Update: At E3 2017, DICE said that Battlefield 1 will be upgraded for Xbox One X. We’ll update this review to reflect that version when the game receives its 4K patch.
Battlefield 1 is an immersive shooter but it’s not without its problems. While the visuals and sound design are nothing short of groundbreaking, the campaign feels disjointed due to the nature of the numerous short stories. While weapons feel superb, the multiplayer component of the game has a high barrier of entry. Battlefield 1—or any Battlefield game for that matter—is very different than your traditional shooter. It requires much more patience and planning, along with coordination. As someone who usually plays Halo 5 or Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, it was quite a jarring transition and it took me many hours to adjust to it. However, once I did, Battlefield 1 emerged as one of the most rewarding games I’ve played in a long time.
The first aspect of the title you immediately notice are the extraordinary visuals. The attention to detail and realism showcased here have not been observed on consoles before. Usually when you have a game, the screenshots look much better than its moving imagery. However, I have to say that Battlefield 1 is the first game where they both look equally gorgeous. Whether you’re on the ground behind a weapon or in the air shooting a German aircraft, the game is stunning. One of our team members said that “Battlefield 1 is the first game where I’ve been killed just because I was admiring the scenery”. I would have to agree with that. The visuals are truly captivating and add to the immersion one feels in the World War I setting.
As you know, the resolution debate thrives when it comes to DICE games. Usually DICE games—or titles that are first-person and utilize the Frostbite 3 engine—on Xbox One run at 720p. This leads to blurry visuals which often look muddied and frankly speaking, atrocious. Sometimes it’s such an issue that you can’t tell a person from an adjacent object when you’re observing far away enemies. Thankfully, DICE have upgraded the engine significantly for the console. The game runs at a dynamic resolution in order to preserve frame rate and some tests by VG Tech indicate that it might even go as high as 1000p. These observations have since been verified by Digital Foundry though they state that the resolution usually revolves around 900p. Either ways, this is a significant step up for Frostbite 3 on Xbox One and brings it in line with the PlayStation 4 version. The visuals look crisp and amazing throughout the experience and at first I honestly couldn’t believe that this was a DICE title. I’m glad that the developers took the time to optimize it after many years.
The frame rate is another matter though. While the frame rate stays at around 60 FPS in multiplayer, it fluctuates in some areas in the single-player missions. For example, the tank and aircraft sections saw the frame rate drop closer to 30 FPS while the on-foot parts stick close to 60 FPS. Usually I’m the first one to complain about frame rate but in this case I have to say that it usually stays at a particular target in certain areas so you get used to it. For example, there are extended periods of time when it remains around 30 FPS or 60 FPS so aiming isn’t affected. I’m not sure if this was a choice made by the developers or if the version just turned out like that but it works. It doesn’t impact shooting mechanics in my opinion like a constantly fluctuating frame rate does. However, that’s still not an excuse for the performance and I hope DICE updates the game to fix these problems.
Before I talk about the single-player campaign, let me discuss the multiplayer. What better way to start than to talk about the weapons? What you need to know is that there are a plethora of different implements of war. The weapons appear to be historically accurate though I imagine they probably had much more recoil back in the day. You’ll definitely find many that you like. For example, I’m a fan of close-range machine guns so this time period is perfect for that.
Battlefield 1 returns with some favorite modes like Conquest which is DICE’s version of large-scale combat. You can play together with 64 people and try to take over certain objectives. This is definitely chaotic and I would recommend starting with the smaller matches and then working your way up.
Domination would be a great place to begin to get a feel for the combat. There are traditional modes like Team Deathmatch too. Apart from that, there are other slightly gimmicky modes like War Pigeons where you have to protect and plant a pigeon. I kid you not, that’s actually what you have to do. It’s similar to the bomb-planting mode from the Halo games if we were looking for a tenuous comparison.
Many gamers will probably ignore these in favor of Operations. That is definitely the highlight of Battlefield 1 in my opinion. Operations offers combat across several maps based upon real battles of World War I. This is how you can experience frontline action. The best feature has to be how you can see the previous map over the horizon where the old battle took place. I remember the original Star Wars: Battlefront on the original Xbox having a similar mode. You fought on different planets all the way to a thrilling conclusion. Some might consider this grueling but it’s definitely the best feature of the game.
Now, there are a few odd glitches here and there apart from the frame rate problems. Zeppelins seem to be completely broken and spin around like tornadoes after they go down. Additionally, the sniper rifle is completely overpowered so many maps basically become avoid-being-shot-in-the-head scenarios where you have to skulk around. The game needs some balancing when it comes to that.
Moving onto the campaign. As you know, the campaign is broken down into a series of short stories which feature different protagonists. Some stories are larger while others are somewhat small. Some are great while others are mediocre and, dare I say, sometimes boring. The opening has to be one of the best moments in any video game as you play as a variety of soldiers. When you die, you take over another’s body and the cycle repeats itself. This is the first time I’ve actually experienced war as it truly is. There are no super soldiers, just normal human fighting for survival in a conflict many don’t even believe in. Unfortunately the whole campaign probably couldn’t carry on like this so it’s broken down into different missions that take place around the world. You travel from France to North Africa as you try to defeat the Germans and Ottomans. At least that’s what they all seem like given their uniforms.
I would’ve rather preferred a unified campaign because, while many of the short stories are moving and feature figures like Lawrence of Arabia, they don’t tell a proper story. They seem to randomly jump around in time and place. This leaves a feeling of disjointedness like I was talking about earlier. You don’t see character development to the degree we see in other games, or any of the hallmarks of a modern video game story. Everything feels rushed. Even a fictional one with one character would’ve served Battlefield 1 well. Maybe gamers might enjoy the little scenarios but it kept me wanting more.
Summary
Overall, Battlefield 1 is a great experience and a technical marvel when it comes to the visuals. However, it needs updates to fix balancing and performance issues. As stated earlier, while the barrier to entry might be high, the game is a rewarding experience at the end of the day once you familiarize yourself with the combat. DICE have finally given gamers the World War experience they wanted which their competition failed to deliver time and time again.
Asher and Dreyer is a shared byline ICXM used for 2 articles co-authored in 2016 covering game reviews. See the individual contributor profiles for the writers behind these collaborations.