a great entry into the series. Sniping itself feels good, although the maps aren't too tailored to long range sniping unless you really force it. Lots of sneaking around and CQB. My main issue is with the Hitman-ification of Sniper Elite. Lots of levels are in massive buildings with lots of rooms and soldiers, and CQB seems to be a major focus, which is weird what with CQB being the worst aspect of a game series named "Sniper Elite". Hiding bodies etc all seemed pretty unnecessary. But some of the levels are great, like Levels 4, 5, 6 and 8, with 8 being my favourite of the lot. I particularly disliked the layout of level 3, as the central building of the map is massive with not many sniping opportunities inside. Played it on Gamepass so can't comment on DLC, but I've heard some of the DLC levels are quite good.

Quick note on Axis invasion: It's a nice idea and has potential, but in execution plays out pretty poorly.

I am personally not so into the series that I'd replay levels multiple times, but I played on Authentic difficulty throughout and got 3 stars on each mission, and it was reasonably challenging. Overall, a pretty good experience, but still doesn't recreate the magic of Sniper Elite V2 for me.

Was also weird to have all the stealth and lethality ratings. Why would I use non-lethal bullets? It's a game about killing Nazis, what gives?

It's a short and perfectly functional game, but not much else to show for it. The open world is actually what kept me hooked, purely from an aesthetic standpoint. It's got a lot of information on Japanese culture for those interested, lots of cool little sections, but overall not much variety in terms of gameplay. The powers felt nice to use, but most of the enemies go down easy once you have enough upgrades.

The game has some neat little parts. I like the Tanuki hunts, it's a nice fun thing to collect around the city. I like the flying around rooftops. I like how the game allows you to get a reward for collecting the hundred odd collectibles (I'm a bit of a crazed completionist at times so I end up collecting this stuff). There's a lot of nice little things, but it doesn't connect together.

Story wise it's alright, they seem to have tried something which is better than nothing. But lots of plotlines are left open, lots of little things that go nowhere. Would have liked to learn more about KK and the crew. Akito's story doesn't go anywhere at all until the very end, which is really amateurish.

Overall not terrible, but pretty forgettable. It's just visually stunning. The school level is a standout though, genuinely scary horror setting and a nice story to go with.