Battlefield 6, review, PS5
After that Battlefield 6 reveal that took a few people by surprise a couple of months ago, hotly followed by the Beta weekends and an oh-so-short run up to release, here we are.
It may have been a short wait, but it’s been an anxious one, could DICE bring us back to the frontline? Would we be getting a return to form, the opportunity to make a difference in objective centric games and come away from battles with memorable moments again?
In short, the answer to all of the above is Yes.
Where do we start? History maybe, Battlefield has a pedigree and over the years even with a few missteps there are fans that keep coming back. We may have filled in the quiet patches with other games, personally I have put over 1,700 hours into the ‘other shooter’ in recent years, but that hits differently. One game is a quick fix, twitchy shooter obsessed with gaudy skins and Battlefield leaves you with memorable moments.
You cant talk to a Battlefield fan without seeing them go glassy eyed over Operation Metro or recounting tales of valour on Wake Island. Battlefield leaves a mark, because of the way the games play, you cant help experience different situations that can live with you. Whether it’s working a flank to pounce of an objective or keeping enemy armour distracted with mines and RPGs. Big, detail rich maps help, large rosters of players and solid conventional equipment all make the ingredients list.
Our last Battlefield review was in 2018 for Battlefield V, in itself it had great multiplayer, but the WW2 setting always felt like it was missing something. It has to be said, 2042 didn’t get a review, because it was a messy launch, it never felt like a true Battlefield game, until much later and many patches in.
Grab your gear Dagger-1-3
Battlefield 6 has taken the technology and capability of modern gaming platforms, and applied them to the best of its history. The result being spectacular maps, rich in detail, with destructible buildings and more approach options that you can count in both Multi-player modes and the (limited) narrative.
The campaign is more than a training exercise for the game, but it is relatively short – not really a bad thing, because most people play a Battlefield game for the online. What the campaign does do is introduce you to the warring factions NATO and PAX, you follow on with elite squad Dagger-one-three as they hunt down the head of the PAX Armata private army. At this stage we do fall into a typical FPS campaign of honour and twists, and resolution.
However things change up, the game design does some great things that you might not realise. First impression is that battle is chaotic, the debris, explosions, destruction and visibility are a great way to get up to speed. Some of the level design is top notch too, often you find yourself on a big map and naturally follow the path, but feel like there is a bigger world out there, even the tight space kill zones give you options.
It never feels like the developers resorted to cheap design tricks either, the quality of the environments speak for themselves and never once did I have to race a Zodiac, Snowmobile or burning truck through a valley lined with RPG assassins, if you get my drift.
The protagonist team is likeable, but typical and to be honest I never pay a huge amount of attention to the actually story beats anyway, but I was a fan of seeing Tony Curran on the bad side. More so because his character isn’t much of a stretch from a disenchanted SAS part he played in TV show Ultimate Force decades ago. Depending which of the four Dagger team you play at the time you can issue orders directing the team to scout, revive downed teammates or send out smoke screens, adding a handy bit of strategy. The ability to be revived ties in with the online mechanics, but is a good option instead of being a bullet sponge, getting dragged to safety by a teammate and continuing the fight gives you some safety net.
Overall the campaign is 9 levels short, but its a decent enough journey to be a distraction and there are a few old-school collectibles to find with upgrades unlocked for online, so a replay or two will be inevitable for the trophy hunters. Will I go back? Absolutely, if anything a replay gives me change to mess around and try some different tactics.
Battlefield 6 online, the reason we’re here
For complete transparency the Battlefield 6 review period had some limited sessions recommended for human based matches, in reality most of my games were backfilled by Bots. This wasn’t a bad thing, because they worked pretty well and still put up a decent fight, keeping to a tight schedule isn’t my strong suit. The controls are as expected, but with a few tweaks, I’m especially fond of the well timed combat roll you can pull off to avoid some fall damage.
Given the world and his dog played the beta, there’s not a huge amount to share on top. The modes and maps hold true, the All Out Warfare category opens up a couple of maps that we didn’t see previously. Being able to explore the classes without games loaded up by sniper obsessed players was a good experience, that’s one thing that will be interesting to see when the human factor starts to take hold.
Again the maps are the stars, I’m really fond of the street fights in Manhattan to be honest. As always the beauty of the Battlefield way is that it’s not all about k/d, you can make a difference with your actions, even with a low kill score, having defused MCOM stations or defend objectives in the secondary tank seat it all adds up. There are so many moment-to-moment opportunities that open up, as Ive said before moments that will last with you because the game was doing its thing and let you make decisions about how to handle it.
Of course being in teh thick of it, working as a squad and playing objectives are still the best way to get XP and level up, unlocking weapon attachments and equipment along the way. There’s plenty to open up too, with an extended range of equipment in play since the beta experience.
Its worth noting that the map roster will get enhanced over the next few months, we can only hope for a return to Operation Metro,
Portal…let’s see what you can do
Portal mode was the saving grace for 2042, being able to replay old maps and relive some fond memories. Battlefield 6 version of Portal is about to bring a whole new dimension to player created ‘Experiences’. Not only can you add maps, but there are a multitude of options to play with. While the function wasn’t available during the review period, the potential is huge. Being able to create vehicle maps, horde modes, there are even parkour style races. While the purists might want Battlefield only, there will be creative players putting together some fun experiences in no time.
This is a game that has been worked up from the ground, and has delivered, at the time of writing I’ve not encountered any disastrous bugs or issues, and every encounter feels purposeful. More importantly its very clear there’ll never be a shark headed robot bunny hopping across the valley and no scoping you with a headshot.
Big, Bold, and Beautiful, Battlefield is back exactly how we’ve wanted it and its better than ever.
