Of the three Battlefield 5 War Stories which will feature in the game at launch, Under No Flag is the only one which will feature English voice acting. While the other War Stories tell tales of Norwegian resistance fighters, Senegalese tirailleurs, or German tank crew, Under No Flag’s cast are British soldiers in the Special Boat Section. DICE gave players their first glimpse of the upcoming story in a trailer released earlier this week. Now the studio has released more details about the mission.
Battlefield 5 War Stories: Under No Flag
Where Nordlys focuses on stealth, and Tirailleur throws players into a bloody frontline battle, Under No Flag is more of a mix. Set 500 miles behind enemy lines in northern Africa, the War Story follows a band of British saboteurs. While the British Special Air Service is particularly famous, their naval counterpart is much less so; the Special Boat Section of the Royal Navy was a branch of the British special forces. Their daring missions were some of the most dangerous and ambitious of the entire war; “This meant filling the SBS with operators who could think on their feet,” explains DICE; “people who didn’t wait to follow orders. This included men like the fictional Billy Bridger, who was sitting out the war in a London jail before getting handpicked to help cripple a Luftwaffe airbase.”
According to the War Stories Design Director, Eric Holmes; “These kinds of people found a home in these special units, which needed people who were brigands, cutthroats, and rogues. Some people who really struggled in the regimented military until they found their place in a unit that rewarded independent thinking.”
Bridger in particular is an explosives specialist (and former bank robber). This skill-set makes him a perfect choice for the SBS. His superior officer is George Mason, and the relationship between these two characters is a key part of the War Story. The game’s Cinematic Director, Pelle Hallert, describes the story as very ‘British’; “The dialogue and the drama between these two characters, while they are squabbling and arguing, is a pretty light story and very charming, and very British in the way that they relate to each other.”
Gameplay in Under No Flag
According to DICE, Under No Flag will offer players many different options for how to play through the story. Every mission in Battlefield 5 is designed to help prepare players for multiplayer, however. In this case, DICE says that Under No Flag feels most like the gameplay of the game’s Assault class; putting “flexibility and firepower,” front and centre; “Find ways to pick-off soldiers,” recommends Holmes; “blow up aircraft on the runway, or destroy resources and then vanish.”
Explosives play a major role in Under No Flag, as players take on the role of an explosives expert. As a result, while stealth may be a useful tool in your arsenal, you won’t be able to rely on it completely. Players will need to find a balance between stealth and brute force, destroying their targets without bringing in waves of reinforcements.