Battlefield 6: Multiplayer - Review
If there was a Mount Rushmore for video game franchises you would be hard pressed to leave the Battlefield series off it, regardless of whether you are an online FPS or not. I remember getting my hands on Battlefield 1942 back in 2002 and as an avid FPS enthusiast being absolutely flabbergasted with the scope of the game, and the immense size of the maps. It was almost like you could feel a shift in the air, Battlefield had pushed all competition out of the way and was now one of the kings of the FPS genre. It wasn’t until I went to a LAN party shortly after the games release that I realised just how massive this shift was, there was just nothing like playing a game this massive in a room with over 50 other players trying to kill other players and capture points for their team.
Over the years the LAN parties died off due to the rise in high-speed internet connections, but the Battlefield franchise has been a constant presence in my life over the years, I even remember getting one of the games for free with a Pizza Hut deal over the years, what’s not to like about that! 23 years is a long time for a video game franchise to not only survive, but also thrive, Battlefield has changed a lot over the years, it has visited past wars and future wars, it has hit some amazing highs but also flirted with some despairing lows, but just like a soldier dashing and zipping from cover to cover during the midst of battle, it has survived, not only that but the series fan base remains one of the biggest amongst video game franchises. For me the peak of the series was Battlefield 4, still to this day the game remains one of the greatest online massive scale warfare shooters ever released and I really hope that one day it gets a remaster, after Battlefield 4 it feels like the franchise lost its way a little bit, sure Battlefield I and V were pretty good shooters, they just didn’t feel like part of the same franchise, then with BF 2042 it feels like the series lost its way entirely, I can’t deny there has been a lot of work done to improve BF2042 since its release, and the game has actually improved immensely, it just didn’t feel like Battlefield I had grown to know and love.
When the announcement for the 18th instalment of the series, Battlefield 6, hit the newsstands in 2025 I was a bit guarded of my expectations but also extremely excited about the prospect of the series returning to its roots. My excitement grew exponentially as more details were announced throughout the following months and reached fever pitch as I got to experience the various playtests throughout the months leading up to release, Battlefield was back baby! I have waffled on long enough, to the point that this feels like it’s a diary entry rather than a video game review, so let’s get down to the nitty gritty, what does Battlefield 6 have to offer, and should you hit that purchase button?
Battlefield 6 is set in the not too distant future of 2027 and sees the tensions between NATO and Pax Armata (a private military company) come to a head and escalate into a full scale war, we will have more on the campaign mode for the game and the storyline in a separate review, I am the type of person who dives straight into multiplayer and rarely touches campaign modes in games such as COD or BF to the point I find the modes largely unnecessary, at least where my enjoyment is concerned.
At launch the game will feature the 4 Iconic classes from the series;
Assault – This is the grunt, the frontline fighter who dominates close combat, if you like basic boots on the ground combat this is the class for you. The class is designed to equip assault rifles with bonuses such as faster draw times and being able to fire sooner after exiting a sprint being given when you do so. The signature traits of the class revolve around capturing objectives more quickly and the ability to arm and disarm explosives faster than other classes as well as a quicker cooldown for your ‘in-combat’ status which allows team mates to deploy on you quicker than they can on other classes. You also have the ability to rally your squad if they are in close range and give them a temporary adrenaline effect which sharpens their reflexes, as well as an adrenaline injector strictly for yourself that provides you with a boost to sprint speed and reduces explosive and incendiary damage and the effects of flash and stun grenades. The assault class is only class that can equip a secondary weapon as a gadget, making the class extremely versatile, you can run around with an AR and a shotgun or a Carbine and an SMG, the assault class is extremely adaptable to all situations.
