Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts Review

Published: February 22, 2020 11:00 AM /

Reviewed By:


Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts Review Header

There’s almost nothing more enjoyable than the freedom to tackle a mission in several different ways. Whether it’s a chaos run in Dishonored or a stealthy playthrough in Payday 2. Somedays I barge in the front door guns blazing and other days it’s exhilarating to find a hidden vent system. Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts provides a foundation that lets creative minds run wild.

The Strategies Are Endless

I first noticed in my preview for Contracts how satisfying it feels to scout a fortress. You can run the same exact mission with several different routes every time both literally and figuratively. It all comes down to the type of player you are and what works best for you. 

The first few contracts are more enjoyable because everything is new and unexplored. Taking out your first sniper and sneaking through a compound to a target’s location feels great. However, the skill system in Contracts takes away from the challenge and pride that comes with success early on. Instead of expanding the world with new mechanics, the skills often function as a safety net that removes the difficulty.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts Loadout
Prepare your loadout and skills before every mission for the perfect kit.

Everyone knows that feeling of how using a cheat code can ruin your enjoyment. This is how Contracts comes across when multiple skills give more armor or make your steps silent. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be an expert sniper, but certain skills push it too far.

At the end of my playthrough, I replayed a mission and sprinted through killing everyone with a revolver on the highest difficulty. I did the same mission killing only the target quietly and sneaking out. Particular skills create a situation similar to recent Ghost Recon games where there are so many mechanics that take away that gratification.

Gadgets in Contracts Focus on Close Combat

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts Close Combat
Why shoot a sniper from far away when you can sneak up close and personal?

In an odd twist, the many different grenades and gadgets you acquire are rarely useful for sniping. You would figure a game about sniping would feature fewer tools for close-quarters combat. Gadgets like gas grenades, C4, and mines only serve a purpose when everything goes to hell. This makes it easy for a silent sniper to forget that gadgets exist.

Sure, I can set up mines and devices to warn when enemies draw near. However, there’s no reason to set up defenses when you’re miles away from everyone. The only worthwhile gadgets I used in Contracts were medkits, a drone for scouting, and a fancy mask. Even still, the drone loses its appeal when skills practically mark every enemy nearby.

The main gadget is the mask new to the Sniper Ghost Warrior franchise. It helps with adjusting your aim, thermal vision, and finding important objectives. In my preview, I explained how the mask helps adjust for gravity and wind for expert shots. Aside from that, it doesn’t serve much purpose early on outside of tracking a tiny objective on a desk. When fully upgraded, it becomes overpowered for scanning targets.

Contracts becomes too easy when you can mark every soldier and see them through walls. The developers try to fight that crutch with certain towers and structures removing marked targets. This is the only time I felt a challenge because I had to manually zero the distance of enemies.

Running Into Countless Bugs

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts Bug
My handler didn’t prepare me for genetically engineered humans with multiple arms and legs.

The bugs I experienced in Contracts were never game-breaking, but they were too frequent. I constantly ran into glitches that alerted enemies, or NPCs standing in the wrong place. For example, there is a mission to rescue a prisoner and he was wandering around outside his cell. I shot his cell door open and he ran inside to thank me for rescuing him.

I found one of my main contract targets stuck walking inside another NPC. I don’t know if that’s where he spawned or if there could have been more to this mission. Instead, I walked over and killed them while they tried to walk into a wall. A lot of bugs like these are more often silly and disappointing, but don’t ruin the experience. It’s easy to notice a small bug, hope it gets fixed, and move on.
Objectives With Light Narratives Feel Repetitive

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts Gameplay
Every step before that first shot is critical in landing the kill.

Each of the five major regions contains various contracts ranging from killing a target to gathering documents. These simple objectives combined with a light story left me wishing there was more going on. I fulfilled most contracts by sniping a target from far away or moving in close to gather a document. This is where Contracts feels unimaginative, falling back on its captivating gameplay. 

One region stands out from the rest by telling a controversial story about eugenics. The delivery of this narrative is much smoother compared to others. My group of friends and I were trying to understand what’s wrong with removing diseases through genetic engineering. However, the plot dives a bit deeper before lifting the veil on why.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts Review | Closing Thoughts

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts blends splendid gameplay with a light storyline. Despite numerous bugs, every environment is entertaining because of how it pushes you to be creative Each contract presents an opportunity for a great combination of long-range and close-quarters encounters. Overall, the satisfying gameplay makes it easy to ignore the frequent bugs.


TechRaptor reviewed Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts on PC via Steam with a code provided by the developer.

Review Summary

7.5
It’s easy to get lost in the pleasure behind clearing an entire fortress in Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts. While the overall story isn’t compelling, the gameplay is gripping. (Review Policy)

Pros

  • Gunplay Feels Great
  • Unique Strategies For Every Scenario
  • Simulates Realistic Sniping in a Fun Way

Cons

  • Frequent Small Bugs
  • Story Can Feel Barren

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


Jeffrey Lerman Avatar
| Staff Writer

Jeff loves to write, stream, and make content about video games, pursuing his passion for the industry. He's a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes,… More about Jeffrey

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts
Developer
Ci Games
Publisher
Ci Games
Platforms
PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date
November 22, 2019 (Calendar)
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