Sniper Dan Xbox Series X Review 8.5/10 "Ready...aim…thanks!" 🦞

Sniper Dan Review – A Charming, Quirky Hidden‑Object Shooter With Sharpshooter Humour

A delightfully quirky twist on the hidden object genre – a favourite around these parts – that casts you in the role of the titular sniper, a chap who assists the citizens of his city by shooting at, or near them. Good.

Played mostly from Sniper Dan’s bird’s-eye view of the area he is currently scoping out from his tower, you will be given a list of jobs that need to be completed before moving on to the next area. 

Aside from needing to reload every few shots, you have infinite ammo, and a huge part of the fun of Sniper Dan is in just casually scoping the area out to try and find your target (you can buy hints in the market, should you get particularly stuck), enjoying the amusing animations and situations that each busy scene provides.

The animations and visuals are crisp and clean, with a simple approach bringing life to each charming character and animal. Crucially, the controls and hit-boxes in the game are completely spot-on, and that accuracy makes the game fun and fair to play. 

Accompanying the bright and colourful visuals is a suitable mellow and jaunty soundtrack. Whilst the rest of the game is rich in tweaks and choice, such as the various parts of your gun being upgradable, and your office having myriad aspects that you can customise, the music is noticeably sparse and lacks variety, which is odd, as the inclusion of a radio to shoot in each stage to change stations would have fit in perfectly with the cartoonish vibe of the game. 

There are also dozens of shootable barrels, bags, and boxes that can hide cash and secrets for you to uncover, raising the amount of upgrades and customisations that you can afford between stages.

SUMMARY
Sniper Dan has quickly become a family favourite, and the fact that there are so many different areas to ‘scope out’ combined with the natural variety that the jobs provide means that there’s quite a lot of meat on the bone here, all tied to a great, broad sense of humour that resonates at all age levels, all helped along by keeping things simple, charming and fun. 

I would very much love to see this become a franchise, as there’s clearly plenty of mileage in the tank for this hidden-object-shoot-em-up, a genre I didn’t know I would love so much!

8.5/10

🆒COOL🆒

(also available on PC, PlayStation 5, Switch / Switch 2)

Developer – Denki

Publisher – PQUBE

From the Sniper Dan website:

MEET DAN. Dan has a sniper rifle. Don’t panic, he’s not here to harm anyone. Dan’s a professional, and his job is fixing things. From a distance. With pinpoint accuracy and good intentions.

Sniper Dan is a hidden object game unlike any other. Objects aren't always well hidden and solutions involve shooting them. Each job follows a simple and highly respected method.

1) Figure out the problem. Use the clues. HMM…

2) Find the problem. Scope the area. AHA!

3) Fix the problem. Shoot. WHEE!

You’re not hunting enemies. You’re hunting problems. Fixing rusty taps, machines behaving badly, and even stopping a thieving Pelican. Travel far and wide across lively 3D locations packed with visual jokes and silly situations as you help those in need. Can Dan and his trusty tool get the job done?

Dan’s business takes him to villages, parks, farms, airports, cities and beyond. Special challenges keep every day fresh. Take on optional work for extra cash, tackle bigger jobs for even bigger rewards and uncover secrets that leave citizens quietly convinced something magical just happened.

It did. It was Dan!

Between contracts, upgrade your rifle, decorate your office hub and grow your entirely legitimate troubleshooting business. Unlock bonus games and extra modes like Time Attack, Ammo Hunt and Photo Mode, all under the judgmental eye of Rank Chook.

Funny, colourful and sure to leave you wanting more, Sniper Dan is about finding what’s wrong, fixing it fast and moving on to the next job.

Scope the problem. Take the shot. Make everyone happy.