Sniper Elite V2 is a third-person tactical shooter that emphasizes a less direct approach to combat, encouraging the player as a sniper to use stealth and keep distance from enemy soldiers. Many of the single player levels allow multiple routes for the players to take, including multistory buildings and side streets to get vantage points and avoid direct firefights. Set in World War II, the player character utilizes appropriate weapons for the era. The sniper rifle is the primary weapon throughout the game, though additional side arms are available including submachine guns and pistols, silenced or not depending on the situation. In addition to hand grenades, the player can deploy them as tripwire booby traps, land mines and dynamite. Binoculars can be used to tag enemies in view, displaying their position and movements to player. When using the sniper rifle however, certain elements can determine the outcome of a shot, taking realistic ballistics into consideration including wind direction and strength and bullet drop potentially altering the shot through the scope. Bullets can ricochet off surfaces or targets and strike others. In different postures such as crouching or lying down on the front can also steady a shot, however the player character also has the ability to take a deep breath to further steady a shot and from their perspective slow down time. Another ability is when the player character is spotted, their last movements and position to the enemy is shown as a white-outlined figure, potentially allowing the player to escape that area and avoid further detection and alarms being raised.

A major feature of V2 is the "X-Ray Kill Cam" where upon a successful and skilled shot will in slow motion follow the bullet from the sniper rifle to the target where upon impact will show an anatomically correct x-ray style reveal of the body part being hit and the damage the bullet causes to the organs and bones. Sniping can also be used to shoot the enemies' own grenades triggering an explosion. This method can also be used against military vehicles by targeting fuel tanks and valves. The game will also measure notable shots by briefly displaying distance and other factors like whether it was a head shot or moving target.