What the Churchill do you want from me here? Do you want to hear that BFV challenges the boundaries of old and modern gaming design philosophies for an unforgettable experience? Or would you rather a damning condemnation of the historical inaccuracies and inconsistencies that ultinately ruin the immersion? I’m not hugely attached to the series, so the best I can muster is an apathetic shrug that hints at appreciation. My time with the demo was brief, and it was enjoyable enough, but it didn’t leave much of an impression on me.
… No, seriously, I wish I had something better to say, but I don’t. What I played was a Conquest match on a small map with 15 other similarly sweaty-handed nerds. It was Battlefield through and through, with a strong emphasis on squads and a goal to capture objectives. The formula is set in stone at this point, and if you like it, uh, well, good news, it’s still in the game! If you don’t like it, hey, guess what, it’s still in the game! It’s like every Battlefield before it, and if you like that gameplay, it’s still satisfying to engage with.
I would like to believe that Battlefield has persisted because of the quality of its gunplay. Even in the brief demo I played, I extracted the most enjoyment from how the weapons felt. You’d need more than a few shots to fell a Nazi, and guns would recoil about as badly as WW2 weapons would. Pinpoint precision is the name of the Enfield, which yet again feels like good ol’ Battlefield. Thing is, I’ve been here before, and it doesn’t feel like this game is distinct from its predecessor.
Given the jump from WW1 to WW2, you’d think the game would feel different, but it doesn’t. The UI is barely a step up from before, and the graphics are as good as you’d expect. The biggest change is that there are women on the field now, so… You can shoot two genders? It all feels like well-trodden territory with nothing new to show. I’m repeating myself, I know, but I honestly can’t think of a single outstanding feature to comment on. It’s the same Battlefield we’ve seen at least four times before, and it’s nothing revolutionary. With all that said, do I think the game is looking bad? Not really.
Despite being as memorable as that movie starring that guy from that show, it promises more than it showed. The foundational gameplay is there, and that’s all I played. I wish I could have played a larger map or seen vehicles in action, but the limited scope of the demo left me wondering more than anything else. There’s not much I can talk about because as so little of it was new or exciting, so instead, all I can give is the written equivalent of a shrug and a smirk.
