When Battlefield 6 arrives, it will have a new competitor for release, at least on PC: Battlebit Remastered is the best shooter of the year so far. And that in Early Access!
Numbers are something fine, especially when they form such a seamless chain of reasoning: 254 players per game, 15 euros purchase price, (1.8 million copies sold) in a fortnight.
The biggest multiplayer shooter launch of the year is a logical consequence of supply and demand: while Battlefield 2042 weakens Battlebit Remastered just fulfils most of the dreams of adult shooter fans, despite kindergarten graphics.
How can that be? The answer is surprisingly simple and has to do with something that all of us look for in games.
Fun is the main thing
How many times have we talked about shooters in the last few years, and how often has it been about the most important thing: fun? Exactly. Battlepass, DLCs, technology, SBMM – that’s how often we discuss Battlefield, Call of Duty and Co. lately about actually trivial things.
Modern AAA games have to concentrate so hard on including just enough rewards and content after release that there seems to be hardly any attention left for the actual product at release. The main thing is that the in-game store works, the main thing is that the players have plenty of dopamine boosts from level-ups and unlocks.
Battlebit Remastered feels different. Despite its Early Access launch, it is already technically very mature (no wonder after seven years of development time), it offers for 15 euros a very strong scope (19 maps, 8 game modes) and skins are only available as a consistently praised by the community (Supporter Pack for 20 euros).
Many use the Supporter Pack to thank the just three (!) indie developers behind Battlebit Remastered, because they have one thing in particular with the shooter, which apart from its visuals looks like a classic Battlefield with a modern-military setting: a lot of fun
More hardcore, less bullshit
The gunplay in Battlebit Remastered feels gritty and straightforward. Skill is rewarded here, not diluted by dodgy mechanics like Bullet Spread. Battlebit Remastered is a bit more hardcore than you’re used to in today’s mass-market shooters, but ultimately remains accessible.
Much of it feels like a return to the days of Battlefield 2-4, but the chaos on the battlefield is even greater than I remember from back then, thanks to the 127 players per side.
Destructible houses make up for the fact that the interior design is missing and the clunky look I completely fade out at some point, go fully into the team feeling, which is strengthened by the open voice chat.
People joke, laugh, marvel at the possibilities for Battlefie…. er, Battlebit of course. No one is complaining about technical problems or a greedy publisher in the background: Battlebit Remastered brings back a bit of the likeable early days of multiplayer shooters and I understand all too well why you can fall in love with it as a slightly more mature gamer.
Because here I find what I have always wanted from Battlefield: Huge battles with helicopters, tanks and infantry, I with my squad in the middle of it, something explodes everywhere and now and then I feel not only like a small cog in the wheel, but can even contribute decisively to victory by capturing a control point or a tactically clever flank attack.
What EA and DICE can learn from Battlebit
After Cities: Skylines, Battlebit Remastered is the second game from a tiny studio that shows the publishing giant Electronic Arts how it can be done better. Back then Colossal Order successfully built a city-building sim on the ruins of Sim City, today SgtOkiDoki, Vilaskis and TheLiquidHorse exploit the weakness of the Battlefield series.
However, this dynamic doesn t have to be a one-way street : If developer DICE is smart, then the Swedes are currently busy daddling Battlebit Remastered themselves. That they are currently working on the next Battlefield in Stockholm is an open secret. It would be nice if some of the new mechanics from the indie competitor would find their way into the game.
But it would be even better (but I’m probably too naive here) if the developers of one of the biggest shooter series would also take a leaf out of Battlebit Remastered’s book when it comes to communication and respect for the fan community things.
The Steam hit of the three developers shows that the core of the series can still provide great multiplayer entertainment. At least when, as in Battlebit, all the noise all around is finally turned off.
