Highlights

  • Battlefield's single-player War Stories offer a unique way to experience historical conflicts from multiple perspectives.
  • The next Battlefield game could take this concept even further by covering different conflicts throughout history.
  • To match the innovative single-player mode, Battlefield's multiplayer could feature maps and weapons from various time periods.

Campaigns have never been the biggest focus of the Battlefield franchise, but that hasn't stopped the series from having some great single-player modes over the years. The first campaign in franchise history didn't arrive until Battlefield 2 in 2005, but it pretty much knocked it out of the park right away. Its Hot-Swap mechanic really reinforced the immense scale of the game's conflict by putting players in the boots of a different soldier on the field after they die.

Since then, only a few Battlefield campaigns have really stood the test of time. Battlefield Bad Company 1 and 2 are two rare examples, offering larger-scale missions with more open-ended gameplay, as well as some great writing and voice acting to boot. And then there are the more recent Battlefield campaigns. Titled "War Stories," Battlefield 1 and V's campaign modes showed a lot of potential that wasn't quite fully realized, but that means that the next Battlefield campaign could knock it out of the park, especially if it decides to go in an ambitious new direction.

Battlefield 2042 tank fighting
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The Next Battlefield Should Make a Bold Decision About Its Setting

Battlefield's Next Campaign Should Cover Multiple Conflicts

Battlefield 1 and V's War Stories were great concepts on paper. Putting players behind the eyes of a new protagonist every chapter, Battlefield's War Stories are an effective way of covering a conflict as monumental as World War 1 and 2, offering a variety of different perspectives on the same war, which has both story and gameplay benefits. Allowing the player to control a new character every few missions, War Stories offered plenty of gameplay variety, with a new core gimmick like flying or operating a tank being used in each chapter. These War Stories also paved the way for plenty of narrative variety, with different settings, characters, and themes being changed out rapidly.

Though not all War Stories are equal in terms of length or quality, the general concept of them remains effective, and the next Battlefield has the opportunity to take this premise even further. The next Battlefield game should offer the largest-scale War Stories mode yet, including conflicts from across history. Rather than have a set of five or so chapters that give players different perspectives on one war, the next Battlefield should deliver five or so War Stories that each take place during a different conflict.

This larger scale would allow Battlefield to cover both major conflicts and smaller ones, including those that probably wouldn't warrant an entire Battlefield game to themselves. This would also allow the next Battlefield to tap into fans' nostalgia, delivering specific War Stories centered around conflicts that previous Battlefield games have dabbled in, such as the Vietnam War, and potentially even the fictional wars of Battlefield 3 and 4. These War Stories could even stretch into the future, with one chapter being dedicated to Battlefield 2142's 22nd Century Cold War.

Battlefield's Multiplayer Should Take Players Throughout History

If the next Battlefield's single-player mode took players across history, then it would only be right for its multiplayer mode to follow suit. Though it would certainly be ambitious, and probably a whole lot more work than an average Battlefield game, it would be incredibly refreshing to see the next Battlefield try something truly new and bold with its multiplayer mode. Having maps set across different time periods would certainly hit that mark.

Rather than have a dozen maps based on one conflict, the next Battlefield could include two based on each historical conflict seen in its War Stories campaign. And rather than include 20 or so weapons based on one period of time, the next Battlefield could include four per historical period, potentially limiting it to just one per class, which could be marketed as a throwback to the old days of Battlefield 1942's limited weapon offerings. It would take a lot of effort on the part of Battlefield's developer, but the next Battlefield game could genuinely offer an experience like no other military shooter on the market right now.