Battlefield 1 Shows Off 12 Minutes of Campaign Gameplay
By Derek Nichols 03 October 2016
YouTuber Westie posts the first 12 minutes from the Storm of Steel prologue mission for Battlefield 1, depicting brutal and intense combat mixed with personal moments.
After showing off a ton of multiplayer footage at various trade shows like E3 and Gamescom, EA and DICE have recently switched focus and doubled down on the single-player campaign for Battlefield 1. After releasing a stylish trailer a few weeks ago, more and more information has come out about the many changes DICE has made to the campaign from previous entries. With a new 12 minute gameplay trailer hitting over the weekend, fans can finally see how Battlefield 1 will play when it releases later this month.
The new footage comes from YouTuber Westie, who has posted the first 12 minutes from the upcoming shooter. The Storm of Steel prologue chapter tasks the player with surviving an assault by the enemy forces as part of the Harlem Hellfighters. This intense tutorial mission will let players experience traditional first person shooter combat, using stationary turrets, running along a trench that is filling with poisonous gas, and tank combat pushing back on the enemy position.
It’s clear based on this footage that DICE isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to depicting how brutal and intense World War I really was for soldiers. The opening moments show a solider who is clearly in shock, watching as soldiers viciously fight each other using all sorts of melee weapons. The violence then gives way to text which sets the tone with a sobering comment about just how many soldiers were involved in the war and the fact that many front line personnel were not expected to survive.
In an interesting twist, with each player death during this sequence, the name of the solider is shown on screen alongside his birth and death year while the player is then shifted back into a new solider further back on the line. Seeing new names pop up on screen after each death is a sobering realization of just how many people were killed in this war along with helping to make each person feel more real. The final scene of this mission leads to that moment at the end of the recent trailer, with two opposing soldiers aiming their weapons at one another, unwilling to pull the trigger.
DICE has previously mentioned that its aiming to place a greater focus on the human side of the war, rather than putting players in the shoes of a nameless soldier taking part in a major battle of World War I. The prologue mission certainly hammers that fact home, setting the stage for the other characters players will interact with through out the length of the campaign.
What did you think of the footage? Does this look like a single player campaign worth playing or are you sticking with the multiplayer only? Sound off in the comments below.
Battlefield 1 launches on October 21, 2016 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Source: Westie YouTube
