It’s no secret that EA’s biggest shooter franchise has had a rough time recently. Apex Legends has done surprisingly well, but that’s mostly because it was designed by Respawn Entertainment, without EA’s proprietary Frostbite engine. No shame to Frostbite, as some of the capabilities of the engine for Battlefield games are incredible. But in recent years, Battlefield has seen somewhat of a decline from the mainstream shooter it used to be. Battlefield 6 is said to be the very next entry, and it needs to make a comeback.
There are some key aspects throughout Battlefield‘s history that have contributed to the franchise becoming a bit mediocre. Defining features like destruction are no longer emphasized in a functional manner, while single-player is consistently forced into the experience, despite often being an afterthought for players who love Battlefield‘s signature multiplayer. Battlefield is having an identity crisis, one that’s not easily solved. Battlefield needs to hone in on what made the series so special in the first place and emphasize that.
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One area in particular that Battlefield definitely doesn’t need to focus on is the single player content. In fact, the franchise would frankly do better without it entirely. Arguably, the last good Battlefield single player story was Battlefield 1, and even then, the campaign took a back seat to multiplayer just like every other modern Battlefield game that preceded it. Classic Battlefield titles are fondly remembered for their multiplayer experiences, and even though games in the past have had endearing characters like in Bad Company, they just haven’t been exceptional. Multiplayer should be Battlefield‘s primary directive, improving trademark modes like Conquest whilst implementing something new as well.
Consider 2017’s Battlefront 2, a Star Wars property that borrows many of the same gameplay elements from Battlefield. There was an undeniably dedicated amount of work put into the singleplayer story of Battlefront 2, and yet it was one of the lesser portions of that game. The Star Wars franchise is (more or less) known for engaging storytelling, but for a main IP like Star Wars‘ Battlefront to have a story mode that’s largely ignored or glossed over, it shows that EA’s shooter gameplay carries itself over an engrossing storyline. Battlefield doesn’t even have an established ethos or universe to draw from like Star Wars, so another story campaign in Battlefield likely won’t do well unless it’s revolutionary.
One of the defining aspects of Battlefield since the beginning has always been destruction. The mechanics have iterated and changed over the years, but in more recent titles in the franchise, destruction seems to have unintentionally become less important. Games like Bad Company and Battlefield 3 used to employ destruction in a functionally relevant manner, making the mechanic an integral part of the environment design. Playing Rush in Bad Company 2 generally meant blowing holes into M-COM stations to breach and set a charge, or even take the whole building down if that’s more viable.
Nowadays similar functionality is available in newer Battlefield games, but it feels more like an add-on than a prominent gameplay mechanic. Sure, you can still make holes in walls with your favorite explosive ordinance, but it’s generally in service to just converting a wall into a doorway. There’s no more purposeful destruction like in previous Battlefield titles. A prime example would be Bad Company 2‘s Arica Harbor map, which has a city section densely populated with buildings. On the second attack wave of Rush, the attacking team largely has no proper sightlines without damaging or taking down most of the buildings. The game literally encourages the attacking team to utilize destruction to open up the map more and force an advantage over the defending team.
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Perhaps the worst thing now is Battlefield is dealing with an identity crisis. Being the gritty simulatory modern combat experience Battlefield is known for just isn’t enough. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare does that, but also backs that with the characters like Captain Price who make the experience more memorable. Not only that, but Modern Warfare‘s version of Ground War essentially became a version of Conquest from Battlefield, minus the destruction. A lot of what made Battlefield special, Call of Duty is now doing even better.
Battlefield needs to reinvent its image, and that could be as simple as looking to the past to inspire the future. The Bad Company games in particular would be a good start, as these games never truly took themselves seriously. Even though Bad Company 2 eschewed a lot of the silliness from the first game, multiplayer in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was the right balance of simulation vs. fun factor. Battlefield could definitely use a dose of that nowadays, especially after Battlefield 5.
Battlefield 6 is currently slated to launch in the 2022 fiscal year (October 2021-September 2022) for PS5 and Xbox Series X.
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