Battlefield V marks a major return to the World War II aesthetic the series originally was borne from, but developer DICE doesn't want the game to be the same "Storm Normandy" and "Battle of the Bulge" highlights we've seen in countless shooters already. Instead, there's a drive to tell the war stories we haven't heard before.
The team seem to have succeeded already, and I've only played through one complete single-player campaign portion (while sampling others). Every portion stands completely separate from the others, and each has a unique feeling despite all coming from the same game. The segment I played emphasized stealth gameplay while crawling through the snow-covered mountains of Norway. (I bet you don't immediately think of Norway when you think about World War II.)
Playing as a young Norwegian freedom fighter, players silently ski towards a plant crucial to the Nazi's development of nuclear weapons and slink through different buildings to get closer to the operation. As you could guess from a Battlefield game, things eventually blow up, but it's up to you if you want to remain in hiding or finish the mission with guns blazing. While the campaign isn't exactly accurate, the idea behind the story is real. A team of Norwegian saboteurs really did sneak into a Nazi heavy water facility in Norway to destroy it.
As far as gameplay goes, there's nothing that stands out too much and nothing that was a detriment to my enjoyment. If you've played a first-person shooter in the past 10 years, you'll be able to instantly pick up a controller and start drilling holes in Nazis.
The other portions of the campaign showcase other aspects of Battlefield V's gameplay, including using vehicles, different types of guns and different roles. After talking to a developer at DICE, it's clear the team sees these campaigns as a way to train players in the world of Battlefield and prepare them for online multiplayer. Even though these campaigns are more or less glorified training missions, it's still very cool to see a developer go to the lengths DICE has to make the missions interesting and varied. Oh yeah, and these campaigns are a sure-fire way to tell stories that will make you sad and want to cry. War is terrible.
The focus of Battlefield V is the online multiplayer, but the campaign missions are more than interesting enough to check out. They all seem to only be an hour or so long each, so it doesn't take long to experience all the stories DICE wants to tell. Even if you're only interested in Battlefield V for the online mayhem, take a break to check out single-player content. The stories are well told and you might even learn something new.
Battlefield V releases for PS4, Xbox One and PC on Nov. 20.
So what do you think? Are you interested in trying out the Battlefield V single player mode for yourself? Are you going to stick to online multiplayer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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