Battlefield 6 makes good first impression, but one aspect of the controls falls short for now
June's silence, among other announcements, Electronic Arts has just more than made up for. Battlefield 6 is not only the return of an iconic series, but also a return to its roots, to what we once loved. At least, those are the first impressions after playing the multiplayer mode.
The last good Battlefield? BF1. The best Battlefield in history? BF3 - at least in my personal ranking. I probably am not alone in this judgment, because the first trailer for Battlefield 6 is full of scenes that are almost identical to those from these two classics. In the new marketing campaign, it's clear that the creators are not only targeting new generations of players, but also trying to win over the veterans of this legendary game series.
Fortunately, it's not just a smokescreen in skillfully crafted trailers. The first impressions from the closed game show, after spending a few hours on multiplayer maps, are exactly as above; you can feel that the atmosphere of the third installment and probably also the fourth one is coming back. I felt like I was in a full-scale virtual battle, like only in Battlefield, with an army of anonymous soldiers instead of comic book heroes. I saw the most beautiful Battlefield with impressive environmental physics, and for that reason alone, I'm giving this game some initial credit.
Battlefield 6, EA, 2025.
For now, a small one, because we have only seen skillfully tailored fragments, which you can check in the open beta, and the devs are already slightly missing their promises. I mean making sure that the game only has military skins, without any crazy designs. But the most expensive pre-order edition - Phantom - includes some not very military, "designer" patterns that look more like something for a paintball team on Instagram than for a battlefield. I hope that this will be just a small exception to the rule, because the game has really great potential and a lot to offer. What did I like the most?
Appetite for destruction
Destruction of the environment is an element that seems to have been regularly downgraded since the times of Bad Company 2. Until now! The destruction in BF6 not only pleases the eye, but also affects the tactics and movement around the map. But above all, it looks great! No more slow-motion styrofoam falling effects - buildings on the maps in BF6 collapse dynamically, surrounded by clouds of dust and hail of debris, making you want to instinctively cover your face or drop to the ground. Moreover, the rubble around the destroyed buildings is not just for show. You can quickly climb up to the upper floors of the buildings, creating new paths for moving around quickly. On the other hand, it exposes entire rooms where you can no longer hide from street gunfire. There will be even more to check out in the full version, where hammers for destroying wooden floors, visible in the trailers, will be added - someone here seems to have taken a liking to Rainbow 6: Siege.
Battlefield 6, EA, 2025.
In the build I've played, the best environmental destruction effects were on the Siege of Cairo map. It really reminded me of the classic Strike at Karkand map from Battlefield 2. The combination of dense Middle Eastern-style buildings with MOUT tactics and heavy vehicles creates total urban warfare chaos, just like in Black Hawk Down. It's true that not all buildings and walls can be destroyed, which is especially noticeable on the New York map. However, this is intentional and part of balancing the map for different game modes. Although there's also micro-scale destruction, which we can easily check by shooting at a car or driving a tank into a bus. It's not a new feature in the series, as you could already destroy cars in BF2042, but the explosions look much more spectacular here.
The map in Cairo is also a showcase of the game's visual design. We've been familiar with realistic textures using photogrammetry since the times of Battlefront 2 and Battlefield 1, so a huge, open terrain map in Tajikistan doesn't really make that much of an evolutionary leap in terms of impression. Cairo, on the other hand, really stands out for its ability to show a much greater amount of detail, both in the destruction of building walls, interior equipment details, and in the ruins and piles of rubble. The destruction of the environment in BF6 combines immersion, atmosphere, tactics, and the best graphics in the series.
Omnibattle parkour
During the gameplay, it was immediately noticeable how smoothly our character moves. Many things in the environment help with this, like the arranged cars, trucks, and the aftermath of destruction, those piles of rubble I mentioned earlier. Running on flat tracks, jumping over various kinds of obstacles, ramming windows and doors, which, on one hand, emphasizes how thoughtfully designed the maps are, and on the other hand, all of this creates one fluid parkour, like omnimovement in Call of Duty. It's not overly exaggerated, without shooting while diving sideways, but there's certainly no sense of running around as a soldier burdened with 30 kilograms of gear; our character is definitely more agile than in the days of BF3.
