The term “first-person shooter” encompasses a vast range of experiences. From the spine-tingling horror of F.E.A.R. to the sci-fi escapades of Metroid Prime, and the demon-slaying madness of Doom, it covers a lot of ground. Even when you narrow it down to “military FPS,” you’re looking at a wide spectrum—from the straightforward campaigns of Call of Duty, to the massive player-versus-player clashes in Battlefield, and the intense extractions in Escape from Tarkov. Delta Force, the latest revival in a series that’s been around for over two decades, mixes elements from these last three. It offers a substantial PvP mode, an extraction shooter mode, and an eagerly anticipated, though unreleased, campaign. This places it smack dab in the middle of a fascinating Venn diagram. I’ve spent some initial hours with it pre-launch, and while it’s too early for a conclusive judgment, I’m hooked enough to dive back in when it goes live this week.
Currently, Delta Force is presented as an ongoing “open beta” — essentially a way of saying it’s out, given its free-to-play nature. At the moment, two of the three main modes are available, with the campaign expected to drop later as paid content. Among what’s available, the Warfare mode stands as Delta Force’s counterpart to Battlefield’s large-scale team combat scenarios. Here, a crowd of 64 players collides in expansive arenas, battling for control. During my preview, I experienced the Attack and Defend variant, though King of the Hill and other modes should be available upon full release.
In Attack and Defend, one team takes the offense, aiming to capture strategic points before their respawns run dry. The defending team, with unlimited lives, tries to thwart these efforts. If the attackers succeed, their respawns refill, shifting the conflict to another part of the map until they seize the whole field or the defense halts them. Initially, attackers have the upper hand, benefitting from advantageous terrain and a wealth of vehicles, but as the game progresses and defense pulls back, the tides even out. This dynamic sees both sides feeling both triumph and the sting of being on the back foot at various times.
The large-scale skirmishes deliver an adrenaline rush, thanks in part to quick respawns that keep the battlefield bustling with action. The chaos is palpable once the firefighting kicks off, and commandeering a vehicle only heightens the mayhem. Tanks crammed with gunners reign supreme, yet even a machine gun mounted on an armory car can wreak serious havoc.
Despite benefits, such as being able to opt for different operatives mid-game which suits Delta Force’s jack-of-all-trades persona, it feels like sometimes, in the heat of battle, the gameplay doesn’t quite mesh as well as it should. Gunplay requires precision, with bullet trajectory and arc demanding you lead targets for accurate shots over distances. Paired with rapid time-to-kill mechanics, it channels a military sim vibe akin to Arma. While intriguing, this doesn’t fully complement the aggressive tempo of goal-driven modes like Attack and Defend, where immediate bullet drops reminiscent of airsoft do lessen the intensity somewhat.
Switching gears to Operations mode, we see a familiar extraction shooter setup. You and up to two allies form a trio, entering zones to shoot, loot, and retreat. Items scavenged between rounds can be sold, stashed, or re-used, but die or fail to escape, and you lose them for good. Though Delta Force doesn’t reinvent this formula, it executes it with such polish that it compensates for any lack of innovation.
Each level operates as a sandpit rich in objectives. Key points such as bounty targets and safes are clearly marked on maps, which is a refreshing contrast to the typically cryptic nature of titles like Escape from Tarkov. It’s convenient to set waypoints and know what lies ahead without memorizing the entire terrain.
Once you’ve chosen your route, you’ll face AI squads or occasionally, player-controlled opponents. The uncertainty of whether you’re up against humans or bots adds layers of strategy to engagements, challenging you to weigh the risks of open fire, or silently slipping past and leaving threats lurking.
So far, I’ve enjoyed the variety in enemy types. We’ve taken on wandering riflemen squads, darted into buildings for cover against snipers, and devised impromptu maneuvers to outflank riot-shielded foes. One memorable engagement had my team pinned by a formidable armored behemoth wielding a minigun, forcing us to strategically lob grenades from behind cover.
My main concern with Operations lies in its loot loop. There is no shortage of things to search through—file cabinets, coat pockets, defeated enemies—but after just a few sessions, I find myself skipping them, having learned where the real treasures lie. I hope it doesn’t reach a point where the maps feel “solved” too soon since they’re starting to lose some of their dynamism every run.
Between missions, players regroup at the Black Site, their home base for all things transactional. Here, you can buy, sell, and make upgrades, notably expanding your stash storage. It’s also where you can tweak loadouts with a user-friendly system to streamline re-equipping for missions—a real boon especially after a failed extraction attempt.
These are merely my initial thoughts, of course. It takes time to properly assess the longevity and effectiveness of a PvP mode like Warfare, plus there are Operations I still need to explore, so a final judgment will have to wait until I can experience it live. That said, the extraction mode is engaging early on, and I appreciate the scale of Delta Force’s PvP battles, albeit with reservations about the gunplay’s pace for this type of action. At a minimum, it’s clear that Delta Force is a competent free-to-play shooter with enough variety to appeal to several FPS fans, but whether it can maintain my interest past the initial excitement remains uncertain.
