Battlefield 1 Campaign Review

Battlefield 1 was released October 21, 2016. Although a dedicated online multiplayer video game there is a single-player campaign mode included. The campaign is short yet enjoyable. Campaigns can be fun but often times end up the opposite. Usually online multiplayer first person shooters have convoluted campaigns or poorly executed campaigns. Come find out all about it in this Battlefield 1 campaign review.

This campaign delivers content simply in six different chapters called war stories. It offers insight on how to play the game. It tells stories offering a small glimpse of the lost generation’s hardships throughout World War 1. It creates a compelling experience in a fictional portrayal of the war that was going to end all wars.

Demonstrates Gameplay.

Learn as you play.

Throughout the campaign a player gets to learn how to play without having your hand held. Some video games offer in-game tutorials that fail to get the point across in a timely manner. There is no better way to learn than getting some direct hands-on experience.

1. The campaign cuts right to the chase with the first war story Storm of Steel. You play as different allied infantry soldiers known as Harlem Hellfigthters. The objective is to survive as long as possible from a German advance somewhere in France. There are no real repercussions if a player does not survive any of the encounters. This allows players to take it easy and get a feel for the game as infantry.
2. The next war story Through Mud and Blood centers gameplay as a tank driver. You play with a tank crew operating a Mark V Landship Tank someplace in the Battle of Cambrai. The weapon crates found throughout this chapter help a player experiment with running anti-tank measures. Players are also given the opportunity to utilize the takedown mechanic on infantry units and play as a tanker soldier.
3. The following war story Friends in High Places focuses on gameplay as a pilot of an attack plane. There is a quick introduction into flying and firing before getting firsthand experience at a dogfight. Afterwards players get to play as a pilot lost behind enemy lines trying to make it out safely back towards allied territory. Players are thrown into an aerial raid tasked with protecting bombers. The opportunity to use an AA gun is also given to run anti-air.
4. Fourth chapter Avanti Savoia! grants the ability to test gameplay as an elite sentry trooper. Your task is to overwhelm a Austo-Hungarian fortress somewhere in the Dolomites of Northern Italy during the autumn of 1918. Donning heavy armor a player is heavily resistant against small arms fire. The primary weapon for a sentry unit can be a MG08/15 or a Villar Perosa. Both are highly effective at overwhelming enemies
5. After that story comes The Runner where players can get more experience running infantry set in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915. As a veteran Australian messenger named Frederick Bishop your initial objective is to take hold of a capture point. Afterwards follows a series of running or traveling too and from a position capturing certain areas in hopes of buying more time for a full scale retreat.
6. The last chapter Nothing Is Written players assume the role of a cavalry unit. As a Bedouin Warrior named Zara Ghufran under the command of T.E. Lawrence of Arabia. Players start off having to infiltrate a downed train with an item of interest armed with a combat knife. Next comes the opportunity to run as a cavalry soldier on horseback. The task is infiltrating a Ottoman encampment in order to send false codes to an armoured train. A trap has to be laid for the train when it arrives responding to the false codes. Before the trap is laid a small band of Ottoman Vehicles and infantry have to be dispatched.

Gameplay will vary between the single-player campaign and online multiplayer. The values of weapons, gadgets, and equipment will change. If you want a more detailed oriented outline check out this wikipedia post covering Battlefield 1.

Tells Stories of WW1.

Fictional stories are told throughout the campaign.

Despite most characters being fictional in Battlefield 1’s campaign some real world battles did occur where some of the stories take place. These stories are short and fictional but do help create a setting within the campaign.

The real World War 1 was horrific as some of the subtitles from the campaign’s cinematic indicate. The six stories offer a fictional glimpse into what a World War 1 experience would have been like.

The subtitles within offer insight on the grim nature of the war. Families on all sides were affected.

Glimpses of Hardships.

A tiny look as to what World War 1 was like in a portrayal of it.

The glimpses of hardships from the Lost Generation are made pretty apparent. Technological advances of all kinds were beginning to emerge before the war began. The war saw the full scale use of technological advances in the worst way possible. The first war story Storm of Steel provides one of the best glimpses of the war. It reminds players that behind every gun sight is a person.

All the stories offer a fictionalized experience of the war in the best way possible. Having to worry about hunger, thirst, and disease would have been brutal.

Creates an experience.

The storytelling and gameplay help craft an experience.

The experience Battlefield 1 campaign makes is unique. Quickly delivered in short stories a player can easily jump in one and or complete them all at once. There are a total of 54 codex entries and 66 field manuals a player can collect throughout the campaign. Depending on the platform achievements or trophies can also be completed.

A short-lived experience but certainly can be enjoyable to anyone interested in having short stories told as you play through them.

Can be enjoyable.

The experience can be worthwhile playing for the right person.

This campaign is completely PvE. Hard mode can be punishing since the NPC’s aim is accurate and relentless. Normal and easy mode are more forgiving to any mistakes or poor decision. Anyone who has Battlefield 1 has the option to get a full experience of gameplay before you hit up online multiplayer modes. It grants a good sense of what to expect online. If you want to learn more on how to play the game check out my post all about Battlefield 1 beginner tips. Time to go over the good and bad.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Teaches how to play the game
• Players can play through a story as it is told to them
• Creates a compelling experience in a fictional portrayal of War World 1

Cons

• The campaign is solo player only
• Weapons, gadgets, and equipment have different values between the campaign and online
• Some of the vehicles (Mark V Tank variation in Through Mud and Blood) and loadouts (Sentry loadout in Avanti Savoia!) for the campaign are not seen online at all

Here is a quick clip that I felt showcases how the content is delivered within the campaign in Storm of Steel.

That about wraps this Battlefield 1 campaign review. If you found this review helpful leave a comment below saying how it helped. If you have any further relevant comments or questions feel free to drop them below.