Battlefield V

Battlefield V’s multiplayer disappoints, but its return to World War II shines in its single-player War Stories.

Battlefield V is a solid return to the series’s roots, but both its campaign and its multiplayer offerings lack the magic of predecessor Battlefield 1.

Like a fresh recruit, Battlefield V was clearly deployed into action without adequate preparation. And a variety of bugs, underdeveloped features, and placeholder menu screens remind you of that at nearly every turn. However, there’s a great deal of raw potential here that could, with time and luck, be forged into one of the series’ best. Bold changes to Battlefield’s traditional gunplay, essential resources, and team dynamics create a strong foundation. On the single-player front, Battlefield V presents three short but distinct vignettes that weirdly focus on small-scale stealth instead of bombastic vehicular warfare. Their successful story moments aren’t really enough to go out of your way for but they’re worth playing once you’re here. Overall, Battlefield V can be lots of fun to play today, even if there’s still a lot of building left to do.

Buoyed by compelling multiplayer modes, Battlefield V is a gripping first-person shooter that re-creates the intensity and anxiety of war better than its competitors.

It would be hard to call Battlefield V a major leap forward, but nobody really expects – or wants – that anyway. Instead, this builds on the success of Battlefield 1, shifts the setting, and ups the ante. There’s a lot of the game we haven’t seen yet – not least the single-player and new Royale mode – but what we have played should certainly be encouraging for fans of the franchise. Grand Operations are Battlefield at its most distinctive, with varied tactics, shifting objectives, and enough of a narrative hook to keep single-player fans happy too, while Conquest remains a Battlefield staple for very good reason.