After years spent circling the drain, Battlefield 6 gets the series back on track. EA has delivered classic, class-based multiplayer, a thrilling yet brief single-player campaign, and a creative toolset in Portal that could provide hours of fun in community-made experiences.
Battlefield has enjoyed some great moments since the series launched in 2002 – the high point being the run of modern shooters between Bad Company and Battlefield 4 – but it hasn’t all been lens-flared sunshine and exploding rainbows.
Since 2015, the series has shifted setting and themes on a regular basis – Hardline gave us cops and robbers, BF1 pivoted to WWI before BFV took us to WWII, and then 2042 showed us a classless future. Hardline didn’t feel like Battlefield at all, but 2042 was the most offensive, ditching the long-established class system in favor of hero shooter-esque specialists.
Following that low point, the good news is that Battlefield is back. BF6 doesn’t innovate and it doesn’t get everything right, but it returns to what made it a fantastic FPS series at its peak – well-defined classes, tight gunplay, great infantry vs vehicle balance, and tons of destruction. It’s the best Battlefield game in over 10 years.
Battlefield 6 screenshots
An exciting campaign that leaves you wanting more
Through the astonishing set-pieces — as dams burst and buildings crumble — to the rare moments of calm when you’re coordinating plans with your dwindling list of allies, the brief but bombastic Battlefield 6 campaign reminds us that even militarized blockbusters have the power to surprise.
Although multiplayer-only experiences have been the trend in recent years, BF6 features an action-packed campaign with great production values. Set in the very near future, we put boots on the ground as members of Dagger 13, a US squad made up of each of the game’s four classes: Assault, Recon, Engineer, and Support. Predominantly told through a series of flashbacks, you take the fight to Pax Armata insurgents, a private entity with money to burn.
Somehow, this oppressive force is able to surprise the world’s leading nations, jockeying for a position of power on a global scale. I say somehow deliberately because, unfortunately, this crucial narrative beat, along with many others, is hastily whisked past in a story that lasts around four hours. While understanding that many people just want to blast their friends and enemies in a multiplayer arena, a campaign this compelling could have done with more room to breathe.
While your squadmates have backstories, they’re mostly conveyed through text boxes on the loading screen as each of the nine story missions is rushed through at a breathless pace. The characters are acted out well enough and have interesting motivations, but there’s simply not enough time to form a connection, meaning emotional lows or highs don’t hit as hard as they should.
It’s a shame as the action is so exciting. Each chapter presents new gameplay opportunities, showcasing the capabilities of the various classes, vehicles, and gadgets, so you can then take your learnings onto the multiplayer battlefield with you. The only omission is any aerial gameplay, although it makes sense given none of your squadmates are pilots.
It is positive that Battlefield 6 has a campaign, especially one that is as thrilling as this. There is plenty of replay value, too, with added collectibles and tougher challenges, but it does feel like it could have been so much better. Maybe this is just the first chapter of a bigger long-term plan as EA continues to revive the franchise. Hopefully, the narrative will continue through seasonal updates, and we get to learn more about the conflict and the central forces fighting it out, but right now, it is incomplete, and I wouldn’t want to wait years for a sequel.
Battlefield 6 multiplayer returns to its roots
The pivot away from class-based combat in 2042 was a misstep, and EA has admitted as much since. Now, with Call of Duty turned Titanfall and Apex Legends studio head Vince Zampella at the helm, the series has returned to its roots. Expect kick-ass multiplayer action, enormous maps, vehicles, and chaos at every turn, all centered on the classic classes and progression systems we know and love.
Battlefield 6’s multiplayer doesn’t seek to innovate, but it is a return to form, and fans will love it. Gunplay is sensational, among the best it’s ever been. Whether you’re running it down as an Engineer with an SMG in-hand, or you’re perched atop the snowy peaks of Iberian Offensive, your sniper glint only faintly giving your location away for a split moment, it’s sharp, responsive, and endlessly satisfying.
The mix of maps and modes on offer at launch is great to see. For too long, we’ve accepted live-service games of this nature launching with minimal content and being drip-fed over time. What were once day one staples became post-launch releases. Of course, Battlefield 6 will have plenty of content reserved for future seasonal updates, but there’s enough here to keep players engaged for months on end without any additions. It’s fantastic.
Beyond the pesky shotguns – yes, they’re still insanely powerful in the 1.0 build – the only real negative in the launch package is the BF6’s user interface and menu systems, which are a real hassle to navigate.
You have a lengthy levelling path, plenty of vehicles and weapons to master, and of course, the four classes with their own dedicated challenges and rewards. However, with this cluttered and frankly confusing set of menus, it becomes a herculean task to track your progression.
Challenges aren’t listed in the most logical ways, and after a few dozen hours with both the preview and review builds, there’s no way to see how close you are to leveling up except for the end-of-match screen. There’s also no way to actually tell what you’re unlocking with each level unless you manually go through and make your own list.
Unless you catch a split-second pop-up after a game, you’ll have to sift through every bit of equipment just to figure out what you now have access to. Multiple times I found myself surprised that I had a new weapon to test out, and that’s just not ideal in a game where finding the best guns is everything. Of course, this can and most likely will be ironed out in future updates, but it is surprisingly poor in this initial version of the game.
So single-player is fun while it lasts and multiplayer is a blast, and that’s before we get into Portal, a tool which enables you to build your own modes and maps. Unfortunately, this wasn’t in the review copy we received, but as we said right at the start, it could add to an already strong package. Of course, we can only review what’s in front of us, and while single-player could be better and there are improvements to be made to the user interface, what we have now is the best Battlefield game since Battlefield 4.
Verdict
Battlefield 6 is a return to Battlefield’s glory days. I’m compelled to hop on nightly not to unlock something or level up, but simply to have fun. The sandbox is among the best in all of gaming, with boundless potential for mayhem. Every match feels different.
I’m eager to see just how long EA decides to support this iteration. Battlefield 6 is the foundation, and given the practically limitless possibilities through Portal, it could feasibly serve as a platform in its own right – existing for years to come with long-term roadmaps full of fresh content, including new single player missions.
Only time will tell, but at the very least, we have a really good new Battlefield game on our hands to enjoy, and we haven’t been able to say that for a while.
“Dressing is a political act”: Vintage clothing influencer calls out conservative values in the community