Battlefield V looks gorgeous, plays fast, and encompasses all the hallmarks of a modern first-person shooter (FPS).
The PC game includes respectable single player content, called War Stories, and new takes on multiplayer gameplay, such as Grand Operations, but both settle into genre norms.
Battlefield V's most apparent drawback, however, is the complexity of its progression systems and somewhat repetitive gameplay.
Battlefield V is a solid entry in the long-running Battlefield series and you should play it if you are a fan of previous titles.
Just don't expect anything groundbreaking.
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Battlefield V focuses on the events and global environment of World War II, a step forward along the historical timeline from its last release, the WWI-focused, Battlefield 1.
Newcomers don't have to worry if they skipped previous entries though, as most of the games have self-contained narratives.
Previous games may give you a good framework for how multiplayer matches and other mechanics work, but the learning curve is not too overwhelming.
Battlefield V costs $59.99 for the standard version or $79.99 for the deluxe version, which includes some additional in-game items.
If you subscribe to EA's Origin Access Premiere subscription service ($14.99 per month or $99.99 per year), you get full access to the deluxe version of the game.
In addition to the PC version, Battlefield V is available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
War Stories
Battlefield V's War Stories are segmented single-player experiences that explore various locations and scenarios against the backdrop of World War II.
At the time of this review, the game offers three different campaigns, each of which takes no more than a couple of hours to complete, depending on your play style.
Note that unless you are a completionist and want to unlock all the achievements and collectibles, the stories offer little replayability.
The chapters take place in a North African desert, the snowy mountains of Norway, and brilliantly colored forests in France.
Each environment looks spectacular and distinct from the others, which helps build out each of these micro worlds.
At the start of each campaign, you can select a difficulty level to tailor the gameplay.
Even though I chose the easiest difficulty for these stories, I still encountered a respectable challenge with each story and quickly found that a bit of strategy goes a long way; going in guns blazing will likely end in a quick death.
The main purpose of the separate War Stories is to showcase the war through different perspectives.
Battlefield V's execution of this goal is mixed.
On one hand, each chapter introduces mostly compelling characters, each with distinct storylines and motives.
In one War Story, you play as an ex-convict named Billy Bridger alongside a seasoned compatriot on a mission to destroy enemy airfields.
In another, you take on the role of a young woman named Solveig who must free her captured mother and thwart German research efforts.
A third campaign puts players in the role of Deme, a Senegalese soldier, fighting in France against heavily fortified German forces.
However, the relatively short play time of these War Stories does not allow adequate time for a player to fully empathize with characters.
As a result the experience, heavy on both exposition and cutscenes, sometimes feels forced and slightly rushed.
The gameplay of each War Story also feels too similar across the board.
For example, each campaign mainly tasks you with approaching enemy strongholds and eliminating everyone in your path.
Along the way, you'll plant bombs, disable alarm towers, and cover your comrades, but you do so in each story.
Also, since these gameplay elements are similar to those of any first-person shooter released the past decade, Battlefield V's single player experience feels a bit stale.
It's not all bad though.
Some mechanics in the stories offer differentiation and allow for player flexibility.
For example, the game gives you freedom in how you approach objectives.
Maps are generally wide open and accommodate varied play styles, though the stealthy approach typically works best.
Furthermore, in some of the levels, you can easily hop into a plane or truck for faster travel; in others, you can ski past enemy ranks.
Battlefield V could improve its War Story experiences by making them longer and mixing up the gameplay elements; not every story needs to follow the same structure.
Another War Story, called The Last Tiger, will unlock shortly after the game's release as part of the Tides of War live service (I discuss this in more detail later), and I hope it offers more than the current narratives.
Still, I applaud the game for actually having a compelling single-player experience, something Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 completely eschews.
Multiplayer Madness
As with many past Battlefield games, Battlefield V's multiplayer experience is a major, if not the main, attraction.
With massive maps, a good variety of vehicles, and several game modes to try, Battlefield V's offering doesn't disappoint, but it doesn't advance the genre at all either.
In multiplayer matches, you select among four different classes: Assault, Medic, Support, and Recon.
Each of these roles has a specific function during the battle, and you should choose the one that best fits the situation.
For example, if you are defending an area, the Support class's heavy weaponry and fortification capabilities may be best.
As you spend time playing in each role, you unlock additional capabilities and customizations for each class, so it is in your best interest to get comfortable with all of them.
I go into more detail on upgrades in the next section.
Battlefield V includes all the game modes you might expect, as well as a few new and improved ones.
Conquest, Frontlines, Team Deathmatch, and Airborne are just a few of the available game types.
Airborne is a new mode that requires players to parachute into a battle instead of respawning at a set point on the map.
I played several rounds of the new Grand Operations mode, which splits the action over four in-game days of battles.
One side's victory in previous days leads to advantage in the next, all the way up the final confrontation between the two sides.
During these rounds, I was equal parts impressed by the performance, given the player count, and enthralled by the experience of pushing through enemy ranks alongside teammates en route to objectives.
The problem with many multiplayer games, and especially those of the FPS genre, is that gameplay can become repetitive over time.
