Battlefield 1 is one of the few first person shooter games recently to take its franchise back in time.  Many recent first person shooters have been going futuristic, and have been feeling a bit uninspired. Battlefield does a complete 180 and went back to World War 1. Instead of giving a generic review of the game I wanted to talk about a couple things that make it feel different from other games.

We’ll start with the obvious. Battlefield 1 has you battling during World War 1, which means you’ll have much older guns and vehicles without things like lock on missiles and thermal sights. This makes the gameplay feel more skill based than most first person shooters with a more futuristic style. Along with the guns being drastically different the environments and characters feel authentic to the time. The old fortresses are particularly fun to battle in. Scale is also important to mention. The maps are massive and hold up to 64 players. That makes encounters far more interesting.

The music and sounds in the game are some of the most immersive I’ve heard. It’s hard not to feel a sense of adrenaline as the music swells at the end of an hour long battle and you hear soldiers whistling to capture an objective to win the game. It’s really special and has to be experienced to really understand.

Another thing that I found unique to Battlefield was the emphasis they put on the cost of war. The first mission of the game was extremely powerful and really put soldiers’ lives into perspective. The other campaign story lines were interesting too. Some were more emotional while others had a lighter tone. I enjoyed every storyline for different reasons.

What really sets Battlefield 1 apart, though, is variation. There are so many different things that you can see take place as opposed to other games. You may be firing mortars at a train while someone rides by on horseback, or take shelter in a building while a giant zeppelin floats by. The scenarios that take place are endless and are always fun. You could play on the same map five times in a row and have each match feel completely different. That’s what makes the same so strong and long lasting.

Overall Battlefield 1 is one of the more unique and fun games I’ve played recently. It’s definitely worth picking up. Thanks for reading.