Get Weird
When compared to this fall’s competition, there are a lot of games being released with a sense of weirdness. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey allows you to fight Medusa, Pokemon Let’s Go! is…well…Pokemon, and Black Ops IIII is doing its thing with zombies. Yes, only one of those aforementioned games is a first-person shooter, but those games still add to the already crowded list of releases this holiday and may be detracting from Battlefield V. After looking at the other games being released, Battlefield V seems vanilla and straightforward, even if it will be a good game. That isn’t a knock against its quality, but, again, if the goal is to stand out, there’s a lot in the way.
There was a time when Battlefield did weird stuff, like including a freaking megalodon as an Easter egg in Battlefield 4’s multiplayer. That’s the Battlefield that needs to come out swinging this fall. World War II is a serious subject, of course, but there is most definitely a way to add some personality to it without it being distasteful. DICE can start by making the characters in the campaign witty and well written, but maybe add alternate history sections with a unique take on the war. It can be as weird as including aliens or mechs, or something to break from the realism. EA has said that player experience is more important than historical accuracy, so why not take liberties and add some weirdness?
There is no doubt that Battlefield V will be a good game —that’s not the issue. The problem is that, despite its undoubtedly positive reception, it may not do well commercially, because of the other heavy hitters at the end of the year. EA and DICE need to add a unique twist to Battlefield V, something that is well beyond just adding stunning visuals and cool multiplayer modes. Having free content is a fantastic start, but without some drastic changes, Battlefield V may not perform as well as EA is hoping this year.
