Battlefield 6
Review
A battlefield for some, but not necessarily all...
by Dan Lenois
reviewed on PC
Back to the Battlefield...
There's no denying that the Battlefield franchise has stood on a somewhat shaky reputation over the past several years, owing to some of the more startling directional changes evident in the past few installments. However, for those longing for a return to a more tried-and-true Battlefield formula, while still looking for the newest combat innovations, Battlefield 6 sets out to achieve the best of both worlds.
Enemy fire inbound...
The campaign of Battlefield 6 is easily the weakest component of the game. To say that its characters lack personality would be to concede that they even had any. While doing a spectacular job of prominently displaying the game's impressive visual effects and high graphical fidelity, Battlefield 6's campaign falls short not only just in comparison with the best on offer from the multiplayer FPS genre, but also falling short of the narrative depth and immersion seen in prior Battlefield games. The campaign feels less like a carefully-crafted narrative experience, and instead more like a display of maps and set pieces intended to show off what players can expect from the multiplayer modes.
If you're a player who values a fun shooter campaign that's either a wild ride of chaos, like Doom Eternal, or a more thought-provoking introspective human drama like Spec Ops: The Line, don't look to Battlefield 6 on either front, it'll disappoint you twice over.
Tanks, trucks, oh my!
The heart of Battlefield has always been in taking in the basics of all-out warfare and then blowing everything out of all proportion with chaotic fun. The vehicular movement and combat feel absolutely fantastic, as does the improved environmental destruction. There are few things more immersive than swerving left and right in your truck to avoid incoming cannon blasts from an enemy tank, seeing the screen shake and hearing the screams of other people caught up in the blast. Full props to the sound design team and voice actors. Everything sounds just as it should.
Sprint and slide...
One of the more divisive decisions clearly evident in Battlefield 6 is the decision to shift away from the series' more borderline-tactical gameplay mechanics, such as historically more of an emphasis on teamwork, peaking around corners, and pressing forward tactically in squads or as a broader team as opportunities emerged. Battlefield 6 instead regresses on this front, opting instead for the brainless, close-range run-and-gun individual-focused shooter gameplay that Call of Duty has generally satisfied.
New game modes like Escalation are explicitly designed this way, to discourage anything but frantic, sweaty close-range shenanigans. Even the maps are almost all dense, clogged environments with tight chokepoints, very unlike most prior Battlefield environments. Other modes like Domination openly disregards vehicles and team combat in favor of pursuing the aforementioned gameplay style. In short, if you enjoy this new take on Battlefield, go play actual Call of Duty titles, instead of this paired-down alternative. If you want to play an actual Battlefield game, wait for Battlefield 7.
What others on the HG team thought:
"My favourite thing about Battlefield 6 is its optimisation. We don’t usually mention that unless it’s overlooked, and as someone who plays on a mid-range laptop, it’s more often than not an issue for me. But Battlefield Studios have done a great job of optimising Battlefield 6 to ensure anyone (almost) can play it." -Ingvi
"Above all else, Battlefield 6 feels good to play, and looks good doing it. Some key changes to class make up (like giving the spawn beacon to the assault class) are welcome, and further incentivize squad play, despite their hesitation to lock weapons to particular classes. I tried to break this system repeatedly, but stepping outside of normal class bounds felt like more of a detriment than it was worth, though time and updates will see how this shakes out. The large variety of maps and modes will do a good job of keeping things fresh and keeping the tactics fluid. The destruction feels a bit more limited than you’d want after all these years, but it’s still impressive and impactful enough to feel true to the series. The keys to Portal are still locked up at this time, preventing me from getting hands-on experience with what the Godot-integrated tools can accomplish, but I'm happy that multiplayer feels as premium as it should in the meantime.
Battlefield might be back (to the early 2010s) and that comes with some of the same missteps. The campaign is the type of boilerplate setpiece-to-setpiece affair you’d expect from what is essentially a tacked-on experience. These bombastic moments largely work, but the story has nothing to say as it presents plot tropes at a breakneck pace, it’s not particularly challenging, there’s a minimal amount of tactics with your squad, and even searching for collectibles, in these levels that are designed with enough side areas to eliminate the corridor feeling, is tedious because you’re constantly ending up out of bounds. It also ends without any sort of flying mission, which feels like a missed opportunity or two." -Jordan
Final Verdict:
Reaching a singular verdict among the HG team is like getting a group of dogs to share a single bone. However, all of us involved conceded that in regards to the game's visuals, destructive environments, and optimization, Battlefield 6 excels all expectations. However, its mediocre story campaign, its bizarre attempt to clog up maps to favor close-range combat while simultaneously awkwardly trying to keep vehicles marginally viable, and its disappointing new multiplayer modes all detract from the experience. We cautiously recommend Battlefield 6 to casual fans, but more fervent diehards might want to think twice, because this may not necessarily be the Battlefield for you...
7.5
fun score
Pros
High-octane firefights, responsive weapon animations, impressive optimization.
Cons
Disappointing map design, awkward menu UI, tonal shifts compared to prior titles.
