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The original was posted on /r/pcgaming by /u/Decado7 on 2023-08-12 02:21:17+00:00.
I don't want to harp on about the state of modern Battlefield titles, but I'll say this - the DICE of today isnt the DICE of yesteryear. In fact, the only thing that needs to be said is that DICE brought in a guy from CANDY CRUSH to lead Battlefield 2042 to launch.
I'm in my upper 40's and have been playing games for far too many years. I've played a lot of great games over that time, but there's a few like Battlefield 1942 which were just so, so good.
Battlefield 1942 had its problems - from bodgy servers to lag to crashes and buggy vehicle behaviour through to all the fun and games that was your team numpty beaching the aircraft carrier. But man was it a great game.
BF1942 had that raw depth of gameplay that kept me and many others coming back for hundreds of hours.
There were no unlocks, no progression. It was simply pick a class and join the battle. And best of all, you could play however you bloody pleased.
Running gunning assaulter? Anti-vehicle specalist? Medic? Sniper? Pilot? Tanker? Defender? Offensive capturer? Anti-ship?! You name it, the combined arms gameplay offered it.
This largely carried through to Battlefield 2 and beyond, though I'll argue none of the games that followed (to me at least) really provided the same level of combined arms gameplay as 42. Even though the ships were buggy as hell to use, the fact they were there was huge.
The recent Battlefield titles have moved further and further away from this old style of gameplay. There's been some fantastic additions - some of my favourites being Battlefield Vietnam, Battlefield 2142 (NOT 2024!), Battlefield 2, Battlefield 3 etc.
There's been other team based shooters over the years which I've loved - both Planetside's for example, even a stint of COD (I reckon some of the latter day COD's have been more Battlefieldesque than Battlefield).
Then along comes Battlebit.
This came out of the blue to me. I hadnt followed it, I knew nothing about it until it started showing up in my YouTube feeds.
I jumped in one of the pre-release tests and my first impression was ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
It looked like crap, i was running miles to find combat and I logged out and moved on.
Then it released and it's trailer hooked me enough for a second shot and goddamn, this game is so good.
Graphically, while literally about as simple as you can possibly get with nothing by way of lighting or literally anything of note, in the context of the game itself, that becomes a non-issue within minutes.
When you're charging into battle at the start of the round with so many other friendlies - all who disperse across the map leading to firefights everywhere, suddenly it transforms into this surprisingly mature shooter experience, with combat activity that I honestly cant say I've experienced since the old days of 1942.
There's this thing that happens when you throw a whole bunch of players together on the same team and equip them with something extremely basic such as being able to drag a downed comrade back into cover and revive them. Players form these little frontlines across the map in pockets of cover and work together to either hold them or advance.
When you throw local voice chat into the mix, it adds a layer of flavour to the field which I've found quite honestly surprising.
Despite the simple graphics, Battlebit offers field visibility like no game in recent years. You have instantenous visibility of enemy - and things like using cover, or firing through narrow gaps become a case of utilising the environment, rather than being inside a map which is so graphically intensive, actually seeing the enemy is part of the learning curve.
Battlebit also nails the feeling of taking people down with its simply yet meaty sound effects when you kill someone. This is even moreso when sniping, where this ridiculously satisfying breaking egg-like sound secures the kill.
While the vehicles so far leave a lot to be desired, the infantry gameplay is insanely good.
It just works so well
It also shows definitively how badly the big games have declined, with their focus on cutting edge graphics and monetization at the complete expense of good gameplay or that old thing called heart.
For anyone on the fence who like me, may have become completely jaded with the modern state of one of their formery favourite franchises, I honestly implore you to give this a shot because like me, it might surprise you in a big way. It's likely not for everyone, but it might just might, be for you.