2010s: Oversaturated with military shooters 2020s: Oversaturated with generic cartoony shooters

I'm so tired of goofy fortnite looking games. Just give me old school shooters like Battlefield 3 and og Cod Modern Warfare 2.

You had me at Battlefield, then you lost me with dancing soldiers.

This is like Crackdown 2 levels of destruction, they got precut squares in the buildings that despawn the moment an explosive touches it. Toy looking guns, all your teammates have blue outlines in case you can't tell who's who and the most soulless UI I've seen since Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. I actually thought this video was going to be about The Finals ngl.

I'm going to be honest. The aesthetic of this game is a massive barrier for me.

you either die as a grounded in reality military shooter or live long enough to become a goofy ahh game show shooter

The destruction doesn't beat The Finals

Looks like it was supposed to be a paintball game

Why is everything stylized as a fuckin gameshow now

Everyone is trying to make a battlefield-like game, but no one is actually making battlefield 😐

Literally what hooked me with Battlefield 2 nearly 20 years ago, was the sound of my soldier's footsteps and gear on Dalian Plant, right after installing from the free trial disc from Maximum PC; how it varied from pavement to gravel to grass. The attention to detail of the sound effects and the crisp gunshot sounds, made it a game. Bring that level of detail and work into the graphics and gameplay and make an epic BF shooter. This stuff however, looks rather cartoon-like.

This looks like a watered down version of the finals

People didn’t love Battlefield for the technical aspects of the literal conquest gamemode. They loved the large-scale combine arms nameless-soldier-in-large-scale-warfare feeling. This game might be fun, but it doesn’t satisfy the Battlefield feeling at all.

Looks like a mix of The Finals and Battlefield.

Ditch the cartoon aesthetic, make the maps oriented to the “rush” game mode from BFBC2 and BF3 and im sold

It’s an extreme color palette but it’s nice being able to see enemies. I have blue green colorblindness and in modern day shooters and can be tough for me to see enemies. I think that’s why I enjoyed Battlefield 1 so much, each side had distinct color schemes that I could see really well. Especially the French in those blue uniforms

You can tell The Finals idea was discussed by the BF staff if two teams have basically built the concept in two different ways

Nothing yells Battlefield more than blue rifles and infantry flying around...

I think everyone who says the aesthetic is way off are correct. I understand they want to do something different, and I think this sci Fi theme isn't bad. If they made it less like a esport-gameshow look and more like a realistic, gritty, militaristic cyberpunk feel with battlefield 4 mechanics would be cool.

Everything The Finals didn't do... From the looks of it

Most Bf veterans will find this ridicoulus.

The visual style, the stadium lights, bleachers, team branding, etc makes this look like a rejected version of The Finals. They need to completely remake the art style if they want a chance at success because people are going to look at this game, instantly call it a knock off of The Finals, and never give it a second thought.

Once you've played The Finals, this game seems unappealing and unnecessary unless they fix the problems jackfrags had mentioned in this video and that's a lot of rework to do.

I personally don't mind the aesthetic, the colorful exterior is meant to gravitate towards a younger audience but the raw battlefield gameplay is designed to keep us old heads that play old battlefield, quake, and call of duty in. The game is trying to bridge two audiences to enjoy the same game because that is what they believe sells. Kids today have never played og cod mw2 or battlefield 3 and there are a lot more kids that play video games than us old people so the developers in my opinion are just trying to have a larger player base at the expense of not completely pleasing everyone.

Battlefield: *massive battles with vehicles, classes and destruction* This game: *The Finals at home* Why do the soldiers look like airsoft/toy soldiers?

looks like the Battlefield that the candy crush guy who worked in 2042 wanted

You're totally on point with the branding, if I was scrolling past and saw that brand game logo with the t rex and gun I wouldn't even have given this game a second look.

The destruction is very cookie cutter.

Literally the only thing here that reminds me of Battlefield is the destruction. Otherwise it looks like yet another generic cartoonish arena style shooter the FPS market is FILLED with nowadays...

Completely agree Jack, I don't think just having battlefield-esque gamemodes will be enough to attract a sizeable audience. Studios need to drop this aesthetic.

Your critique is spot on. I’m open to new stuff. But, like you, the aesthetic doesn’t really work for me either. If it’s fun, maybe I’ll give it a go. Glad you gave the game and the devs some exposure though. Hopefully they’ll take the feedback and make some beneficial changes.

Hey Jack great vid mate keep it up, this is so BF and The Finals theme type of game.

This doesn't feel like BF at all. The atmosphere is so vital for them and this just doesn't have anything close.