Engineer – Engineers are an integral component to any squad given their ability to execute repairs to friendly vehicles and launch attacks on opposing ground vehicles or birds in the sky. The engineer shines when equipped with an SMG as they receive bonuses to hip-fire control, through their signature trait they also take less explosive damage when near friendly vehicles and prevent hostiles from occupying friendly vehicles if all the passengers exit the vehicle. The signature gadget of the class is the repair tool which you can use to repair equipment or vehicles or damage enemy vehicles. Power fix is the engineer’s active ability which allows a 50% increase to repair efficiency for 10 seconds. If you like to drive or man the gun in tanks then this class is a great fit for you, as having the ability to repair your vehicle and keep a tank on the battlefield is godsend and can turn the tide of battle in an instant.
Support – If you want to be a mobile hospital on the battlefield this is the class for you, Support can heal and quickly resurrect other soldiers as well as resupply ammunition when needed, and it is needed a lot, at least the way I chew through ammunition. The support class comes with improved ADS and no sprint speed penalty when having an LMG equipped making this the signature weapon for the class, they also have the ability to heal and resupply ammunition to the soldiers around them, they also have a supply bag that they can drop at strategic locations in order to resupply both normal ammo and ammo for gadgets. The active ability of the support class allows players to also resurrect fallen soldiers on the battlefield much more quickly than other players. Support players are the backbone of any squad, well, at least when they do their job properly, I cannot count the number of times I have been screaming for a res and had friendly support players just walk right by me, but that’s a story for another time.
Recon – The only class I love when I am playing as and hate when I am playing against, recon features sniper rifles as their signature weapon and through equipping one gain improved marksmanship skills such as reduced weapon sway, quicker rechambering between shots and improved breath control to steady their aim. The signature ability of the sniper is their abilities to spot enemies when looking down their scope and mark them making them visible to other players, it’s an incredibly useful ability that has saved my bacon as an assault player countless times. Snipers also carry a motion sensor that detects and displays the position of not only nearby infantry but also vehicles and displays this on the minimap to help your fellow team members navigate the battlefield. Snipers can also call in a UAV and direct it to a position to continuously spot enemies, it’s a great class for those with a steady aim and enough patience to play it and both you and your teammates will reap the rewards of you creating having on the battlefield.
As with other games in the franchise you complete objectives in the game to earn exp and this will unlock guns and also gadgets for the class you used to earn the exp, further to this each class has branching training paths which you can unlock by completing certain challenges, these training paths provide even more customisability to your loadout and perks making sure that you are equipped for any situation. In my 20+ hours playtime with the release version of Battlefield 6 I mainly played assault, as that’s my jam, but I also tried out the 3 other classes to get an idea of how the experience differed with each class, and I am happy to say that each class provides a completely different gameplay experience and require different playstyles and skills in order to be a successful squad member, not only that but for the most part classes are all extremely balanced, there are certain situations or even some maps where playing a sniper over assault is the more intelligent choice but no class feels underpowered in BF6, if played properly and with the correct loadout any class has the chance to turn the tides of war.
Battlefield 6 will launch with 6 maps with a further 3 (1 of these being a winter variant of the Empire State map) coming before the end of the year as season 1 content. The map design in the game is some of the best I have ever seen in an FPS, and the only complaints I really have is that some of the maps could’ve been a bit larger, especially the ones that have vehicles on them. For boots on the ground close quarter combat maps like Saints Quarter, Manhattan Bridge and Empire City provide tense gunfights that provide strategic combat opportunities, however, if it is large scale warfare you are after then maps like Operation Firestorm, Liberation Peak and Mirak Valley will be more your cup of tea. All the maps regardless of size are widely varies as far as terrain and locations go as well as meticulously designed to provide a fantastic gameplay experience. The three standout maps for me were Operation Firestorm, Manhattan Bridge and New Sobek City and I can’t wait to check out the new maps when they are released. Learning the maps and adapting strategically in real time to how a match is playing out is one of the staples of the Battlefield series and the maps in this game really reward tactical decisions such as flanking enemy squads or even spawning in as the engineer class to help deal with pesky tanks, these maps are honestly some of the best that the series has seen.
