Battlefield 6 is the culmination of years of work from several studios flying the Electronic Arts banner. It was seen as a potential resurgence for the series after the lacklustre delivery of 2021’s Battlefield 2042 (and the divisive launch of Battlefield 5 in 2018).
In the run-up to the release of Battlefield 6, players had their expectations stoked by an immensely successful beta period, bolstered by the introduction of Battlefield Labs. The full game is finally in the open, and millions of players are diving head over heels into what is a mixed offering: a magnificent multiplayer platform marred by a pretty catastrophic campaign portion.
Read on to check out my full Battlefield 6 review.
Battlefield 6’s Dire Campaign is Carried by the Multiplayer Modes
I said many a time before the launch of Battlefield 6 that I was hugely excited to get my hands on the new campaign, given that Battlefield 2042 didn’t have one. I love a Battlefield campaign, as in the last decade, they’ve been focused on authentic replications of emotional battles, telling a story beyond the run-and-gun traditions of games like Call of Duty.
Sadly, that’s not what we received in Battlefield 6.
The Battlefield 6 campaign is hindered by poor storytelling, a predictable theme, shallow objectives, and a lack of any entertaining depth. It’s a simple thing that can be completed in a few hours, and even hunting for collectables adds almost nothing to the game’s meatiness – or lack of.
It plunges players into the action and doesn’t ever slow down, but the only redeeming feature of the campaign is that there’s plenty to shoot at. It’s a mundane, thoughtless thing that almost always has you pushing through an extremely linear area, gunning down endless sorties of enemies, while heading to a simple objective.
The best part of the campaign is a single mission that gives players a semi-open environment to traverse, allowing them a little choice and spreading them further than the linear missions do.
And my word, those linear missions are linear. If you deviate from your path by a few inches, you’ll be given a timer prompt and ordered back into the fight.
I ultimately found the visuals to be a bit dated, the AI to not have much of a clue, and the gameplay loop seemed like an afterthought. Pick up weapons, gun down enemies, and move to objectives. That’s it.
Look at last year’s Call of Duty offering, Black Ops 6. In that, players had a variety of missions that presented them with sabotage, subterfuge, exploration, and multiple perspectives. The most diversity you get in Battlefield 6 is when you’re thrust into the command of a tank for all of about five minutes.
The Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Redeems The Entire Project
Battlefield 6 is back in the multiplayer aspect, that’s for sure. I strayed from Battlefield with the launch of 2042, opting instead to stick with older titles like Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 5. What has been presented in Battlefield 6 is something phenomenal, and I’m having a blast.
From the ground up, Battlefield 6’s multiplayer is a return to form for the series. It’s a cry back to bygone days of the ‘peak’ era represented by Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4, and everything from the maps on offer to the spread of classic and new modes has me thoroughly entertained.
There are a few gripes, sure. The TTK feels out of balance, there are more than a few glitches, and levelling up weapons is a grind, which is why so many XP farms have popped up across Battlefield Portal. But even with all that being said, I’m still having a great time in Battlefield 6.
Most of my gameplay loop has seen me occupy my time in Breakthrough. I’m a veteran Rush player, and Breakthrough gives me the same vibes while also offering better area control, rather than sitting next to a single MCOM station. I can’t complain about the game’s mechanics, and I haven’t had too many issues with the maps (except for Sobek…).
I’m loving the open class system, which allows me to level up my weapons across whatever role I want to play. That’s how I play; I adjust to the scenario presented to me and adapt on the fly. If I’m playing as a support gunner and want to switch to an engineer role to tackle vehicles that have shown up, I should be able to keep grinding the same primary weapon – and I can.
Even though I no longer have the reflexes or gunny to dominate at Battlefield, I’m having fun in Battlefield 6. It’s a satisfying multiplayer platform that accommodates all kinds of play styles, and it’s highly customizable and considerate. I’ve also played and installed Battlefield 6 on the new ROG Xbox Ally X, and it runs like a dream on there, too.
The only thing I’ve not ventured into is Portal, because I’m led to believe it’s jam-packed with XP farms, and that’s not my kind of thing.
Conclusion: Don’t Buy Battlefield 6 For The Campaign
Battlefield 6 isn’t at all worth it for just the single-player offering, but the multiplayer is enough of a redemption that you should consider picking it up. There’s plenty of juice in the tank where the multiplayer platform is concerned, and Electronic Arts’ studios will keep it plugged full of content for a while. The first season starts before the month is out.
Also, the free-to-play battle royale component is incoming, so if you don’t appreciate either the multiplayer or the campaign, you can give that a go and enjoy Battlefield 6 from some perspective without worrying about spending a penny.
I’m more inclined to give Battlefield 6 a higher score when looking at the project holistically, as I feel that multiplayer should have much more weighting than the campaign in a series like this. As Battlefield 6 has a stellar multiplayer platform, I’ll be generous.
Verdict: 4/5 – ‘Great’
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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