Battlefield 6 Review – Minority Mindset

The first-person shooter world wasn’t always dominated by a single game. Players used to choose between popular titles like Halo, Quake, Call of Duty, and Battlefield. If you long for that variety, you might be disappointed, but not for the reason you’d expect. It seems we haven’t seen a real change in the genre – we’ve just swapped one leading game for another, and unless Activision can surprise everyone, that’s likely to continue.

Okay, so Battlefield 6 dropped on October 10th, and even though I had my doubts after playing the beta, I have to admit it’s amazing! It feels like EA really knocked it out of the park with their first big release since the ownership change, and honestly, it’s finally taken the crown from Call of Duty. I think it’s set a new bar for what we expect from a mainstream first-person shooter.

To compete with the incredibly popular Call of Duty, the newest Battlefield game had to change some of its core features. While these changes have been successful, I sometimes miss the older, more deliberate, and large-scale battles that first drew me into the series over two decades ago.

Pace It Again, Vince

Thankfully, other games are now delivering the kind of immersive, realistic experience many of us long for (like the upcoming shooters ’83 and Hell Let Loose: Vietnam). This gives Battlefield 6 a chance to take risks and potentially revitalize a series that some thought had run its course.

I first got into multiplayer shooters with Counter-Strike, but it was Battlefield 1942 that really captivated me. I remember spending hours with the demo on the Wake Island map, trying to destroy aircraft carriers, fighting to secure the beaches, and just having a blast driving vehicles in this large-scale shooter.

While Battlefield Vietnam and Battlefield 2 updated the setting, the core gameplay stayed pretty similar. After that, the series went through a lot of changes, with each release from Bad Company onwards attempting to drastically alter how the game was played.

As a news editor, I followed the development of Battlefield 6 closely. The directors openly aimed to combine the most popular features from earlier games, and in my opinion, they largely achieved that goal.

Battlefield 6 delivers constant, over-the-top action, feeling like an explosive spectacle straight out of a Michael Bay film. Expect constant explosions, shouts, collapsing buildings, and flying debris. Unlike many realistic shooters, this game truly captures the chaotic and gritty nature of war, making it a standout in terms of immersion.

The game isn’t easy, and its constant action, while visually impressive, can be surprisingly tiring, particularly on the smaller maps. Larger maps don’t offer much relief, often forcing everyone into the same tight spaces, leading to intense but draining fights. It’s almost as if the game deliberately creates the chaotic, relentless matches some players disliked in the past, offering a high-intensity experience that can be overwhelming if you’re not on your game.

Drive, Don’t Run

Battlefield has always stood out from other games because of the wide variety of vehicles players can control. While I haven’t gotten to fly jets much – everyone else grabs them first! – I’ve really enjoyed using all the other vehicles.

Right now, there aren’t many vehicles to choose from, and some popular ones, like the AAV, are only available in the campaign. There are no boats yet, although the developers have suggested they might be added later. Despite having fewer vehicles overall, Battlefield 6 focuses on making the ones that *are* available really good.

The game’s vehicles are easy to control with a keyboard and mouse, and they feel well-balanced, fitting the intense, close-quarters combat. Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) can quickly destroy both enemy soldiers and structures with their powerful autocannons, and usually need to be hit twice by anti-tank weapons to be taken out.

Tanks are a bit slow to reload, but they can dramatically change a battle by eliminating infantry fighting vehicles and machine gun nests. They usually need three anti-tank shots to destroy, unless an engineer is repairing damage to keep them going.

I surprisingly preferred riding as a gunner to driving the vehicle. You can equip it with either a machine gun or a grenade launcher, letting you comfortably destroy targets while someone else handles the driving.

I’m still not convinced about the suppression mechanic in Battlefield 6, particularly for snipers. However, the .50 caliber machine guns are really fun to use on vehicles and in stationary positions. The map designers did a great job placing them – they’re incredibly effective when used to support your team, but leave you vulnerable if you don’t have a plan.

Take Liberation Peak, for instance. The three machine guns facing Echo from Foxtrot can easily get you a few quick kills, though you might take a sniper shot in return. However, if you use those guns while your teammates are attacking or defending, you can really control the battlefield. You can funnel enemies into specific areas, keep them focused on you, and create an opening for your team to move in and overwhelm them.

I’ve had some fun causing trouble in the city maps, like using a machine gun or strategically parking a vehicle while teammates repaired things and watched our sides.

Man, there was this one time in Battlefield where we absolutely *dominated* from a single spot – I swear we racked up over 100 kills! We were just a well-oiled machine, working together without even thinking about it. It finally ended when they landed a couple of rockets on us, taking out both me and the vehicle, but that’s Battlefield in a nutshell, you know? That perfect, instinctive teamwork is what makes the game so great.

Shoot for the Head, Land on the Dirt

It’s a bit strange, but the biggest problem with Battlefield 6 is the gunplay itself. While there’s a good variety of weapons, they don’t feel satisfying to use because of issues with how the game controls recoil and damage.

I might be used to more realistic military-style shooters, but it’s really annoying that it takes so many bullets – usually more than five – to take down an enemy with anything other than a sniper rifle. Unless someone is constantly sniping from far away (which is a problem) or you’re in a close-quarters shotgun fight (which is great), most gun battles involve two players just spraying bullets until one of them finally goes down. It feels a lot like the gunplay in modern Call of Duty games.

