Battlefield 1 Review Roundup
By Kyle Sledge 18 October 2016
Reviews begin rolling in just ahead of DICE and Electronic Arts releasing its first-person shooter Battlefield 1, and we compile several critics’ receptions of the game.
With the gaming world on the cusp of the receiving Battlefield 1, fans are most likely wondering whether or not DICE and Electronic Arts is worth purchasing upon its official release date tomorrow. Thankfully, numerous outlets have already begun publishing their impressions of the first-person shooter ahead of its launch, and it seems as if most critics have enjoyed Battlefield 1.
For the uninitiated, Battlefield 1‘s single-player campaign gives fans a narrative in installments with five separate War Stories, as they’re called, occurring in the different theaters of the conflict around the world. As is to be expected, though, the multiplayer mode will more than likely be one of the major components of the title that grabs gamers’ attentions, and it has nine maps, with the developers having put in revamped versions the traditional classes, by giving the soldiers more complex gadgetry than one might associate with The Great War.
Although a lot of press outlets haven’t been able to spend a large amount of time with Battlefield 1, the title’s open beta gave critics and casual players alike the chance to try out earlier builds, which offered a decent idea of what the final product would offer. Needless to say, although the trial was incredibly successful, there’s no way for developers to have included everything that the day one version of Battlefield 1 would contain. So, for those who are still undecided as to whether or not they should buy the game, check out the following reviews below.
GameSpot (Miguel Concepcion)
EA DICE splendidly interprets the early 20th century as a world in technological transition while humanizing the war’s participants through well crafted, albeit fictional, narrative vignettes. Combined with an enthralling multiplayer component, the overall result is the studio’s best work since Battlefield: Bad Company 2.
Score: 9/10
GamesRadar (David Roberts)
Battlefield‘s tried and tested multiplayer feels wonderfully at home in the WW1 setting, and the solo campaign tells interesting — if historically lightweight — stories.
Score: 8/10
EGM (Nick Plessas)
Battlefield 1 does a service to the series’ core fanbase with a unique, yet strangely familiar take on World War I.
Score: 8/10
Forbes (Paul Tassi)
For every cool moment I have in Battlefield 1, whether it’s bayoneting a soldier or chopping someone in half from horseback, I’ll be blown up by twenty tanks or be headshot by twenty snipers, and often it’s more frustrating than fun. The campaign is mostly great, but again, probably no more than a 6-7 hour experience, and obviously not the worth the price of admission by itself. You will have to love multiplayer to make this game worth it, and if you don’t, well, you’re out of luck.
Score: 8/10
God is a Geek (Chris White)
The single player is one of the best I’ve ever seen, only made better with a beautiful score and excellent gameplay rich with authenticity.
Score: 10/10
Time (Matt Peckham)
I’m taking the view off Cape Helles near Gallipoli circa 1915 . . . Uphill lies cragged headland, machine gun roosts, bulwarks of stacked logs and the terra-cotta rooftops of a village below a crumbling fortress. I could linger indefinitely, the moment frozen in motion like the looping images in a Harry Potter tabloid. It’s a scene from DICE’s Battlefield 1, a stupefyingly gorgeous first-person shooter . . . that puts the lie to decades of assumptions — that World War I’s internecine trench volleys and wire-snarled footslogs are anathema to gameplay anyone might find tactically absorbing.
Score: 4.5/5
Polygon (Arthur Gies)
Small issues aside, Battlefield 1 marks an impressive, risk-taking reinvention for the series. That the multiplayer is as good and distinctive as it is is less surprising than a campaign that takes a difficult setting and navigates it with skill and invention. The end result is a shooter than succeeded far beyond my expectations, and one that exists as the best, most complete Battlefield package since 2010.
Should fans still not be sold by all of the Battlefield 1 reviews listed above, Electronic Arts will be continuing its live streams for the game all the way through its release tomorrow. Each of the sessions are set to last for roughly two hours, and they have been going since Wednesday of last week, so there ought to be plenty of recorded footage for fans to check out by now and make an informed decision.
Taking all of this into consideration, with so many positive reviews for Battlefield 1 already in circulation, it will be interesting to see if the shooter will be able to surpass its competition in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare by the end of the year when it comes to total accumulated sales. Both titles are easily two of the most eagerly awaited releases of holiday 2016, with a recent Nielsen survey even suggesting as much. Of course, only time will tell if Battlefield 1 can come out on top.
Battlefield 1 is set to launch tomorrow on October 21, 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