There’s no way a group of battlefield veterans came up with blue vs red cartoon shooter. Yeah okay

I love how you can tell that Jack here is DEFINITELY legitimately friends with these devs- very much following this game!!! The gameplay kinda reminds me of BFV oddly enough... can't wait!

Struck me as like a mashup of BF and unreal tournament actually. For that reason I'm interested, even though I really enjoy the vehicle aspects of BF, rather than just the inventory maps, like locker. edit. oh yeah, props for reminding me about 'Mercanaries'.

They seem to be as out of touch as EA if they’re aiming for a Battlefield competitor, we want an arcadey-realistic modern BF3/4 shooter

You got through this entire video without mentioning The Finals, impressive!

This looks fresh and exciting! Loved what the other ex dice devs did with The Finals. So im excited to check this out as well!

Gameplay and map interactions look perfect but the market wants realism not more animated aesthetics.

imagine if any "ex dice developers" decided to make a game with realistic war aesthetics instead of fantasy game show stuff. might actually be onto something.

We need soldiers talking like the soldiers in Battlefield 3 during combat, made it feel so realistic lol

I assume they're looking to test the waters by allowing you to do this video, so as a battlefield / general fps veteran and past competitive player, here's my impressions. Firstly, I welcome more competition in this space, absolutely. Bringing back true destruction is something I think is absolutely needed given the expertise of this team. I personally ain't a fan of the art style with poppy colours of red vs blue, but to each their own. Regardless, considering this is focused on the gun play and will not include vehicles (absolutely fine with that too btw), I think they REALLY need to nail the gun play, make it as tight as possible, tune the TTK, hitboxes and ensure that each weapon has its own "feel" like in games of old. Looking at the game play in this video, it doesn't look tight or fun. I appreciate the studio isn't aiming for arcade style but I wasn't drawn in by what I was seeing, it didn't seem tight, weighted or light (depending on the gun). The player seemed sluggish in movement (another absolutely crucial aspect I'm under representing here). I didn't see much in the way of obstacle traversion, no mention of things like wall penetration from heavier rounds or lighter rounds on lighter surfaces etc. Not to mention details around dedicated servers, tick rates, in game comms (tagging, proximity chat). These are just some examples of the small things that make a game worth playing when its sole focus is around non vehicle pvp with an emphasis on just running and gunning. Really appreciate the no gimmick style though and I'm sure there's some tuning planned for what I've touched on, I just would love to see some progression in these areas before I'd be personally tempted to make a purchase. Otherwise, it'll likely end up being remembered as the battlefield knockoff that fizzled away. Best of luck to the studio, will definitely be keeping an eye for future updates!

first few seconds showing off stuff that was in ancient battlefield games, im good.

The cover art definitely looked like a mobile game

I just want a more gritty battlefield style game.

that slingshot reminds me BF4 last DLC's primitive stationary Titan drop-pod that charges up before launching a fixed direction.

Okay, I guess that’s a cool development for people into more arcadey style FPS games, but tbh, I’m tired of that. There’s already Fortnite, PUBG, Apex Legends, and now CoD and Battlefield have also gone down that road where they strayed away from more of a gritty, semi-realistic game, to what we see in Warzone and BF2042 with all these goofy “operators”, wingsuits, grappling hooks, etc. Is it seriously too much to ask of EA or any serious game developer with the funding and resources to do it, to make an FPS game set in a modern time, with REAL life guns & attachments, large scale destruction, and more of a realistic/semi-milsim experience? I mean many of us just want something similar to BF3 or 4 again… I for one would love to see a new BF game that includes: - Head to toe character customization, similar to that in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint where we could seriously customize our own unique multiplayer operator with whatever camo, gear, and kit we want. - In depth weapon customization with real guns and attachments, such as that in Escape from Tarkov where we could build out our own loadout with no limitations on weapon attachments. Being able to choose between various optics like Eotechs with magnifiers, T2 red dots on unity risers, LPVOs with top mounted or canted RDSs, etc. - Advanced graphics & particle effects like we’ve seen in more recent games that are far more serious and milsim based, like Squad and Hell Let Loose. Those games aren’t exactly casual player friendly and have a real learning curve and aren’t always enjoyable to play without a well coordinated and experienced team. So, having that level of realistic immersion with the soundscape, destructive environments, and dynamic battlefields that develop and change throughout the duration of a match, but without being such a serious milsim game like Squad and just more like BF3 would be awesome. - Also, getting rid of all the nonsense like the over the top storms on the maps that are just annoying and disorienting gets old. That and the unrealistic and arcadey special abilities like the wingsuits and overpowered ballistic shields in 2042 is also annoying. - could also be really cool to have this sort of game with a coop PvE mode for those players that DO want more of a milsim and serious approach to coordinate with teammates to carry out various realistic type military operations against AI insurgents aside from the standard multiplayer PvP mode for more casual and classic battlefield modes, like Rush, Conquest, and TDM. Idk.. if I had the resources that EA has, I could undoubtedly direct an amazing FPS game with the amount of talented individuals they have at their disposal that are likely being directed by greedy shareholders and others to focus on things that drive their game titles into the dirt as we’ve seen now with both Medal of Honor and Battlefield.

