Summary
It’s a sad time to be aBattlefieldfan. Once one of the most reliable, grounded military shooter franchises,Battlefieldhas lost a great deal of its identity over the last few years, which has coincided with a major critical decline. WhileBattlefield 5technically reviewed quite well upon its initial 2018 release, many fans were left disappointed with the game’s lack of maps and series-staple features on launch. And thenBattlefield 2042came around.
WhileBattlefield 5at least retained some of the core pillars of the franchise’s identity,Battlefield 2042, at least in the eyes of many fans, felt like a complete departure from the rest of the series in terms of both tone and gameplay mechanics. Inspired by hero shooters likeOverwatch,Battlefield 2042introduced Specialists, and adopted a much lighter tone, which, along with the game’s litany of technical issues and severe lack of content on launch, causedBattlefield 2042to be the worst-rated mainline entry in franchise history. There’s a lotthe nextBattlefieldgameneeds to do to turn things around, but its main focus should be bringing back a core part of the series' identity: its realism.
The Next Battlefield Needs to Focus on Immersion
Battlefield Has Always Been More Grounded Than Its Competition
Since the very beginning,Battlefieldhas prided itself on its realism. The very first game in the franchise,2002’sBattlefield 1942, aimed to be as realistic (but still fun) as possible, delivering some state-of-the-art visuals along with some of the largest multiplayer maps and lobbies seen at the time. Historical accuracy also played a major role inBattlefield 1942, with each WW2 faction and class receiving accurate vehicles, weapon models, and equipment.
Though theBattlefieldfranchise wasn’t afraid of experimenting with some more fantastical settings, such asBattlefield 2142’s second Ice Age, it always kept the game’s actual content and presentation as grounded as possible. Dark color palettes, realistic lighting effects, groundbreaking destruction physics, and a slew of other technical features kept the vast majority ofBattlefieldentries feeling grounded and immersive, which quickly became one of the series' defining traits and set it apart nicely fromCall of Duty’s more over-the-top, arcade-y approach.
It’s Time for Battlefield To Embrace Its Grounded Roots
It’s more important than ever before forBattlefieldto return to its more grounded roots. Though they took various creative liberties,Battlefield 3,4, and1all felt suitably immersive and realistic, while also being able to deliver some more bombastic set pieces. ButBattlefield 5was the first real entry where fans questioned the game’s tonal approach, with it straying much further from historical realism than any previous entry had before, only for it to quickly be overshadowed by the drastic tonal changes inBattlefield 2042.
While thecriticisms surroundingBattlefield 2042are plentiful, one of the biggest is the game’s lack of realism.Battlefieldhas never been the most realistic military shooter on the market, but it was always more immersive and grounded than its major competition, and fans are desperate for a return to that core series identity. The nextBattlefieldgame needs to put the series' focus back on realistic graphics, weather effects, character models, as well as delivering some cutting-edge destruction physics and damage effects. And if the nextBattlefieldis adopting a historical setting, it needs to bring the high level of historical accuracy and reverence that the franchise used to pride itself on.
Battlefield
EA’s Battlefield franchise is a series of first-person shooter games. The games have predominantly been set in the modern day, though there have also been titles set in World War 1, World War 2, and in the near future.The Battlefield franchise is often compared to Call of Duty, with both franchises offering single-player campaigns and online multiplayer.
