It has been nearly four years since Battlefield 2042 nearly tanked the reputation of DICE. The sad part is, the perception of the game was so bad that it never got its Battlefield 4 turnaround glow-up, which is often deemed as one of the better games for many. And while the devs ended up fixing the game for many – especially with the Iwo Jima update – it’s a sign they still have what it takes to make a game good.
This is a key narrative and skill exposition that’s needed when looking at Battlefield 6. It’s a game that is banking on being a live service juggernaut with EA’s monthly active users, battle passes, and now adding a pretty strong Portal solution to community browser with an actual game engine add-on to make maps and modes.
It’s clearly going hard on being a long-lasting live service with strong UGC content. So, let’s see how well Battlefield 6 positions itself at launch.
Battlefield 6 Review
The strange thing about Battlefield is how night and day the game is with its full package. The campaign overall is a misfire, while the multiplayer is definitely an improvement. It doesn’t help that Battlefield devs have been relatively transparent over the last few months too, with a generally well-received Open Beta that also annoyed a huge chunk of players, which they had to adjust dramatically in the two months of lab testing.
So, this Battlefield 6 review isn’t necessarily comparing the game on its own merit, but more on how it intends to fix Battlefield 6’s multiplayer reputation, thanks to both the beta’s issues and the clear early live service disaster that was Battlefield 2042.
Battlefield 6 Campaign: An Extended Tutorial With Technical Baggage
The campaign is essentially onboarding for multiplayer wrapped in BF6-style set pieces. It’s clear the priority here was getting players comfortable with the mechanics before throwing them into 64-player chaos, but the execution leaves much to be desired.
Why, you may ask? Well, it feels like an afterthought for the most part. Technically, it’s a mess. Pathing bugs plague AI squadmates and enemies. Most of the time it was fine, but there were moments like in the Egypt palace raid mission where enemies and ally squads are getting killed or downed in random places. Other times the AI feels mindful, while other times you’ve just been drilled by a spin-botting aim hacker. It’s rather odd.
Audio desyncs hit at critical story moments, pulling you out of what should be dramatic beats. I sort of knew what was coming because the audio desync to the events on screen was 2-3 seconds ahead. So it became a mess to navigate what was going on.
It’s on top of a constant juggle to get the audio settings right in-game, with the master volume and default audio mix at 100 percent for music, effects, and dialogue being at a constant war with each other. It made it hard to invest in the story when I could hardly hear it. I was still playing around with the volume several missions in, like your grandma in the living room who can’t leave the remote alone through an episode.
The storyline itself doesn’t help matters. The game is intermittent with its storytelling of who the main characters are in the squad, with these present-moment monologues going on. Then they say “yeah, like when this happened,” and you’re brought to the mission. It made the big moments less impactful and I’m just there for the set piece.
At least the somewhat recent Call of Duty campaigns actually had me care about Soap and Ghost. I literally can’t remember the names of the characters I spent 5-6 hours playing.
That said, DICE deserves credit for one thing; the rewards. BF3 and BF4 both added rewards to get for multiplayer, but there were only a few here and there. BF6 throws character skins, weapon skins, and other multiplayer unlocks at you for finishing the campaign. You can then get more for completing all missions on the hardest difficulty or certain missions with set challenges. So, if you’re that type of person, there’s a decent amount of rewards for you, which goes some way to making up for the somewhat bad first-time experience.
Battlefield 6 Multiplayer is Where it Excels
On the flip side, marine, multiplayer seems like it’s in the right spot, with a bit of work here or there to come. And that’s totally fine, if not good, compared to where BF2042 first landed.
The day-one launch patches clearly took beta feedback to heart, delivering a multiplayer experience that feels significantly more balanced than what we played months ago. Gone is the Call of Duty-lite movement that had longtime fans worried the franchise had lost its identity. You’re now punished for bunny-hopping, running and gunning without some tactical thought to the grounded movement. It feels like Battlefield, that’s for sure.
Weapon balance received substantial attention moving from beta to launch. Key weapons that dominated the beta got nerfed appropriately, forcing players to be tactical about their loadout choices, rather than defaulting to whatever gun melts fastest. The best example is the M4A1 Carbine. That gun was a laser beam of accuracy. And while it’s still mobile, rapid, and high damage, you will not be able to drill enemies beyond 50 meters without getting a kick on the recoil.
It’s a good sign the balance and weapon profiles are getting better from beta, and not these no-recoil super weapons we got from the beta.
Yet, it’s not perfect. Some weapons still feel borderline useless, like the AUG SMG (name eludes me since most weapon names are made up – but you’ll know what I mean from the model) with its low range, high damage profile that’s just awful to use with its insane horizontal recoil after a short burst.
Compare it to the obvious P90 alternative with lower damage but much easier handling and faster fire rate, and some weapons will need some serious weapon leveling for what are otherwise bad guns, while others are going to be fan favorites very easily because of the sheer difference between weapon roles.
Maps show clear improvement over the beta. The balance issues that plagued certain layouts have been addressed, though some pain points remain. No more are you getting choked out on Liberation Peak on Breakthrough. The maps seem much more balanced.
Some maps still favor certain sides at different intervals, but that’s fine, as that’s some of the key challenges you get from the game and creates key map identities you can learn.
From the perspective of a longtime Engineer player, vehicle balance landed in a sweet spot. The buffs feel appropriate moving into the launch day patch. Vehicles are no longer the flying coffins or slow turrets they were from the beta, but they’re also not the unstoppable juggernauts of BF4. From an infantry perspective, it’s solid balancing, especially with the Engineer’s ultimate skill needing charging before it can keep the vehicle healthy.
Battlefield 6 Final Thoughts
With a reputation to restore and an FPS war on the horizon, Battlefield 6 sets itself up to survive the fall of once a great franchise. With 1.8 million pre-sales before launch and bucket loads to come, the game is taking itself seriously, listening to what players want, and has been smart with how it intends to balance the game.
It is looking like the foundations are there for a great long-term game for many players. But only time will tell what the future seasons, content updates, BR mode, and other additions to the game really make of it. The long war has just begun, DICE and co, and so far, you’re winning the first battle.
3.5/5
| Pros | Cons |
| Game rebalancing from beta has hit the spot | Poor quality campaign |
| Campaign rewards for replayability are great for single player fans. | Story beats not hitting as well as they should |
| Wide variety of map types and modes, and portal so far seems like a decent shot at community building or for fun modes. | I’d much rather closed weapons were the main playlist, but that’s just a preference. Here to balance multiplayer not really having cons, but don’t let it detract from the multiplayer largely doing well since the rebalancing. |
| Multiplayer performance is a dramatic improvement over BF2042’s launch |
Platforms: PC
Developer: Battlefield Studios
Publisher: Electronic ArtsRelease date: October 10, 2025
