The only game where the cinematic trailers and gameplay look the same.

EA is retroactively adding their new anti-cheat to this title, making a once playable game fundamentally broken on Linux systems, Steam Deck included. I really appreciate when purchased games become made unplayable on entire systems years after release.

If you have this on Windows, treat this review as cautiously recommended. It's a fantastic entry in the series, one of the best IMO, but I've heard a lot of talk about the new anti-cheat being ineffective and problematic for Windows players too.

Battlefield 1 is developed by DICE and released in 2016.
It takes place during the First World War,
until now little represented in war FPS.

The single-player mode features five distinct campaigns,
which can be played after a brutal introduction,
showing the unprecedented violence of this war.

The story begins with a young English tank pilot named Daniel Edwards.
In the France of 1918, the Germans are throwing all their forces into the battle,
hoping not to lose any territory to the Triple Entente.
You'll have to do everything in your power to reconquer enemy positions.
You're in command of a Mark V tank nicknamed Black Bess, with phenomenal firepower for its time,
armed with a turret and cannon that can devastate the enemy camp.
There's no better way to shoot down German infantry, destroy their artillery and blow up their Panzers.
The feeling of mighty power is ultra pleasurable, you can even reduce buildings to rubble.
However, from time to time, you'll need to patch up your tank and find parts to do so.
Of course, you'll also have to shoot the Germans who get in your way...

Clyde Blackburn is a daring fighter pilot in the Royal Flying Corps.
In 1917, he fought the Germans in his Bristol F2A,
over the snow-capped mountains of the Vosges Massif in France,
but also in the skies over London, England.
The ace fighter had to shoot down German planes with his machine gun,
destroy enemy airships and flak with his rocket launchers,
and escort Allied bombers on their missions.
On land, the gameplay is more classic,
Blackburn will have to traverse German-held villages,
He'll have to kill their infantrymen in gloomy trenches full of mud, corpses and barbed wire.
By the way, Blackburn is also the name of the soldier you play in Battlefield 3, released seven years earlier.

In 1918, the Italian Alps were also the scene of intense battles.
Luca Vincenzo Cocchiola is an Italian soldier in the Arditi Battalion.
Dressed in his heavy knight's armor and powerfully armed,
he battles Austro-Hungarian infantrymen in the hope of finding his brother Matteo alive.
To do so, he must also destroy their artillery and vehicles to reconquer enemy outposts.

Relive the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915 through the eyes of Australian Frederick Bishop,
a seasoned soldier fighting alongside New Zealand troops.
The Ottoman Empire must be confronted in trenches, villages and even forts.
The enemy is ruthless, and they have the advantage of their position…

Zara Ghufran is a fierce Bedouin who seeks vengeance for her people against the Ottomans.
She is accompanied by the legendary British soldier Lawrence of Arabia,
who will help her face the enemy in the scorching desert of Mesopotamia in 1918.
Her mission is to destroy a huge armored train with a powerful artillery force.
Of course, you'll need to eliminate the many Ottoman soldiers in your path.

The characters are charismatic and engaging, and their adventures are a pleasure to follow.
Battles are epic, intense and exhilarating.
Each of the maps is gigantic, and you can even ride a horse to make faster progress across the terrain.
The period weapons are fun to use, they are very powerful and hard-hitting.
Melee weapons include shovels, pickaxes and other tools.
It's also possible to charge with a bayonet!

The quality of the game is impressive, and brilliantly conveys the atrocity of the First World War.
The setting is grandiose, brutal and downright explosive.
The destructible buildings contribute to the ambient chaos, which is DICE's specialty.
War, horrible as it is, has never been so beautiful.
The graphics are sublime, the lighting effects striking, not to mention all the splendid pyrotechnic effects.
The sound design is excellent, as is the music, which makes every scene epic.

The campaigns are excellent, but unfortunately too short, as is always the case with FPSs of this type.
That said, the absence of the French and Russian armies is perplexing.
As with all Battlefields, the AI is weak, the hitboxes are sometimes messed up,
and I even saw a few characters appear or disappear in my field of vision.
All in all, that's nothing.

The Great War is the perfect backdrop for the Battlefield saga.
The change of historical context does a world of good,
especially for those used to FPS based on WWII or modern conflicts.
Battlefield 1 is excellent in every way.
The atmosphere is captivating, the production is meticulous and the combat is thrilling.
This is a game not to be missed under any circumstances.