When it comes to game modes Battlefield 6 caters to both lovers of close combat and all out warfare. Modes like Conquest and Breakthrough, which in my opinion are the backbone of the franchise, return and provide an incredibly engaging and immersive gameplay experience. For fans of smaller maps with close quarters combat who enjoy blowing up objectives rather than capturing them Rush also makes a return as does favourites such as squad deathmatch, domination, team deathmatch and king of the hill. Battlefield 6 also brings a new game mode called Escalation into the franchise, in escalations two teams fight to capture strategic objectives, as teams expand their territory, fewer and fewer objectives remain which creates increasingly intense areas of combat until the battle for territory culminates in an all-out war, where both sides fight to control the last remaining points on the map. I only got to play Escalation once during the limited sessions we got to participate in before release, but I can easily see this taking off and becoming one of the more popular modes in the game. Whether you like close combat or massive scale warfare Battlefield 6 has a mode for you, and there is also the option to join either a closed or open weapon modes playlist, with open being the default, in closed mode classes will be restricted to using the signature weapons for their class rather than picking and choosing from all the weapons available.
If the mixes of guns, maps and game modes aren’t to your liking you can always spice things up with Battlefield Portal, which returns from BF 2042 in a much improved form at least according to Battlefield Studios, unfortunately we were unable to access any of the portal content during the review period, so we will need to take their word for it. Portal will allow you to create and change maps, game modes and rules to your liking, and now features Godot integration, so if you are prepared to get stuck in and learn how to use the Godot engine the possibilities will be almost endless. You can also now completely customise the UI in portal and completely change the HUD and how alerts are delivered in the game. Once you have finished your masterpiece in Portal you will also be able to host it as a persistent server, though this is limited to 1 server per account. From everything I have read and watched the Portal system will be a lot more versatile in BF6 but will have a much steeper learning curve to master, I can’t wait to get my hands on it and take a look as anything that has the potential to change and extend the longevity of a game is a good idea to me.
An abundance of maps, classes and game modes are great but mean little if the game mechanics aren’t up to par, well I am happy to say that Battlefield 6 plays better than any other game in the franchise. Player movement feels amazing thanks to the new Kinesthetic Combat system, zipping and sliding from cover to cover feels incredibly fluid as does aiming down sights and peaking and leaning around corners. The gunplay itself is some of the best I have ever experienced in a video game, the way you can control recoil by steady tapping off rounds instead of just holding down the trigger is incredibly satisfying.
Graphics and audio are also taken to the next level in Battlefield 6, the game is the most immersive online FPS I have ever played, and I have played a lot of them. Jets screaming down out of the sky firing off missiles and tanks sending off barrages of shells, explosions peppering the landscape and buildings collapsing all around you and your squad. Visually and aurally, you feel every single moment of the battle to the point I feel I might be developing PTSD. Battlefield 6 is a game where you want to slap on a good set of headphones and crank the volume up to 11.
Battlefield 6 is going to be the newly crowned king of the genre; there is absolutely no denying that. The game play experience is second to none and you would be hard pressed to find fault with anything that Battlefield Studios has created, at least where the multiplayer component of the game is concerned. The Frostbite engine has been used to its full potential here to create an immersive and engaging experience that is sure to please longtime fans of the series as well as newcomers. Battlefield is back baby; all hail the king!
If you want to see what we thought about the games campaign, you can find out here.
The Score
9.0
Review code provided by Electronic Arts
The Pros
Audiovisuals are slick, immersive and sure to impress
Movement and gunplay set the standard for the genre
Weapon and class customisation have a lot of depth, as do the progression systems, there is always a reward to chase
Maps are meticulously designed to provide a great gameplay experience
The Cons
The UI is clunky and hides some options such as the closed weapons playlist in spaces where players might not know to look for them
No browser for official servers, only for Portal content
Dragging players and trying to revive them can be clunky if a dropped weapon is in the area and result in you picking up a gun instead of reviving your teammates
