Battlefield 6 May Be the Call of Duty Killer We Need

As a Battlefield fan, I have been burned by the franchise a few times. Battlefield 2042 was a historic low point for the series and I began to fear that, even with the earnest efforts to improve the game, the Battlefield I loved was a shell of itself. However, after playing four hours of Battlefield 6, I think we are finally back and possibly better than ever. I went into this preview event trying to be as cautious as possible, knowing the marketing spiel would be leaning on the greatest hits of the series and the trailer would likely be a dazzling spectacle, but that only means so much after previous entries crashed and burned. EA is more than welcome to gas up their game, but seeing is believing… and I believe.

Set in the year 2027, Battlefield 6 returns players to a near-modern day setting with a grounded, gritty aesthetic that fans have been longing for not just within this series, but the first-person shooter genre as a whole. There are no bright colored anime skins in sight, just raw warfare where every bullet and every explosion is absolutely devastating. It’s excessively loud, chaotic, and extraordinarily epic.

A big piece of Battlefield’s identity is its destruction, something that was painfully lackluster in 2042. The team at Battlefield Studios has turned up the destruction to 11 with this new entry, where not only can you blow open walls and take down buildings, but you can cause floors to cave in on themselves. If someone is causing problems on the second floor, set a charge on the ceiling of the first floor, blow it, and bring them down to your level, something not far removed from a game like Rainbow Six Siege.

The destruction is detailed and as nuanced as you’d hope. I fired a tank shell through the window of a building, hoping to take out someone. They survived the initial explosion, but it caused a domino effect where the building began to cave in and collapse on top of the enemy, killing them. It’s an extremely rewarding feeling to use destruction to totally change a fight, whether it be firing a grenade launcher into a second-story window to remove someone’s cover or by leveling a whole building. 

The effects are awe-inspiring and help really sell the feeling of being in a climactic war zone. Watching the map change and evolve as players decimate it is entertaining in and of itself. Not only that, but it can also create a great deal of tension and fear. You’ll hear the map growl and rumble as a structure begins to crumble apart like a Jenga tower, further selling that devastation.

The maps in Battlefield 6 are also a massive step up from the last few games. Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 are the peak of the series when it comes to map design. Caspian Border, for instance, felt big in its scale, but there were enough POIs to ensure you were never far away from a fight. 2042, however, was so massive that you’d end up running for 2 minutes without seeing anything and then get sniped. Battlefield 6’s maps are well varied, allowing for tight close-quarter combat on the streets of Cairo and grand battles on the mountainside of Tajikistan. It felt like no matter which of the 4 maps I played on, I was constantly in the thick of it thanks to a strong flow. There was little to no downtime on any of the maps, just frequent explosions and gunfire. 

Battlefield 6’s gunplay is also extremely satisfying. It’s punchy, fast, and every gun feels and sounds like it could atomize someone if this game was more gory. It has a faster and more frenetic pace than previous Battlefield games, making it pretty easy to pick up multi-kills, but it also manages to still give you the chance to fight back if you’re on the receiving end. It’s snappy and balanced in a way few other shooters have managed to nail. 

The general feel of combat is very grounded; there’s some light sliding and you can jump around, but all of this will come at a cost to things like accuracy if you’re in a fight. It’s not about who can move the fastest and craziest, it’s about accuracy and coming prepared via gadgets and strategy. Even though it’s grounded, Battlefield 6 isn’t overdoing it with excessive visual recoil. It really feels like the answer to things Call of Duty players have been complaining about for years, except they haven’t fallen on deaf ears. They’ve just fallen into the competitor’s ears, which is a big win for the Battlefield series.

I’d be lying if I said that Battlefield 6 feels like it has any really big innovative features. There’s not a new feature on the scale of Battlefield 4’s Levolution or major changes like Specialists in Battlefield 2042. While not all changes are good, those things at least allow you to quickly point to why this is a new and different game. However, after BF2042 went too far in that direction, maybe playing it somewhat safe is the right call. Battlefield Studios has created a refined game that plays to the strengths of the best Battlefield games. They’ve pulled some of the movement features such as lying on your back from Battlefield 5, taken the tone and aesthetic of Battlefield 3, and the sharp level design of Battlefield 4. It’s all of the best parts of the best Battlefield games put into a new package. It doesn’t necessarily feel like it’s trying to sell you on the greatest hits, but more so learning from the past to make something new and strong.

That’s not to say there aren’t any new features, they just aren’t as defining. New mechanics like dragging downed teammates away from combat so they can be safely revived are tremendous improvements that not only make the gameplay better, but also deepen that cinematic and immersive aspect that Battlefield is so well-known for. I watched someone drag a teammate out of a building just as it was on the verge of crumbling apart and it was extremely exciting. It’s a deeper, more nuanced version of the Battlefield we know and love instead of one that is trying to reinvent the wheel.

And that arguably takes us to one of the most important pieces of this preview: classes. After fundamentally devaluing them in BF2042, Battlefield 6 brings class play front and center. Everyone’s roles are clearly defined with Assault being the one to lead the charge with a grenade launcher and a second primary weapon of your choosing. I chose to put a DMR as my third weapon in order to take mid-range fights that my AR wasn’t totally equipped for. That may be controversial, but I didn’t mind it.

Engineer is once again vehicle-based with a rocket launcher and repair kit, Support is now all-encompassing for your needs by partially being a medic equipped with a defibrillator, and Recon is able to snipe and snake around the map to find vantage points or drop down on tanks with surprise C4 attacks. While I would maybe move a few gadgets to different classes, the class play is super strong and feels less defined by their weapons and more by their particular roles now. The developers did confirm that players will have the choice between open and closed weapon classes, not just in the beta, but also in the full game, if that’s important for you.

Battlefield 6 has begun to restore my faith in this beloved franchise. The influences of Battlefield 3, 4, and the Bad Company games are evident across the game and it is all implemented beautifully. It’s a game that isn’t just trying to listen to Battlefield fans, but fans of this entire genre. Battlefield Studios isn’t just interested in restoring the franchise to its former glory, it’s coming for the FPS crown. I really do foresee a chance that Battlefield completely slays Call of Duty this year in terms of quality.

Call of Duty has gotten a bit complacent in recent years and hasn’t had any newcomers challenging it in a meaningful way. If Battlefield 6 can stick the landing and avoid some classic franchise pitfalls such as messy launches with server issues and bugs, it will be the slam-dunk win that EA needs and fans are hoping for. Not only that, but it will also hopefully put the pressure on other developers to sharpen up. Given the history, it’s understandable if you’re still nervous, but all of the pieces are there for Battlefield 6 to win big.

Battlefield 6 releases on October 10th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC with a beta beginning on August 7th.