I just want Battlefield, I don't want whatever paintball looking shite this is

Feels like the Finals and BF hybrid and i cant really say i like it. It feels like it wants to be both, but is good at neither. The art design really puts me off for some reason. Many Battlefield-like games lately, but none of them scratch the right spot.

Thanks for making the video Jack. There are just so many choices for gamers nowadays and I wish these developers the best. But I'm not a PvP gamer so I'm just fine with games like Battlefield 2, Battlefield 3, Battlefield 2042, Ravenfield, etc where I can play single player against bots. Having a single player vs AI option is the only way developers can get my attention with a shooter.

could have been an absolute banger, but this is how aesthetic styles can completely kill a game alone.

I thought the finals was already out?

Strangely conscious and almost painful effort by Jack to not mention the Finals in this. Even if the video is his own choice, I can practically hear the teams talking points coming over in this from his engagements with them “no this isn’t the finals! ”. Look at every comment in this video… feels a little tone deaf for giving his honest feedback and goodwill gesture to promote this. 2 ex-Dice veteran teams both making arena gameshow shooters with destruction and battlefield style ‘feel’ gunplay. Right, let’s not discuss that.

The movement is so insanely fast. Like there is no weight to it. In battlefield 3 and 4 you were able to sprint and climb very little. Positioning was a major role back then, today you just go super sonic and climb 2 meter walls in half a second while crouch jumping the enemy with a insane latency so you are invincible.

Your feedback about the logo is spot on. I looked up the game on steam to register for early access, before you started talking about your points to improve, and the logo struck me as very odd and unfitting indeed.

I was enjoying everything about this game until I saw the logo and dancing. What is that 😂

Looks almost like The Finals. Arena, commentators, destruction, etc. Makes me think there were these conversations happening at DICE 10 years ago and as the band split up and created different studios they each made their own version of that idea they had together back in the day.

I like the red and blue colours, if someone is on my screen I want to be able to see them

Every minute of this vid i was thinking, what happened to DICE?? Looks good and im with most things that you said about your feedback

Battlefield 2042 + The finals idk

Was here for the title. Watched a blue AR for 8 seconds. I left..

thats a no from me dog-everymeme

Thanks for the tip my friend! I Applied for the playtest, hopefully I'll be meeting you in the game 😉

Gunplay and movement definitely have some Battlefield 4 feels to it. But the aesthetic.... man, I don't know what to say.

Funky aesthetic. Don’t love it. But I am craving a Battlefield clone. If the devs calibrate and evolve the art direction, I’d be inclined to try it.

So I tried it today. The destruction is basically bf2024 "destroy the walls"... but doesn't affect the building. Uninstalled. The pro, compare to The Finals, is that it has low ttk.

Thank you very much, Jack, for bringing up the visual aspect. I honestly won't even bother to play the game. I need some background story, give me a US vs RU vs CH type of thing. Red and blue works in Halo but it simulates Spartan training. This game definitely has a Battlefield vibe to it but I'm not playing another fortnite-like looking game that doesn't make any sense at all. Btw in your previous video about Battlefield competitors, you didn't mention ww3 I believe. That game had the potential to be a bf killer but by opting not to have proper factions, they missed the mark and the game is dead

A mix between battlefield 3 and the bad company series is ALL alot of us wanted

The gameplay is nice, but the style and art is putting me off from going to purchase it. Would really like it if the models were soldiers instead of bright colours.

They seem to have gone halfway between battlefield and the finals visually and I think they'd benefit from picking one or the other and leaning all the way in

brah why did you upload this damn this look like a battlefield we looking forward to. DAMN THIS LIT. this channel didn't upset me with this video .... hope dice watching... I'm still playing bf1... all bfs after is lame

The aspect with wishing them luck is where I totally agree. I really want some smaller teams to be competetive in the market and get the big established publishers and studios to rethink their steps in the industry. But sadly I also think that Jack's right about the visual aspects. I found myself quickly judging the game in the first few seconds. I think the basis can be solid and the gunplay looked fun to be fair. But it is also true that many people are tired of the quirky, childish and cartoony side in gaming qurrently and those who like it are already playing CoD, Apex, Fortnite and so on. The more believable games are the ones lacking the most right now, and even though I have no clue about development I would argue that leaning more towards that side would tilt the odds in their favour quite a bit.

