More than a decade after its release, Battlefield 4 remained one of the best-remembered large-scale military shooters. But by 2025, I wanted to know whether it was still worth playing and buying, especially with fewer people on the servers.
Battlefield 4 Narrated Review
Watch my video review below. If you’d rather watch than read, click here to open it.
Battlefield 4 Multiplayer Gameplay
Battlefield 4 Campaign Gameplay
Multiplayer: Still Alive, but Getting Quieter
For me, the heart of Battlefield 4 is its multiplayer. The Conquest mode remains a favorite thanks to large battles and flexible roles. I mostly play Assault and occasionally Engineer, while I almost never choose Recon.For weapons, I tend to rely on the AUG, SAR, and G36C, a selection of bullpup rifles and carbines that work well at medium range.
Where you play still matters. In 2025, most of the active servers I found were in places such as Oceania and Europe, leaving me in Southeast Asia with roughly 180–200 ms ping. That had a noticeable effect in direct firefights.
Even so, VOIP and automatic soldier voice lines kept battles lively when teammates were quiet. The mix of voice chat and situational character responses helped preserve the atmosphere as the community grew smaller.
A Distinctive Feature: Commander Mode
One of BF4’s most overlooked features is Commander Mode. It lets someone support the team with UAVs, supply drops, and missile strikes without entering the battlefield directly. I liked the extra strategic role it offered to players who preferred helping from behind the front line.
Campaign: A Story That Falls Flat
The campaign in Battlefield 4 deserves strong criticism. I found the story weak and confusing, with little weight behind its conflicts. Its connection to Battlefield 3 felt shallow, limited mostly to two returning characters who didn’t meaningfully affect the plot. Worse, even by 2025, I still encountered mission-breaking bugs, including unresponsive AI and events that failed to trigger.
The voice actors were reasonably convincing, but the weak script gave them little to work with. I wouldn’t recommend buying the game for its campaign.
Visuals and Performance: Holding Up in 2025
Technically, Battlefield 4 still looks good thanks to a Frostbite engine developed from BF3, its visuals still remain impressive. Explosions, collapsing buildings, and character animations still look smooth and convincing.
Multiplayer ran smoothly on my modern PC, even during large firefights. I didn’t encounter major bugs online, unlike the campaign where old issues persisted.
Progression and Unlocks
Weapon progression is satisfying, even though some items require certain maps or special conditions to unlock. Those requirements add challenge and encourage replaying particular modes.The broader leveling system is fairly ordinary, without major features such as perks or a detailed skill tree.
Is It Worth Buying in 2025?
My short answer: yes, but only with some reservations. With the regular price approaching Rp500,000, Battlefield 4 was clearly not worth buying without a discount. But with an 80–90% discount, especially for the Premium Edition, I thought the price became reasonable. For under Rp100,000, I could get access to all DLCs, maps, and multiplayer battles that were still enjoyable, even with a smaller community.
Conclusion
Battlefield 4 shows how an older game can remain enjoyable long after its release. Its strengths include solid multiplayer design, fast but tactical combat, and varied maps and modes. Features such as Commander Mode add a strategic layer that I don’t often see in other FPS games.
But time has caught up with it. The community has shrunk, low-ping servers are harder to find, and the campaign feels dated. Old bugs were still disrupting missions in 2025, making solo play much less attractive.
If you’re new to the series’ earlier era or want to revisit its iconic maps and gunplay, I’d still consider Battlefield 4 during a substantial sale. Just don’t expect a thriving competitive ecosystem; instead, look for the moments that made it memorable in the first place.
