Did you enjoy Battlefield 1? Well, if you did then you’ll love Battlefield V. If you didn’t like Battlefield 1 this game will probably be hit or miss for you.

First off, lets go over some basics.

Describing the gameplay as “improved Battlefield 1” is extremely accurate. Almost everything about the game plays and feels similarly to Battlefield 1.

The beta gave access to 4 primary weapons to assault, medic, and support while recon only had access to 3. There are only 2 sidearms available to try out, both being handguns.

Vehicles aren’t extremely common to see on the battlefield, but they appear often enough to worry about throughout the game. Luckily they’re devastating to use too. Tanks pack a huge punch, and can blow through buildings, bombers can flatten multiple houses in one run, and armored trucks have enough gunner positions to tear apart enemies from every angle.

One issue with vehicles though is the entering and exiting animations. This time around Dice has gone with full animations for getting into and out of vehicles. This can provide some issue on certain vehicles during tense situations. Take the motorbike on Arctic Fjord for example, the animation of your character getting off is extremely slow. If you’re getting shot at don’t expect to turn and burn. Most likely what will happen is you character will take his time getting out of his chair as bullets pierce the back of his head.

The new building mechanic is nothing crazy. I was excited for the dynamics that building could add to the gameplay, but the locations you can fortify are predetermined. You’re limited to barricading off alleyways and building walls for cover, but it is a fun way to get some cover.

The two maps included in the beta are a mixed bag. Arctic Fjord is good fun in both Conquest and Grand Operations. It feels hectic yet controlled in both modes, and its drop dead gorgeous on top of that. The night version of the map elevates it even higher. Grand Operations is a tense experience on this map. The mode begins with one team parachuting onto the snowy coast while the other team sets up to defend artillery guns.

The mode sounds simple, but the uphill battle for the attackers makes the game mode an intense battle of flanking. Random batches of parachuters dropping right onto the point help to elevate the action even higher.

On the other hand you have the Rotterdam map.

Rotterdam is a very pretty map, but it plays almost exactly like Amiens from Battlefield 1. The close quarters action is great, and the verticality of the buildings make for interesting gun fights, but the lack of destruction is the maps downfall. Rotterdam just lacks that destruction Dice has been bragging so much about, and it makes me wonder why they decided to pick this map for the beta.

Battlefield V as a package is really fun, but there’s one thing I haven’t mentioned yet. Battlefield V’s performance is a mess as of now.

While it could be chalked up to the early build of the game being used for the beta, the game’s performance is all over the place. Within the first 15 minutes I had experienced 2 full game crashes. On top of this, the game was extremely stuttery towards the beginning of my playtime. Eventually the game calmed down and ran steadier, but the stuttering along with some FPS issues would pop up from time to time.

There were also numerous bugs. Reviving enemies was extremely buggy. If you were prone trying to revive a teammate the button would be extremely picky about pressing it. Dead and dying teammate bodies also bounced all over the place. Often times, bodies of players needing to be revived would float in such a way that it looked like they were being held up by a pole in the stomach area. Bodies also went crazy during revivals at times.

So while the Battlefield V beta was a fun time, the bugs that exist in its current state make it a game to stay away from. If you liked Battlefield 1 and the current issues are fixed then this will be a great game for you, but if you didn’t like Battlefield 1 then it still might be worth the beta download to try out.

The beta will be free until September 11, and Battlefield V’s new release date is November 20.