Battlefield 6 Review - Battlefield’s Back, Baby

When Battlefield 6 was announced and I saw “Battlefield Studios”, I immediately felt that EA was going all-in for a solid franchise rebound. Battlefield 2042 strained the all-out war shooter with questionable design choices, and ultimately resulted in the next incarnation going back to the basics. Battlefield 6 delivered what fans have wanted for a long time, and while there are a few issues holding it back, those who’ve contributed to the creation of this game should be proud. This is a solid foundation to build upon; Battlefield 6 is and will hopefully remain a fun game to jump onto on a daily basis.

Battlefield 6 takes hold of you the moment you get into its loop. Typical large-scale battles are usually 20-30 minutes long, but they never feel it. On my first night, I went game after game, as I didn’t realize I was playing all night. That was my first indicator that things are looking prime for the multiplayer, which is the main reason one would consider purchasing the game.

Campaign Struggles

I focused on multiplayer, but once I jumped into the campaign, I kept thinking about going back. Set in modern times, the story is a standard military conflict between  America and a fictional organization, and it never gave me a reason to care about what was happening. It becomes a compelling case for why franchises known for multiplayer should consider scrapping the single-player altogether, because I struggled to find any enjoyment in the roughly 5-hour experience.

The campaign’s characters are stereotypical soldiers with no defining traits or personalities, making it hard to invest in what they’re going through. The story structure doesn’t help either, as most of it revolves around interrogating a key figure and revisiting past operations, turning the whole thing into a recap of events leading to the present.

Set pieces fall flat and are accompanied by the game’s theme song, which is used in every big moment, making for one-note action scenes.

Enemy AI is the most brain-dead I’ve seen in a shooter in years. Enemies shuffle between the same bits of cover, popping out like I was playing Time Crisis. I even spotted bizarre spawn behavior that made them appear in unrealistic positions, as if the game forced them into place.

Level design is narrow and on-rails, which contradicts what Battlefield is built on. The only times I had fun were the final two missions, which open up the environment and let you decide which objectives to tackle first. Hijack a truck or snipe from afar, it’s up to you. Those moments highlighted what could have been, offering the kind of freedom that resembles an online match where choosing your role in the match is one of the series’ best qualities.

Multiplayer is king

Multiplayer is the complete opposite from the stilted story. Battlefield 6 launches with nine maps and a variety of game modes that can easily cater to both small- and large-scale encounters. Matches can be as big as 34v34, or as small as 8v8, and I found that each of the modes shows how flexible Battlefield 6 can be.

This is due to Battlefield Studios (a team effort between DICE, Criterion Games, Motive Studio, and Ripple Effect Studios), going back to the basics. Shooting feels good, as the difference between shooting an LMG for longer periods to hip-firing an SMG as an engineer is clear and satisfying for different reasons. Each weapon type excels in different situations, lessening the chance of someone being effective in every position, which forces players to lean towards their loadout’s strengths.

What I love about Battlefield is that I don’t need to focus on having the same reaction time and movement as others. Yes, they will rack up more kills, but I don’t feel completely helpless when paired with more skilled players. I can find more ways to get an edge, help my side, and hopefully win the match.

Battlefield always felt more like a team-based game, whether you realize it or not. In some way, shape, or form, you are helping in the war effort, whether it be taking out a tank, capturing a point on your own, or reviving a felling squadmate by dragging him to safety. In my time with the game, there’s barely any communication going, just people naturally reacting to what needs to be done as the game naturally feels like a cooperative match between players who’ve never met before. Likely, they’re not being helpful on purpose, but the assistance is felt regardless.

I enjoyed every role, as they all have a learning curve to overcome. It’s not easy to pick up a helicopter or a plane off the bat, but once you get the controls and stay safe from the dangers on the ground, you can be hell for those in tanks and out in the open. I was once in a match for 20 minutes on the anti-air, and it’s a personal satisfaction to see the skies dominated by our own forces thanks to the pressure I put on. I didn’t leave my post and kept on as a fighter jet's worst nightmare, and I somehow still found enjoyment in it.