Oof, that UI and the loud outlines on enemies kinda kills it for me.

I just want to have a proper polished remake of Battlefield 3 and 4. Modern combat with realistic graphics and next gen destruction.

I prefer The Finals, Embark has most of the OG Dice devs and their game looks and feels more true to Battlefield with a little Mirrors Edge in design.

It looks like all of the people with the knowledge of the destruction systems went to Embark to make The Finals.

Why is it so hard for DICE and EA to literally just make a Battlefield 3/4 type game with modern graphics and more destruction :/ Thats literally all we want and they would make so much money how can they be this blind i really dont understand. You make that game and you're rich...

This arena-like theme is actually giving vibes of The Finals. We don't know, what devs want to change or will change in future, but it will be interesting to have a look!

IF this is from ex dice "vets", i better keep playing BF2.

I can't speak to how it feels but I /really/ don't like the sports arena aesthetic. I don't really like it in The Finals either but at least they leaned hard into it with the goofy gameplay so that it feels consistent. Here it feels like a weird dumbing down of the atmosphere. With so many Battlefield players complaining about the more silly elements of recent entries, I can't imagine this will really be that appealing to them.

Can we have a serious game again like BF1 without shiny heroes and bright visuals?

infantry focused gameplay seems like a win (lack of vehicle balance in many BF titles is a huge bummer to me as a primarily infantry player). definitely feel like moving this to be more grounded (both gameplay-wise and art style) would draw more folks in, will still probably give this a go assuming it releases as F2P

whats up with Dice devs and comat-based game shows?

This game doesn’t know what it wants to be. It has two different conflicting themes of realistic military sim mixed with cartoonish fun elements. When he showed footage when he started talking about the cons it seemed like a completely different game compared to the first half of the video. Hopefully they can sort this out because it has potential

But Dice be like: the best we can do is "Don't be sad, this is just how it works out sometimes" 😂😂

ur right with that last part. the gameplay looks solid. the aesthetics and graphics are really clean and i am into the art style. but once u showed the title banner and a bit of the trailer and that goofy dancing is just not it. especially the super kid cartoony mascots. the finals is a fun gameshow in a vr space where ur character can be anything, but it still takes it self seriously in that regard that the players are still competing for cash. combat champions looks solid honestly but id like it more if it went into a tad more serious direction. like that goofyass dance they were all doing is definitely too much.

*RIP Battlefield 2002-2024 | they were only 22 years old and had so much more potential. Us gamers will miss you*

Fed up with this kind of art style + without vehicles it just feels like Battlefield lite. I just want a good Battlefield that doesn’ t look like fortnite

Looks like the Finals got the better destruction environment devs.

Great feedback for devs - I agree with all your points regarding branding, concept and visual style

Jack makes a great point about games focusing on doing one thing really well rather than everything mediocre. This looks great to me kind of battlefield meets halo

This is not negative, hopefully this is constructive feedback. If you play a lot of VR especially VRChat, creators have a familiar syndrome. Everything is a park or apartment or pub or bar .. and people want to be in fantasy environments, experience dream trips. (im saying this as a dev and a gamer) Your fear of watching the quirky style and battlefield style and being turned off is spot on. It feels like another arena on earth with another objective. Regardless of how good the movement, or weapons, team play etc, it will probably burn fast and bright. People playing it at first like finals, then just moving on as there is nothing special visually. Gray Zones niche is its beauty and variance and planned biomes. They need something fantasy/fantastic/truly different to stick. I wont pretend to know what that is, but they should try different things even if its as simple as monsters vs aliens. I hope this struck the positive tone it was intended. Love your content.

.... ex BF devs - The Finals and Combat Champions

The Finals: I'm now forgotten..😅

the artistic vibe and camera view is giving a lot of the finals vibes. It's like if the finals went more of a direction towards the battlefield gameplay loop instead of the arena style loop. Yes im aware of who made The Finals

played the game 2 times now, and its a fun game from what i played. looking forward to playing it more.

I miss the glory days of BF3, 4 and even Hardline. Felt burnt out back then but now I miss it

Definitely gonna try it out, but I do hope they make a near-future military aesthetic the standard. I’ve been dying for a game that’s what 2042 looked like in the trailers instead of what it actually was, and while I don’t think this game could fully deliver on it without vehicles, it could certainly fill that niche.

I thought the old dice devs worked on the finals ?