Saying Battlefield V has had a tough lifespan would be an understatement. It released in November 2018 to less than stellar sales numbers for a handful of reasons. One of the biggest among them being the lack of the “Firestorm” battle royale mode showed in various promotional campaigns to build hype for the release of the next installment in the Battlefield series. The lack of content paired with the controversy of how the team at Dice (the creators of the series) had changed historical influences for their rendition of World War II added additional dynamics. It was with great anticipation that Battlefield fans waited for the release of the battle royale mode, as any fan could see the potential that the Frostbite Engine powering the series has to create an amazing battle royale experience. The stunning visuals Battlefield is known for as well as the amazing, destructible-environment technology that makes the series so unique really come together to make Firestorm a mode that easily fits into the Battlefield experience, while simultaneously making it stand out in the battle royale genre.
Where Firestorm truly separates itself from other battle royale experiences is with its brutal realism. As seen in the regular Battlefield game modes, Firestorm is insanely realistic and has an attention to detail in its game world that no other battle royale compares to. “It’s the little things that matter” is a quote for a reason, and Battlefield has always been a prime example of it. As you approach groupings of trees, you will see flocks of birds take off their branches and chirp as they fly past you. Snow will flow over objects in the world with crazy realism, displaying accurate aerodynamic effects compared to the likes of a vehicle being tested in a wind tunnel. I could go on and on listing the tiny details that make Firestorm’s world beautifly immersive, but that only goes so far as to make the overall experience a great one and Firestorm is rich with other features. The theme of realism is apparent across the game’s mechanics, from needing to fuel vehicles as well as carry and reload heavy and light ammo to destroy its destructible environments that can turn a hiding spot into a death zone of debris in seconds. Armour is realistic in the sense that it is actual metal plates that are scavenged in the world and shoved into parts of your uniform, even breaking after being shot. This sense of realism is also displayed in how your soldiers’ animations are so extensive while performing different tasks. When you drop out from somewhere far enough, your character will perform a roll and take damage (during this time you are unable to properly aim or shoot). Even when you fall from small heights, aiming and shooting is greatly hindered. Climbing, mounting, opening doors, going prone, or entering and exiting vehicles all have unique animations that render you controlless while an animation plays for ranging periods of time. Verbal communication with your teammates is almost needed as there is a very basic ping system that’s not accompanied by any voice acting at all. So your player will not call out verbally for anyone to hear what you’re pinging, meaning gear and enemies may go unseen unless announced. Firestorm stands to be a very realistic, tactical battle royale with these features all complementing each other very well.
Like all things, Firestorm is not perfect and the team at Dice has already addressed issues in the mode that they plan to change in the future. The biggest of these issues is most certainly the kill-looting system. In Firestorm, when a player is killed their loot explodes out of their body in an area around them. This leads to messy stacks of loot on the ground that quickly become very hard to sort through, especially when in small places mixed with multiple kills in the same area. This goes without mentioning trying to quickly grab something that you need when under fire or trying to run from the deadly Firestorm wall. Personally, the only issue I have in-game is with kill looting, and I haven’t had any technical issues at all that have hindered my in-match experience. There is a notable issue with matchmaking, and this needs to be addressed quickly in order for Firestorm to not burn out. Sometimes when trying to matchmake in squad mode, the system refuses to find players for the empty slots. This results in matchmaking times of sometimes four minutes or more, and that’s before you have to load into the pregame lobby (which is most likely going to still be looking for players … which will only lead to another minute countdown before you’re finally in the plane and flying over the map). Players need to be able to find matches quickly and once that match is found, they need to be in-game quickly as well. Yes, they do allow a pregame lobby where you can equip and shoot different weapons inside of a closed off airplane carrier — but this gets old after your 30th match. You just want that one minute countdown to be over with so you can jump out the plane and get to playing.
With the confirmation of adjustments to the kill-looting system and hopes of a refinement in the matchmaking system, Firestorm has become an addictive experience that I find myself coming back to on a daily basis. The question has now become, “What is to come for the future of Firestorm and how does Dice plan to keep it relevant amongst competitors like Apex Legends, Black Ops 4: Black Out, Fortnite, and PUBG?” All of the aforementioned titles have had a steady flow of new content to keep their games from feeling stale as well as pull people towards their ever-expanding franchises. Without the accessibility of a free-to-play model, if they plan to expand upon the content of Firestorm, they will have to stay true to the format they have had with Battlefield V in general and keep a steady flow of free content through the “Tides of War” battle pass system. New weapons, vehicles, and hopefully locations will need to be added to keep the game feeling fresh enough to justify coming back to it after sometime. All in all, Firestorm is a unique and thrilling experience that will have you in the middle of intense battles amidst the most beautiful and realistic battle royale setting available today.
Battlefield V is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC today so hop in and give Firestorm a shot. As always, you can rely on GamingLyfe.com for accurate and informed news on various topics in the industry.