It’s intense running towards a capture point with other players, with people dying but revived, smoke screens covering our advance, and engineers firing anti-armor vehicles while some are finding cover from our own tank pushing alongside. The immersion is captured perfectly with audio and visual destruction displaying this cohesive chaos that defines the series. You know when a sniper bullet just missed your head, or that you don’t see a tank but can clearly hear one coming nearby, and you can tell if enemies are closing in as you can clearly hear multiple footsteps growing louder. 

Map Variety is Clear and Present 

The lineup of maps at launch contributed to this variety. While Battlefield 6 may not have the largest number of maps at release, those that it did deliver cover all playstyles and preferences. Operation Firestorm is a returning map, and many will find that as a cheat, but it’s still a solid offering that covers infantry combat, air, and land vehicles. Liberation Peak, a new map for the game, is one of my favorites due to its mountainous layout that has certain sections where vehicles can shine, and places that can become deadzones, as snipers can gleefully take out those stupid enough to walk into the open. It’s also fun for air players, as mountains provide decent cover against anti-air from the ground, while at the same time providing a fun layout to maneuver while facing the other players in the skies.

There are even more infantry-focused maps like Manhattan Bridge. No vehicles, just the streets of New York with a decent amount of verticality and openings for each objective. Depending on the game mode, Manhattan Bridge doesn’t naturally become a bottleneck map like Operation Metro, as there are always multiple entry points that make it hard to cover all sides without proper communication. We then have Siege of Cairo, which is probably one of my favorites as it’s more infantry-focused, but features two armored vehicles on both sides, making these vehicles key elements to pressure the opposition, as when one goes down successfully, the team will feel its absence right away.

The first nine maps check all the marks and cover all their bases, as Battlefield 6's eight game modes, from the classic Conquest and Rush, to more small-scale battles such as team deathmatch and King of the Hill, mostly work for each available mode. Though I dislike some modes such as Breakthrough, as I find it a chaotic shooting gallery that swings abruptly when you least expect it, there’s enough here at launch to let you take a break from one mode and have the same enjoyment on another.

When Things Go Boom

Environmental destruction isn’t the main highlight this time, but it still plays a crucial role in the immersion and identity of the franchise. What I like here is the subtle but effective destruction that looks great and impacts gameplay. Destroying certain buildings eliminates ambush spots for players waiting to stop an advancing tank, or a tall crane in one map used as a sniper nest can be taken down with enough damage. It doesn’t always happen, but I love these additions that can be effective for the small portion of players that were there at that moment.

These aren’t massive set-piece moments like Battlefield 4’s Levelution. Instead, destruction can be a tactical tool or simply a quick spark of chaos that you barely register. Whether you’re the target under a collapsing roof or the person causing the rubble, it feels satisfying either way.

Smooth Battlefield is a Good Battlefield

Multiplayer has been smooth since the moment servers were open to the public, which is an impressive feat in today’s standards, especially when Battlefield 6 was hitting records, as it’s confirmed that this game delivered the franchise’s biggest launch. I’ve played over 50 hours so far and have barely felt any sort of lag, rubberbanding, or servers simply shutting down (did they?).

I didn’t have a single crash on the PS5 and didn’t experience any hilarious bugs or glitches similar to what plagued Battlefield 2042 at launch. Matchmaking could see some improvements as I jumped into a game, and it took a long time to populate. Backing out, then quicking joining a queue again fixes that as I’m thrown into a full lobby, either ongoing or about to start. What I experienced gave me the impression that this is probably the most polished release for the franchise as well, as functionality was buttery smooth, with FPS stable and visual fidelity intact. 

