The Battlefield series has been on quite a losing streak as of late. Battlefield V had potential, but the game never really came together in any meaningful way. Battlefield 2042 was as close to being a disaster despite having ambition and some of the largest maps in the franchise. The last game that was anywhere close to greatness was Battlefield 1, and that game is nearly a decade old at this point. Thankfully, Battlefield 6 has hit the ground running, reminding everyone that Battlefield is at its best when it’s just Battlefield and that it doesn’t need to chase the competition to succeed.
Battlefield 6 is the latest entry in the storied Battlefield franchise. Unlike the last two entries, B6 takes place in approximately modern-day. In this timeline, NATO has fragmented, and in its place, the paramilitary group known as Pax Armata has stepped up to fill the power vacuum. Consequently, a series of micro wars follows where battlefields can appear in the most unlikely of places, such as California and New York. But most players won’t care about the backstory. What truly matters is that Battlefield multiplayer is back to what the series does best: teamplay and destructive spectacles.
For starters, let’s address the elephant in the room: the single-player campaign. In short, I was not impressed. It was the video game equivalent of a Michael Bay movie with the writing of a Marvel movie. The plot is equally unimpressive. So much so that I’m positive that you can put it in a Black Ops title and no one is going to tell the difference. Sure, it had somewhat defined characters such as Mulphy, Gecko, and Carter. But you can’t convince me that the only reason Lopez is there is because they needed someone to run around as the team’s “support”, despite doing anything but the duties of a support. At least he’s better than Ghost wanna-be, Hemlock, which I’m pretty sure are the developers unconsciously taking shots at Modern Warfare.
The worst thing about the single player is that it doesn’t even prepare you for the multiplayer. It’s a poor showcase of the weapons, as practically all the assault rifles fire the same way. And let’s be honest, everyone’s running around multiplayer lobbies with a recoilless M4 anyways. It has multiple ground vehicle segments and a short drone segment, but it doesn’t have the two things that get players killed within seconds of spawning, that is, piloting a jet or a helicopter on mouse and keyboard. You are better off avoiding the single player entirely and braving the crucible of Conquest.
That’s the last I’ll touch on this largely irrelevant part of the game. I wish I could have gotten back those 6 or so hours, but here we are. You know it’s bad when the moment you finish the campaign, the game emphasizes the option to uninstall it to save space.
Now, get to the real meat of the Battlefield 6 experience: the multiplayer game modes. It doesn’t matter what game mode you choose, be it Conquest, Domination, or Team Death Match; every game works on the foundation of “working together as a team, and playing it slow and methodically.” While yes, it is possible to showcase superhuman feats of aim and reflexes, you won’t contribute much to the win unless you bother to play the objective. And besides, a perfectly built M4 with zero recoil and maximum range matters little against someone inside a tank or a manned helicopter turret. The chaos of Battlefield cares not what attachments you have on your weapons.
The best part of Battlefield 6 is that it respects the time of casual gamers. As someone whose competitive FPS days are clearly behind him, I like that I can go into a match, do my thing, and not feel pressured to perform at all. I am but a cog in a war machine, and I am fine with that. This is the only AAA shooter where you can earn the top spot on the leaderboard by having 0 kills and more than 12 revives, provided you don’t die at any point in the match. I can attach myself by the hip to a tank as an Engineer and rocket anything that remotely looks threatening, and that would mean so much more for the team than me actively engaging against enemy players.
To think, Battlefield 6 achieved all of this without having to rely on live service elements. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like the game is removed of such things. Battlepasses may be the norm, but the game’s take on it has been tame so far. That can still change over time, in ways the playerbase will disapprove of. For their part, I appreciate that the developers are actively engaging with the community. This has resulted in changes such as reduced requirements for specialist challenges and even the addition of Casual Breakthrough as a limited game mode.
The thing that’ll keep B6 alive for a long time, from my view, is The Portal. This player-created sandbox is what’s allowed the community to unlock its creative side and provide content for years to come. Even now, players are creating GTA Online-style racing games and bigger battle royale maps on the scale of 2042 maps. Granted, it’s all rudimentary stuff at the moment, but give a year or so, and you’ll be shocked by what you see. I wouldn’t be surprised if some madlad creates a custom campaign that puts the base one to shame.
The most surprising aspect about Battlefield 6 is the fact that the game runs nearly flawlessly at launch. You’ll still get the occasional bugged lobbies, but compared to other AAA titles, the problems aren’t so frequent. That bodes well for the game, considering many players almost wrote it off as another buggy launch in need of beta testers. The maps in B6 are the most detailed and reactive they’ve ever been. It also helps that the audio is so visceral at some points. You clearly hear jets screaming overhead, helicopters blowing up in a ball of flame in front of you, and tanks rolling on top of you as if to crush you like a tin can. It is an audio overload in a positive sense.
As with every multiplayer game that has ever existed, there have been some bugs that manage to slip through QA testing. Off the top of my head, the assault ladder and drone glitches come to mind. They weren’t game-breaking in nature, but they resulted in unforeseen consequences whenever they occurred. There are also visual bugs like gun models disappearing from the character’s hands and a weird visual bug that happens whenever someone on your team looks through a pair of binoculars. Well, these things tend to happen in a game of such massive scale. What’s important is that the developers are quick to react whenever reports come in. And it seems like the team is doing just that.
To round out this review, let’s talk about REDSEC, Battlefield 6’s take on the battle royale genre. I didn’t know what to expect from the new game mode on the first day. My squad and I dropped in and immediately started fighting for our lives. I don’t know what kind of gun I would pick up from crates half the time. All I know is that I am grateful to have anything better than that tiny starting pistol. We would die often and quickly respawn. Our squad barely cracked the top 10, which is weird since we are Hunt: Showdown and Apex Legends veterans. I guess it’ll take some getting used to. Though I have noticed that most squads don’t start moving until they are forced to. All-in-all, it’s an ok game mode, even when you factor in OP stuff like the ability to call in tanks.
Beware of stealth tanks that strike from out of nowhere. (I'm pretty sure that's an audio bug).
Battlefield 6 represents a new start for the storied franchise. I don’t know how much longer the honeymoon period will last, but I’m sure the Battlefield faithful will stay aboard until the wheels fall off. There are a lot of things to look forward to with that title in the near future, new vehicles like the Little Bird are said to debut, and there are rumblings of a ship-based game mode as well. This is one of the best multiplayer entries we’ve had in a very long time. If you love the feel of the old Battlefield games and don’t mind the revamped movement mechanics, you might want to consider hopping in while the game is good.
This review is based on a code provided by the developers/publisher.
Battlefield 6 (PC)
Battlefield 6 represents a new start for the storied franchise. I don't know how much longer the honeymoon period will last, but I'm sure the Battlefield faithful will stay aboard until the wheels fall off.
The Good
- Runs perfectly at launch
- Visual spectacles galore
- Grounded gameplay
- Uniquely Battlefield take on every multiplayer game mode
The Bad
- Campaign mode
- The possibility of getting into bugged lobbies
- A few unexpected bugs