I’ll admit, sometimes I miss the big, drawn-out battles from the early days of the series – the ones that first got me hooked over two decades ago.

The ‘aimpunch’ mechanic feels too strong. Getting hit briefly stuns you and prevents you from firing back, often leading to the first player to click winning the fight. This issue is made worse by network lag. It’s strange that this mechanic is so impactful when the game doesn’t focus much on suppression effects.

Okay, so as someone who loves playing Support classes, this really hits home. I know Assault players who just want to *shoot things* are probably bummed, but for me, and a lot of Support players I know, it’s not about the shooting itself. We’re there to help the team, and honestly, any moment where we *get* to do something – even if it’s not directly blasting enemies – feels amazing. It’s like, we appreciate the little victories beyond just getting kills.

The Perfect Setting for a Bad Story

Even though the weapons aren’t perfect, their realistic appearance and feel were key to revitalizing Battlefield. After experimenting with different eras – from historical settings (Battlefield 1, Battlefield V) to uninspired futuristic ones (Battlefield 2042) and even a cops-and-robbers theme (Battlefield Hardline) – the series discovered that players simply wanted a realistic and straightforward military experience.

The idea behind Battlefield 6 is fantastic: countries losing trust in NATO turn to a mercenary group for security, and that ultimately sparks a conflict resembling a new World War. It’s a clever take on current world events – something Hideo Kojima would likely appreciate – and it creates exciting multiplayer action. However, the single-player campaign doesn’t live up to the potential.

For me, Battlefield 3 is still the gold standard for what a campaign should be in this series. It just *felt* right – a really solid idea, it didn’t drag, and honestly, it was just a blast to play. People always say it borrows a bit from movies like BLACK and The Sum of All Fears, and you know what? I think that’s a good thing! It adds to the experience, not takes away from it.

I finished the Battlefield 6 campaign very quickly, and it feels like too many people had input on its design. While the basic idea had a lot of potential for a compelling story, the game unfortunately mixes interesting concepts together in a way that doesn’t make sense, and it ultimately feels uninspired.

The missions are generally fun, and the amphibious landing on Gibraltar feels like a classic Battlefield experience. However, the campaign’s story relies too heavily on references without building a compelling narrative throughout.

The story’s use of flashbacks adds to the confusion, a problem also seen in EA’s Medal of Honor: Warfighter. But while Warfighter had a decent idea that just wasn’t pulled off well, the Battlefield 6 campaign is simply disorganized and chaotic.

The acting is a highlight, particularly from Ashley Reyes as Gecko and Jay Walker as Murphy. Unfortunately, even strong performances can’t save a weak story that doesn’t measure up to the quality of the game’s multiplayer mode.

Potato-Friendly, But At What Cost?

Before Battlefield 6 came out, people were talking a lot about what kind of computers you’d need to play it, particularly after seeing how demanding Borderlands 4 was.

My computer has a fairly standard setup—an RTX 4060 graphics card, Ryzen 5 5600X processor, and 16GB of RAM—and it runs Battlefield 6’s multiplayer and single-player missions smoothly and consistently without any performance issues.

I’ve noticed some common complaints online about the game’s brightness – players say interiors appear too dark after being outside. It’s interesting because this is precisely the issue ray tracing is designed to fix, and many were actually pleased that ray tracing wasn’t included in Battlefield 6.

I find it surprising that ray tracing was left out, especially since it’s now common in gaming and most modern graphics cards can easily handle it. However, the developers at Battlefield Studios made a clear choice and didn’t change their minds.

The game’s menus are a major letdown. Having to scroll through endless cards to find what you want, like on streaming services, is frustrating, and it’s surprising EA chose this design. It’s a really bad interface, and hopefully, game developers will realize that choosing a game mode shouldn’t be such a pain.

When Imperfect Plans Beat Inaction

It’s been a surprisingly long time since the last Battlefield game, 2042. For a while, there was almost no news about the next installment, leading some to worry that the series might be fading away like Medal of Honor. The release of the first trailers finally broke the silence and reassured fans that Battlefield was still coming.

Instead, EA surprised everyone with a hugely popular game that’s become the perfect choice for relaxed fun with friends, like on a Friday night.

Under its new ownership, Electronic Arts has released a game that’s finally surpassed Call of Duty in popularity, establishing a new benchmark for mainstream first-person shooters.

While Battlefield 6 isn’t flawless and doesn’t quite reach the complexity of older games, it’s become more popular than any other title in the series.

Ever since the game came out, I’ve always been able to find a friend online battling in the virtual war between NATO and Pax Armata. It’s been incredibly popular and has maintained a strong player base – something no multiplayer shooter has done to this extent since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launched in 2019.

Battlefield 6’s progress system feels a bit slow, and it’s unclear how the Battle Pass will develop. However, even if these things don’t change, Battlefield has already had a lasting impact on the multiplayer shooter landscape.

Closing Comments:

While the single-player experience and shooting aren’t perfect, Battlefield 6 successfully revives what fans loved about the series: large-scale battles that emphasize teamwork and feel realistic. I can’t predict if it will reach the ambitious sales goals set by previous EA leadership, but this feels like a fresh start for a genre that needed it. It’s not the greatest shooter ever made, but it’s the first Battlefield in years that feels ready to challenge Call of Duty’s dominance in multiplayer, and that’s a welcome change.

2025-10-15 00:43