Battlefield V review: A bridge not quite far enough

Battlefield V presents the player with beautiful landscapes and excellent gunplay, but the lack of content breaks the shooter down into a repetitive cycle.

Title: Battlefield V
Developer: EA DICE
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: Xbox One (version reviewed), PS4, PC
Release Date: November 20, 2018

The scale and scope of the Battlefield franchise have always been massive, but Battlefield V scales back a bit and focuses on attributes at the player level. This change in focus primarily helps the game with a silky smooth gunplay system, a revamped squad system, and gorgeous maps. However, places in which the game cuts back hurts in a way that leaves me wanting more when there is nothing left to soak up.

Making a return to the franchise are War Stories. Battlefield 1 introduced players into this anthology campaign featuring several different stories across the World War I landscape. The returning anthology campaign returns with a smaller splash as the game only has three stories. DICE will be release a fourth in December via their free Tides of War DLC. What makes these war stories have an even smaller impact than those of Battlefield 1‘s is their length. Each story only took about an hour and a half to complete with a few deaths sprinkled throughout.

I was left wanting more of who they were and what they would do after the hour and a half of story was over.

Regardless of the short lengths and the lack of stories, the campaigns carry a heavy weight to them. Each character is dragged into the war in their own way making them unique and interesting. I was left wanting more of who they were and what they would do after the hour and a half of story was over.

The three campaigns take place across the World War II landscape in a North African desert, France and Norway, which gives each environment significant differences. These various landscapes kept the stories fresh unlike their differences in gameplay. All three campaigns follow a similar gameplay structure of destroying a certain objective, which became uninteresting after the first instance.

Luckily, Battlefield V‘s multiplayer picks up the lack of gameplay variety with massive battles. The number one aspect of the multiplayer that stands out the most is the gunplay. Previous Battlefield games have also had great gunplay, but it has never felt better in Battlefield V.

Live Feed

Culturess

Guns have a weight to them when firing that requires a steady focus when engaging enemies. For example, automatic weapons can be shot in bursts to gain greater accuracy over far distances. These small details in gunplay make the combat fresh from previous installments and other franchises.

A new addition to multiplayer, which is also available to all classes is fortifications. Battlefield has always had destructive environments, but once everything was gone, it was gone forever. Now, players can build fortifications for cover fire, to get across bridges or stop enemy vehicles.

The process is simple and rewards points to the players. I found this new ability fun while also being useful at the same time. Buildings and bridges are destroyed frequently so it was a relief to be able to build those structures back up for future firefights.

Squad systems have been improved substantially. Players are now placed in a squad automatically where they may leave and join others if they choose. Players within the same squad can revive each other regardless if they are part of the medic class or not. This new feature improves teamwork and urges players to stick together when vying for an objective.

I found this new system a much-needed change while also improving gameplay overall. I was revived more times by squad mates then medics themselves because the new system relieves the stress of needing a medic.

Traversing the eight maps in Battlefield V is a wonder all in its own. The eight maps feature gorgeous landscapes, which only look better when in 4K. The Xbox One X kills at making this game look fantastic. The maps shine even more when playing on the console. The various environments cause variations in gameplay.

I was required to approach objectives differently on each map because of their layout. Fields required a faster pace and eagle vision to spot enemies while urban areas required a slower pace for checking rooms and corners.

Even with the gorgeous maps and stellar gameplay, Battlefield V  begins to turn stale after a few hours of gameplay. The variety of game modes isn’t there. I found myself jumping between the smaller game modes and the larger ones with little differences between the two. Gameplay doesn’t change at all across different modes leading my interest into flatline.

The progression system is even shallow with little differences in equipment selection. However, the addition of character customization is refreshing, it isn’t enough for me to keep playing for hours on end.

A copy of this game was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this review. All scores are ranked out of 10, with .5 increments. Click here to learn more about our Review Policy.