Even during its first hour at launch, which naturally had queue waits of over 100k people trying to play the game at once. You’d think the wait to get in would be that long with such a queue, but it only took 20 minutes. The following day, I never had to be in a queue again. It’s a solid accomplishment from a technical standpoint as performance issues feel minimal in Battlefield 6’s first weeks.

Progression Needs Some Tweaking

The only real pain point for multiplayer was its progression and how long it takes to unlock things, specifically, unlocking attachments for each weapon. It takes a long time. I’ve been playing at launch and while trying each weapon and class, my experience gains were spread out to the point where I didn’t have any role or weapon with everything unlocked. It’s a heavy commitment, and quite a grind to get your favorite weapon with all of the best attachments available. 

A patch was recently released to make it easier, but it’s still a grind for the casual group that can only muster 1-2 hours of play time in their day. This definitely needs improvement, as I think other areas can serve those who love the long and painful grind. I’d understand skins or other cosmetic rewards, but hours for attachments on a single gun isn’t an exciting grind, considering that not all attachments are improvements.

This goes for general progression as well, specifically for each class, as your overall level ever so slowly unlocks new weapons and gadgets for your classes. It’s not as if you can unlock all of the options for the class you’re playing - your general level determines which new gadgets are unlocked. This can be a pain, as you are slowly drip-fed new options for your loadout, and it can be a bit disappointing for some who suddenly see an unlock for a class they rarely play. 

This design choice resulted in me not seeing a clear divide between starter gadgets and the ones you get later in your in-game career, so I can’t say for certain how the meta will shape up in the coming weeks. What I can say is that the beginning gadget available for each class always makes you a threat, even for a player who has everything unlocked. They have cool gadget ideas, but there’s a clear imbalance as some feel weak (like C4s), while others fail to find a reason to take a slot in your loadout. 

As for weapon attachments, these are slight improvements that can really make a difference in some situations. Faster ADS, better hipfire spread, stronger zoom magnification with scopes, the usual. Some excel more than others thanks to the slight bump from these upgrades that veterans will appreciate, but it’s still a friendly enough system that someone who doesn’t bother to add attachments the right way can still find fun and be a threat with proper aim and awareness.

As for Battlefield Portal, the third major component in Battlefield 6 that allows players to create unique experiences, it’s got high potential, but that ceiling will depend on the community's creativity. The map creation available so far is fun, but mostly used to try maps that’d allow me to practice the use of air or land vehicles. I visited maps that are air-only or vehicle-only, the perfect training ground for would-be pilots and tank operators. Beyond this, I’ve seen crazy map layouts, like one built out of just containers, and a race track for those looking to race via ATVs or do air races via jets. The mode is filled with random nonsense with a few gems if you look hard enough.

Jump in for the Chaos, not the Campaign

Battlefield 6 is off to a solid start, as the multiplayer is an impressive offering that can provide hours of enjoyment, and I’m eager to fully unlock different weapons and hit a point where every possible gadget or weapon is available to me.  

The campaign was a complete mess, but let’s be honest - the majority are coming in just for the multiplayer, and with the addition of the portal mode for the community to go nuts with their creativity in level design. This is an online game that can easily satisfy any Battlefield veteran, and could seriously compete for your time and retake its space in an already crowded genre. If its quality and future additions through its live service model stay consistent, we might see Battlefield 6 stay relevant for fans of the series for years to come.

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Verdict: 4.5 / 5 (Fantastic)

PROS

• Fantastic level design and map variety

• An addictive gameplay loop that makes longer matches seem shorter

• Every role is engaging and has its own reason to be fun

• Satisfying sense of environmental destruction that doesn’t go over the top

• Solid performance across the board with little to no server issues (as of this moment)

CONS

• Terrible campaign, and should not be a main reason to purchase it

• Progression grind is a bit taxing

What I’ve Played 

• Reached level 44 in multiplayer

• Now spent over 50 hours in the game

• Finished the campaign on normal difficulty

• Played every class for hours and have tried every possible vehicle or role

This review is based on a PS5 review copy provided by EA

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About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.