Typically, your goal in these games involves some combination of killing enemies and capturing checkpoints.
Regardless of the player count and set-up rules of Battlefield V's various modes, the most significant change between them is the pacing.
The diversified maps and the variety of available vehicles help Battlefield distinguish itself from the seemingly endless onslaught of military-themed shooters, which I appreciate, but it still doesn't feel like much of a step forward.
The upcoming Tides of War Live service will introduce new Grand Operations, a new Co-Op mode, new maps, and a practice range.
I appreciate EA's efforts here to introduce new content to the game, especially since these new releases will be available to all players.
And for all you Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) players, don't worry; Battlefield V is getting a battle royale mode early next year.
Progression and Customizations
In-game progression is measured across the following categories: Career, Class, Weapon, Vehicle, and Chapter.
As you gain experience with each discipline, your rank improves and you unlock relevant gameplay items (weapons, vehicles, and weapon parts) and cosmetic items (weapon skins and soldier gear).
Note that you can customize both your Ally and Axis lineup of playable characters and their respective vehicles.
This system is supplemented by an in-game currency called Company Coin.
You earn Company Coin by ranking up your level and by completing Assignments and Daily Missions, which are just various achievements you need to complete during the course of battle.
For example, an Assignment for the medic class may require you to heal or supply a certain number of people during a battle.
You can use Company Coin to acquire weapon customizations and skills, as well as cosmetic items for your company of soldiers.
Battlefield Currency is Battlefield V's in-game currency that you need to purchase with real-world money.
This currency, however, can only be used to purchase specific cosmetic items, which is ideal for games that insist on including microtransactions.
This currency also will not be available until well after launch, which is a smart way to ensure a consistent experience for all players.
I understand the need for multiplayer games to offer branching progression and upgrade paths, but many of these systems require players to dive into multiple menus and are not immediately intuitive.
Removing one layer of this system would make upgrades and customizations much easier to understand and possibly encourage more players to strive to unlock items.
As it stands, the path to unlocking items may not seem to be worth the effort, due to its complexity.
Don't get me wrong, it's not as bad as Star Wars BattleFront II was at launch, but it could still be vastly improved.
Visuals, Sounds, and Weapons
Entries in the Battlefield series tend to look fantastic.
Battlefield V is no exception.
The game is graced with fully detailed maps, destructible items, and cool weather effects.
For example, the crowded canals, quaint cobblestone streets, and labyrinthian buildings of the Rotterdam map all help build out its world.
Similarly, the towering mountains and deep snow banks in Norway help create a sense of immersion.
Battlefield V's soundtrack matches its visual presentation, with instrumental anthems serving as the sonic backdrop to single-player campaigns and multiplayer assaults.
The voice acting sounds fine and facial animations look good as well.
The loud pops and booms of ammunition exploding nearby also contribute to the world's feel, as do the intimidating drone of airplanes and rumbling of tanks.
As with other recent EA titles, Battlefield V runs on the Frostbite 3 engine, which has proven capable of supporting impressive visuals and solid physics models for shooting, driving, and flying.
Shooting feels accurate and weighty, which, of course, is of the utmost importance in an FPS game.
The result is that Battlefield V's mechanics feel much more stable and consistent than games such as PUBG and Fortnite (Free at Epic Games) .
In my experience, I encountered far fewer glitches, object pop-ins, and stutters during gameplay.
The War Machine
For the best experience, Battlefield V recommends a gaming PC with at least midrange specs.
The recommendations include an Intel Core I7 4790 or AMD Ryzen 3 1300X processor and either an AMD RX 580 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card.
The game also lists 12GB RAM and around 50GB of storage space.
I played Battlefield V on a Dell Inspiron 5675 PC with a Ryzen 7 1700X CPU, a RX 580 GPU, and 32GB of RAM.
Battlefield V is a large game, so you would benefit from installing it on an SSD if your computer has one.
To preserve space on my system, I installed on it my secondary HDD (7200 RPM), and noticed long loading times between single-player chapters and when exiting a multiplayer match.
As with any multiplayer game, you should make sure that you have a sufficiently fast network connection; any sort of lag can affect your ability to react quickly enough to in-game threats.
On high settings and at 1080p resolution, I reached a consistent 60 frames per second (FPS) based on results from FRAPS.
I was disappointed, however, that all cutscenes ran at 30FPS.
My monitor is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, so that likely was a performance bottleneck, but on the plus side, the game rarely dipped below that level during gameplay.
For reference, I did not have V-Sync or an artificial frame limit enabled.
Battlefield V Plays It Safe
If you enjoyed any of the previous Battlefield games, you will like Battlefield V, too.
As always, the visuals look great, the multiplayer matches are generally chaotic fun, and everything feels polished.
That said, the progressions system could be streamlined and a little more gameplay variety and character-building in the War Stories would greatly improve the experience.
Battlefield V does not advance the FPS genre in any sense, but it is worth playing if you are a fan of such games.
The Bottom Line
Battlefield V looks and sounds great, but its single-player and multiplayer campaigns ultimately do not advance the FPS genre in any meaningful way.
