And so Battlefield is back. The long-running military shooter series, which specialises in gigantic online multiplayer conflicts involving dozens of ground troops, tanks and aircraft, has returned for its sixth main instalment – and it’s thrilling, epic and compulsive.
Apart from the single-player campaign mode, which I absolutely hated. It’s another oh-so-familiar tale of preternaturally talented soldiers just doing their jobs to defend the free world in the face of evil private military companies, terror organisations or double-crossing CIA operatives. It could be almost any military shooter of the last decade or any straight-to-streaming war film starring one of the Hemsworths. But it’s not. It’s a seven-hour cliche bombardment that you have to take an active part in.
The thing is, nobody buys Battlefield for the campaign mode. In fact, most games in the series haven’t had one. So this was a chance for the developers to experiment a little, try something new or even subversive. The mainstream movie biz may have been equally guilty of dressing up jingoistic celebrations of the military-industrial complex as thrilling action flicks, but it has also produced Paths of Glory, M*A*S*H and The Deer Hunter. While Battlefield 6 does make the occasional nod towards the less-than-ideal circumstances of modern hybrid warfare, you don’t care much because the characters are cardboard cut-outs with no backstories who speak in nonstop military jargon.
There have been a few big games that have challenged the narrative of the moral warrior acting in the world’s best interests on behalf of largely benign military divisions. Metal Gear Solid is clearly a pacifist text on the horror of nuclear war, while Ubisoft’s Valiant Hearts is a beautiful meditation on war and love. The key example, though, remains Yager Development’s fascinating 2012 adventure Spec Ops: The Line, in which you play the commander of a covert delta team sent into a disaster-hit Dubai to discover the whereabouts of a rogue US military unit. As the narrative progresses, your character descends into exhaustion and trauma, experiencing increasingly nightmarish hallucinations. The aim was to show the damaging psychological impact of war, while also providing a gripping and exciting experience. The mission was successful.
War stories … Spec Ops: The Line is the rare military game with meaning. Photograph: Yager
In the rapidly consolidating games industry, where gigantic mega-corps are willing to invest the equivalent of a small country’s GDP into capturing tens of millions of players, it seems that narrative innovation is unlikely. As is making any kind of political statement. But contemporary audiences are spoiled for choice when it comes to shooters – as the success of oddities such as Atomfall and Megabonk have shown – there’s money to be made in straying off piste.
Could the Battlefield 6 campaign have been a tense claustrophobic single-set thriller like Alex Garland’s Warfare? Could it have plunged our hero into a series of survival dramas like Until Dawn? Could it have been a sandbox adventure with various tasks, items and enemy units to discover?
Over the past two years we’ve seen several multimillion dollar projects axed and staff made redundant because the “pick-me” approach of green-lighting only titles that will compete directly with the always on nature of Fortnite, Call of Duty or Marvel Rivals is a zero sum game – you win or you die. Call me naive, but that doesn’t seem sustainable (not even for those mega-titles) – and considering the human cost of mass layoffs, it’s also repugnant. Games cannot live on cliche alone. The modern world, with its shifting allegiances, its climate instability and its displaced populations, is a horrifyingly fascinating place for brand-new war narratives that actually mean something. If only someone had the guts to tell them.
What to play
A love letter to the age of instant messaging … VideoVerse. Photograph: Kinmoku
First released in 2023 on PC, VideoVerse is a love letter to the age of instant messaging and a clever and involving story about love and friendship among the users of a dying social media platform. You play as Emmett, a young video game fan who spends his time chatting to online pals – until a newcomer arrives and deeper feelings are aroused.
It’s coming to PS5, Switch and Xbox on 14 November, complete with all the post-release additions and refinements that have been added since launch. If you didn’t play it first time round and harbour nostalgic feelings about the days of MSN Messenger, this is unmissable.
Available on: PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox
Estimated playtime: 10+ hours
What to read
Console yourselves … there’s news on the future of PlayStation and Xbox. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
It seems that Microsoft and Sony are planning to release the next generation of consoles in 2027. VGC has compiled the latest rumours into one enticing story which involves those hotbeds of hardware speculation – NeoGaf discussion threads and tech news gossip sites.
An industry initiative named Palestinian Voices in Games has been helping developers in the region, with volunteer artists, coders and designers bringing their experience to forthcoming projects. GIbiz has a great feature on the subject with quotes from some of the developers.
The tired, emaciated corpse of the harassment group gamergate has managed to reanimate itself yet again. This time, the little lads are cross about acclaimed historical adventure Ghost of Yōtei, because the lead character is a woman and the narrative has quietly progressive elements. Slate has the full unedifying story.
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Question Block
Kid-friendly … Shigeru Miyamoto shows off the Nintendo DS at launch. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
A question from Peter via email this week:
“My four-year-old daughter is starting to show an interest in video games, and I want to get her a cheap handheld console to mess about on rather than going down the iPad route. What do you recommend?”
There are lots of options here. The children’s electronic toy manufacturer Leap Frog has a range of Leapster handhelds, which can be picked up second hand for around £20-30 usually with a couple of cartridges. They’re chunky and safe, and the games are OK. However, I’d rather go for a Nintendo DS or the newer and more hardy 2DS, both of which go on eBay for around £10-£50 depending on condition.
There are hundreds of children’s games available for these systems (original DS games can be played on both systems, but the 2DS will also play newer 3DS games – though not in 3D) and games can be picked up for as little as 50p in charity shops or at your local CeX store. With the original DS, the hinge that connects the two screens is the most vulnerable point, but it depends on how rough your daughter is with it. Also, both systems come with a stylus, which is a potential choke hazard so you need to be around when she uses it. Also, my sons lost dozens of them. Luckily a lot of games don’t need them. As for games, anything with Mario, Wario or Kirby, and any Animal Crossing, Pokémon or Lego title will be go down well.
If you’ve got a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – hit reply or email us on pushingbuttons@theguardian.com.
