We need to stop criticising Star Wars Battlefront for lacking the things it never wanted to offer

Star Wars Battlefront’s launch hasn’t been met with the same sort of glowing reviews as other games in the series, and many of the reasons for that are justified. It’s not a perfect game, but it doesn't want to reinvent the wheel. It has a pretty strong sense of identity -- it is a Star Wars game after all -- and as a fan service you probably couldn’t ask any more of a Star Wars multiplayer game.

I’ve spent a lot of time playing it over the past week and a bit (probably too much, closing in on 18 hours), and more often than not I find myself agreeing with a lot of the main criticisms centred at the game. But those are criticisms that fit within the expectations of the type of game Battlefront wants to be: a simple and fast fan service. That’s it. It’s not looking to compete with Battlefield or even Call of Duty: it just wants to be the best Star Wars multiplayer game it can be.

Of course, many things hold it back from being just that. If you’re going to hold the game to account for its lack of content and overabundance of filler modes that offer little in the way of uniqueness, that’s fine, and I certainly won’t argue with you. But that's not the game's fault. There are other things at play here. There has to be a reason why I keep returning to Supremacy or Walker Assault, even though I’m cycling through the same four or five maps over and over again. There has to be a reason why a mode like Fighter Squadron, in all of its mindless simplicity, is one of the game’s more popular modes.

Battlefront sells itself well as a game that will feed into your nostalgic cravings.

I think that reason is at the core of what gives Battlefront so much potential: it sells itself spectacularly well as a game that will feed into your nostalgic cravings.

Is that really at odds with what defined Battlefront a decade ago? While those earlier games certainly set a standard for how a multiplayer Star Wars game should be, it was actually the scale and accessibility of the experience that made them so great. Being able to jump into a Snowspeeder and trip up an AT-AT with ease serviced those cravings but also the urgency to feel like an important part of a Star Wars battle. Those earlier Battlefront games rewarded you for servicing your side of the galactic conflict, and this latest Battlefront entry is no different.

The shallowness of Battlefront’s weapon and progression system could be considered the game’s biggest shortcoming after its obvious lack of content. I’ve seen all the weapons, am lingering around level 30 and have most of the Star Cards unlocked. I can acknowledge that in wanting to stay committed to the Star Wars aesthetic, Battlefront almost seems scared to tinker too much with its iconic weaponry.

I think it’s a charming kickback to the original trilogy, an ode to a time when the standard blaster was just that: not some over-powered, modded-up monstrosity. Of course, you can alter the power and effectiveness of your weapon via Star Cards, but many seem to gloss over that in their criticism. I for one am a big fan of the Explosive Shot, which packs a powerful punch when teamed up with my T-21 laser rifle. It’s a must-have for any soldier’s loadout. It also costs credits to reload, so you’ll need to play without the power-up for a period of time before you can use it. It's restricted usage, not some permanent add-on that only looks to give you a particular advantage over lower-ranked players: at times, you're going to be packing the same sort of blaster as the enemy on the other side of the map.

Battlefront has the personality and smarts to be a great shooter. Ironically, like an oppressed farmer on Tatooine, constantly on edge and fearful of an Imperial invasion, Battlefront lacks confidence in these early days. Smothered by a contentious Season Pass, it’s at its best when judged solely as a fun, mindless shooter, one that spectacularly recreates many of the original trilogy’s best moments. Judging it otherwise misses the point, and sets expectations at odds with its Battlefront roots.

What do you think of Battlefront in these early days? Do you think it has the legs to survive, or does the gameplay lack something to keep it going?