What Makes Battlefield 6 Special?
What makes a Battlefield game special isn’t just chaos on a large scale, it’s when all the moving parts come together to create something that can be enjoyed by shooter fans of all ages and skill levels. It’s when striking visuals and top-notch sound design meet attention to detail. It’s when you and your squad can spend an entire match holding a single objective, then walk away with a sense of satisfaction knowing that you did your part.
It’s all the moments and stories that are born from a single match that from a distance looks like nothing more than mayhem. It’s Battlefield 6.
Buffet of Choices
Battlefield 6 offers a plethora of ways for players to engage with it, but most of those options fall within multiplayer, the main reason the average person plays. Multiplayer offers game modes in every shape and size, including series staples like Conquest and Rush, as well as returning modes like Breakthrough, Domination, Squad Deathmatch, King of the Hill, and Team Deathmatch.
Escalation is the new kid on the block. Escalation plays a lot like Conquest, but you’re fighting for permanent territory control. In the first round, take and hold more objectives than your opponent and you’ll score a point, removing an objective from the map and gaining territory. You then enter the next round where you fight over the remaining objectives. Take and hold more than your opponent again, score another point, and you remove another objective from the map. The first team to three points (or to take three territories) wins.
While most shooters try to inject new modes, many fail to land in the long run. Escalation hits the spot and immediately feels like a core mode for Battlefield.
Battlefield Portal: A Game Within The Game
Another big attraction is Portal, which first appeared in Battlefield 2042 and returns for Battlefield 6. Battlefield Portal allows creators to make their own custom Battlefield experiences that players can then enjoy. This could mean a new mode, or even scenarios where players can practice their flying.
The possibilities are endless. For example, a creator named Battlefield Dad managed to make a BF Invaders game mode within Battlefield — yes, Space Invaders in Battlefield.
Portal reminds me of the modding scene for DayZ, where the game’s life can be extended by players creating unique experiences. The number of modes on offer in Battlefield will swell as the community creates new and interesting things. Just when you’re tired of Conquest and Rush, someone will come up with a mode that reinvigorates the community and gives everyone something fresh to play.
Single Player Campaign
Finally, Battlefield 6 offers a single player campaign. Campaigns for shooters face an uphill battle since it’s difficult to surpass the adrenaline rush multiplayer delivers. The story told in an FPS campaign must stand out and provide memorable moments that stick with the player long after the game ends.
I won’t break it down extensively, but the campaign didn’t get off to a great start for me. Early moments felt forced, and characters were killed off in ways meant to evoke care but lacked the development to make me feel anything meaningful. Things improved as the missions progressed, and there were some cool moments, but it’s the kind of campaign I’ll only revisit to collect items, not because it was a must-play experience.
Progression, But at What Cost?
Battlefield 6 comes with extensive customization and player agency over class and loadout. The four classic classes are back, each retaining its unique core. However, you can equip any weapon with any class, though each class specializes in at least one weapon archetype, granting bonuses when using those native weapons.
Playing matches earns you experience (XP) for everything you do, leveling up weapons and vehicles while increasing your career rank, unlocking more gear. There are also daily, weekly, class, and various other challenges that provide XP or specific unlocks.
It’s a lot to keep track of, and the way these challenges are displayed isn’t user-friendly. Despite this, weapon customization has been addictive for me — unlocking new attachments and improving my favorite guns feels wildly satisfying. This is enhanced by the inclusion of a firing range where you can test your loadouts.
However, the weapon progression system moves at a snail’s pace. Casual players will find it tough to reach later unlocks that truly elevate their weapons. Other shooters, like Delta Force, manage weapon progression better by allowing players to invest tokens earned in gameplay to level up guns. Battlefield needs to increase weapon XP gains dramatically to improve this experience.
Thankfully, vehicle unlocks and general XP progression don’t feel as grindy. Vehicles remain powerful in the right hands, and you can level them significantly even as a gunner during a good run. That said, infantry have effective tools to keep vehicles in check, especially with mines, which feel too powerful and plentiful.
Some unlocks focus on appearance customization — changing soldier outfits, vehicle skins, or player cards. While I’m somewhat indifferent, I occasionally spend a few minutes choosing new camo for my vehicles. Unfortunately, the menus and user experience in these customization screens are poor, but more on that later. The key takeaway: you can customize extensively in Battlefield 6.
The Game Within The Game
As someone in my mid-forties, I’ve come to accept that head-to-head gun battles in FPS games increasingly favor younger players. A few years ago, it was frustrating that I couldn’t just run into the fray and take out multiple opponents relying on pure skill. My video game youth is behind me.
What makes Battlefield 6 special is the game within the game. Each round—especially in large-scale modes—features dozens of players and countless moving parts: tanks rolling through streets, choppers raining death from above, jets dogfighting in the skies, and infantry fighting for every street, building, and room.
While many players rush toward objectives and bullets, Battlefield 6 lets you carve out your niche, regardless of your play style or skill level.
– Want to be an ace pilot flying jets? You can do that.
– Prefer sniping from long distances without caring much about round wins? Go for it.
– Love tank crews and want to keep a tank rolling all match? It’s possible.
– Maybe you’re a pacifist who never fires your weapon and spends matches reviving teammates? You can do that too!
For my play style, I aim to stay useful and win more gun battles than I lose. Instead of charging headlong, I use ambush tactics, supply bags, and smoke grenades to support objectives. Sometimes I spend an entire match spotting targets for pilots from a mountain.
No matter what you like or excel at, Battlefield 6’s sandbox multiplayer offers a way to have fun and be valuable to your team. Just remember—if you’re getting older like me, the days of charging 1v5 and winning every fight are gone. Time to evolve.
Not All Battles Are Won
Despite possibly being one of the best Battlefield games ever released, BF6 isn’t perfect.
The weapon progression system is a grind. I don’t mind it, but casual players wanting simple attachments like suppressors will find it frustrating.
There are balance issues too — grenades often feel underpowered, while anti-vehicle mines are way too powerful and too common.
Perhaps the worst aspect is the user interface and experience. From the first screen, navigation is messy and unintuitive. Trying to change your soldier profile or enable an XP boost is frustrating. Sorting through the challenge lists is confusing.
Squads don’t travel with you between matches, and leaving a match often throws you into matchmaking so quickly you’re forced to quit if you want to call it a night.
Menus are by far the weakest part of Battlefield 6, but hopefully, improvements will come in the weeks and months ahead.
The Art of War
Battlefield 6 is a triumph in almost every respect. It has problems that need ironing out, but nothing that can’t be addressed over time.
The core of the game—the soul of what makes a great Battlefield experience—is there. The visuals, the immersive sound effects, the destruction raining down as you lie prone in the rubble, exhausting the last bullets of your rifle.
The tools and details give every player, regardless of interest or skill level, the chance to create memorable moments.
Battlefield is back, baby.
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*This Battlefield 6 review was completed using a Steam key provided by Electronic Arts. The review included closed testing and live servers populated by real players.*
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146365/battlefield-6-review-score