Battlefield 6 Review

There are times when I’m playing an RTS or grand strategy title, when I stop to think what it would be like to be just one soldier in the masses of combatants, fighting for dear life just to stay alive. These small moments are when I am reminded that the Battlefield franchise exists and is probably the best at portraying this unique perspective! As such, I was quite eager to pick up Battlefield 6 to see what it's like as a pawn on the board.

Before we get into it, I should note my own experience with modern Battlefield is a bit limited, consisting of a few stints in Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V. As such, I’m coming into the title as a newcomer.

Set in the futuristic techno-year of 2027, Battlefield 6 sets the scene for conflict with tensions rising between NATO and a recently established private military corporation (or PMC), Pax Armata. With the aforementioned corporation using overwhelming firepower and the latest in military hardware, they quickly sow chaos and force old allies to break their bonds in the name of survival. The events of the game proper kick off as Pax attacks a NATO base during a ceasefire, throwing petrol on the flickering first embers of conflict.

It is in this tense battle that both the multiplayer and the single-player content take place.

Starting with the latter, I was positively surprised that it existed in general and was more than a glorified tutorial! The narrative follows the exploits, twists, and betrayals within an elite US Marine raider team called Dagger 1-3, one member of whom was present at the NATO base when Pax kicked off this conflict.

Spanning nine missions and as many locales, the campaign does an admirable job of teaching the basics of the game without sacrificing the quality of the narrative told. Now, the story is not exactly Oscar-worthy, as it is only a small facet of a mainly multiplayer-focused title, going through quite a few tropes within the very first mission. Regardless, it does enough to be entertaining and a runtime of about seven hours is nothing to sneeze at!

As the plot progresses, the player is slowly taught the main mechanics, ranging from movement, driving vehicles, using their class-specific skills, and, most importantly, teamwork. Battlefield 6, as the series in general, aims for realism, so you can’t exactly run into the middle of a firefight and expect to live to see the sunrise.

I also appreciate that the story, serious thriller that it is, still found time to add a bit of humour and winks to the fans: you’ll find a few grenades with smileys on them around the NATO base and you may also note that the code to one safe, 2002, is also the year the very first Battlefield game, Battlefield 1942, was released!

Moving onto the multiplayer, I had regretfully few opportunities to try it out due to the state of the game during review. However, I was fortunate enough to get a few games in and even met a few of the devs — one of whom took me out with a knife, a personal slight I have yet to forgive them for and have sworn a vendetta on.

As in previous titles, the matches take place over a large battlefield (pun not intended), with players being on the side of either NATO or Pax. Unlike some other titles in the series, your team isn’t as important in Battlefield 6, as both seem to have the same equipment. It makes sense, since both factions are multicultural groups, though I admit to missing the stark differences between teams seen in Battlefield 1, for example.

The class system of Battlefield 6 has taken a step back from the features seen in its last title, Battlefield 2042, eschewing its specialists and going back to the familiar spread of Assault, Recon, Support, and Engineer. Every loadout provides a unique set of weapon proficiencies, tools, and perks to fill a role in the ever-dynamic theatre of battle.

Each role starts off with a few perks and weapons to choose from, though continued play will unlock more options, customisations, and other goodies to keep the experience interesting. The classes also have a secondary Training Path that, once unlocked, will diversify the loudouts even further! For example, the armour-combatting Engineer can unlock the Combat Engineer path that focuses more on keeping vehicles and gadgets going at their maximum capacity.

In addition to picking your class, you have a wide assortment of weapons to pick from and customise. Yes, any unlocked gun can be picked for any class, though they thrive on their signature firearm type. The customisation options for the guns were, honestly, staggering. Running the gamut of sights, grips, attachments, bullet types, decals, stickers, and more, I can see how one could use a bit of time to make every weapon the perfect fit for any occasion.

I always like attaching a silly little charm to my high-powered rifle of devastation.

The matches themselves are as hectic as ever, with swift reflexes and faster judgment calls being the name of the game. My favourite part about Battlefield games is how each role feels both unique and necessary, as a team is at its best when each class is present; the Recon can spot enemies, the engineer can take out tanks, the medic keeps you going, and the Assault keeps the nasties from poking new holes in you. Though it is always possible to get a team that just doesn’t work well together, when it does happen, it is magical!

Battlefield 6’s new Kinesthetic Combat System adds another layer of both realistic, heart-pounding action to the game, including accurate weapon recoil, shot range, smoother movement options, and mounting armaments to surfaces for that extra bit of accuracy! I especially enjoyed the peak-and-leen system that made checking corners while also staying in cover a smooth experience.

Finally, the destructible levels are at their best so far, with bullets ripping apart wooden frames, larger calibres putting holes in concrete, and tank shells deciding that a house only needs three walls. It adds a very powerful incentive to keep on the move and be aware of your cover, as you may wind up losing it quite quickly. Playing mainly as a Support, I grew very attached to the deployable walls I had as gadgets and was quite miffed when they were blown to splinters by soon-to-be-targeted enemies.

One feature I was unable to check out during the review is the new Portal Builder Tool feature. This new toolkit will allow players to create custom matches with unique rulesets or mutators to create their own preferred Battlefield experience, even creating scenarios and controlling NPC behaviour.

In terms of audio and visuals, Battlefield 6 does an amazing job. Each location is vibrant and cluttered with buildings, hiding spots, and great choke-points for the tactically minded. The weapons look very impressive and sound about as authentic as my limited experience can tell. Some of the vistas seen during the single-player campaign are also breathtaking! I noticed the game has this effect where the sounds of fighting will fade slightly when you are either on low health or recovering, which is a cool nod to how actual adrenaline highs can work.

There were a few small niggles, however. For example, if you are injured or take out an enemy up close, you may get some blood splatter on your gun, which is fine if a bit jam-esque. The problem becomes apparent as you go to reload and your soldier changes out the bloody magazine for an identical, equally bloody magazine. While not a major thing, this did take me out of the moment quite spectacularly!

Another weird glitch was how shadows froze mid-movement, looking more like weird graffiti than my constant backup.

The performance of Battlefield 6 was, regretfully, a bit on the unstable side. While the single-player content was fairly smooth, I experienced several crashes during multiplayer matches, which is somewhat concerning. I also ran into a small bit of slowdown, though the game runs surprisingly smoothly overall at 60fps. The file size is also relatively low in the modern market, at about 76 GB.

The biggest headscratcher was, however, the game requiring you to have Windows Safe Boot enabled. I believe this is tied to the Javelin anti-cheat system, though it wasn’t made apparent during install. I had to upgrade to Windows 11 to play the game, so be sure to check for yourself before purchasing!

With a launch price of £59.99 (£89.99 for the special Phantom edition), Battlefield is worth picking up if you enjoy the franchise and especially if you have a group to play with! If this is your first foray, however, I’d look into how the class system and multiplayer fit your fancies.