Sniper Dan Preview

Did you ever want to shoot the titular character in those Where’s Wally? books? Just me? Anyway, that’s the basics of Sniper Dan, a puzzle game about a helpful sniper who’s happy to sit somewhere high day after day, shooting things with a high-powered rifle to aid people.

The action, as it were, is all done through the scope of your gun from a fixed point overlooking an area. There are multiple areas, and you’re given a list of odd jobs that need doing across multiple days. The build which I played only had three levels (two areas, one of which had two days), but it’s a great idea to simply reuse the same places with minor alterations.

So, what kinds of odd jobs are expected of you? Clearing leaves, preventing drownings, banishing jiāngshī, clearing seaweed from an outboard motor… You know, normal things that you accomplish with a rifle. The challenge is locating these things, and not shooting the wrong person/animal by accident. You get coins for every task completed, but are penalised coins for a misfire! Even if the binocular guy is asking for it because they won’t stop looking at you…

Clearly, the tone is far from serious, with swing sets catapulting people off of the level and Chinese jumping vampires in every level. The game is bright and colourful, and I laughed quite often at one thing or another. If you’re worried that your kids might see you playing a game where you’re using a sniper rifle, well, this is the family-friendly alternative. All that happens when you “misfire” is someone knocked onto their back with stars circling their heads (plus the loss of coins).

The graphics have an exaggerated cartoon style, which really suits the tone, and of course, helps you to find your targets more easily. Your sniper scope is capable of zooming in to several times magnification, and the simple design of everything means that it all still looks great.

The music is jaunty, and the ambient sounds fit the two levels that I got to check out. The gun sound effect is perhaps more visceral than I’d have thought given the tone of everything else, but it’s definitely a gun.

I’m honestly super impressed with Sniper Dan. While I’d like the game to have different fonts when it releases (some are a little “crayon-y” for my tastes), it’s a fun and stakes-free game about helping people… with a sniper rifle.