The Saboteur

The Saboteur is Pandemic Studios' open-world action thriller set in Nazi-occupied Paris during 1940. You play Sean Devlin, a tough Irish racecar mechanic whose best friend was executed by Nazi Colonel Kurt Dierker. Sean joins the French Resistance, but his agenda is personal: a long, methodical campaign of sabotage aimed squarely at Dierker and everything around him.

The city itself is one of the game's standout elements — the first open-world Paris ever rendered in a video game at this scale. You can climb the Eiffel Tower for sniping missions, perch on Notre Dame Cathedral for an overlook, brawl through the Champs d'Élysées, and prowl the alleys, rooftops, burlesque houses and seedy streets of the Occupied city. Vehicles cover everything from period sports cars (Sean is a racing mechanic, after all) to commandeered military transports. Stealth and disguise are core to the sabotage missions — disable trains, blow up bridges, destroy enemy facilities, with the wider Resistance available on call for getaway cars, weapon deliveries and distractions.

The game's signature visual trick is the Will to Fight system. Occupied areas of Paris are rendered in a drab black-and-white palette with splashes of red for Nazi flags and signage. As Sean liberates districts and inspires the local population, color returns to the streets — vibrant Parisian palettes signal recaptured ground, and freed citizens begin actively helping by intervening in fights or providing escape routes. The transition isn't just aesthetic; it directly shapes how the city behaves around you, making your progress visible at street level.