Battlefield 6, EA, 2025.
And this is by no means a criticism, because Battlefield has always been a skill-based shooter, not a realistic simulator. I guess the current standards just make the gameplay more dynamic, with a faster Time to Kill and quicker movement. It's not as crazy as in CoD, but it's still worth preparing for dynamic battles, and Warzone veterans should have no trouble switching to BF. My impressions are probably also amplified by such, and not another, rotation of maps during the show. We spent the vast majority of our time in modes focused on close-quarters infantry combat, which felt too much like Call of Duty. I've only seen the Conquest Mode in Tajikistan with planes and helicopters once, and there the much larger fighting distances noticeably calm down the gameplay, giving more time and space for tactical approaches and sneaking around.
Shooting first (second, third and fourth) class!
And coming back to CoD, where I've been praising the shooting model for a few installments now, I have to mention the gunplay in BF6, which also makes a very good impression. All animations of moving with a weapon, reloading look very natural. I couldn't help but focus on the small details, such as swiftly rotating the M4 carbine before swapping the magazine, to check the shell ejection port, see if the bolt is retracted and the mag is truly empty, or if there's a jam. I also liked the feeling of recoil during continuous fire, which can be challenging to maintain focus, and the limited points upgrade system that forces different compromises.
Battlefield 6, EA, 2025.
However, in these quick tests, I noticed that it could be more balanced because this demanding recoil can be completely eliminated too easily with the right accessories. Here, bigger debuffs would be useful at the expense of better focus, for example, in inflicted damage or rate of fire. Big plus for being able to test the weapon at the shooting range, which you can access as quickly as if it were part of the menu, not a loaded location. We also played a version in which each of the four classes had access to all weapons. I'm not a fan of this solution, and I think we could find a healthy compromise here without imposing strict restrictions.
As for the perks, specializations for a given class, there will probably come a time to test them in the full version. In the version I've played, you could only guess what's hidden there, and some parts seem specific and noticeable, like the inability to revive players who were headshot by a scout sniper, the extra adrenaline boost for the assault, or the ability to regenerate your own health while reviving a teammate in the support class. Some improvements, consisting of a few percent increase, may not be as noticeable in the chaos of battle. Anyway, the return of classes is pleasing, as are the details in the style of the option to pull a treated companion by the handle on the vest.
Stay away from the chopper!
The Battlefield series is primarily full-scale warfare using vehicles, and here it is certainly worth praising all ground vehicles. Tanks, armored vehicles, and off-road cars handle very well - you can really feel the weight and power of heavy equipment, not only from the effects of shots, but also through the driving model and excellent sound effects. The fast Jeep for transportation on large maps is impressive with its cockpit details when switching to the FPP view.
Battlefield 6, EA, 2025.
I couldn't get into the jet available only in one match, but the helicopter in BF6 totally owned me. I wasn't able to fly it even a few meters, which was quite surprising, because helicopters are my hobby - I can usually land such a machine on a pinhead, whether it's in the realistic X-Plane 12, or in Arma, Squad or Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, but the flight model from the latest Battlefield can't be compared to any of these games. Neither the controller assignment was intuitive, nor the physics of flying itself. I hope it's just a matter of not having enough time to adjust everything calmly, but overall, my first impression was a bit off-putting.
We saw a fraction of what is coming
At the BF6 multiplayer presentation, we saw the good old Conquest, Breakthrough, and Domination Modes, which were played exactly like in the old Battlefields. I also tried the version on vanilla PlayStation 5, and I was surprised by the quality of the graphics and the smoothness of the animations with no lag. However, we didn't see many things that could be glimpsed in the trailers of the multiplayer mode. I'm really curious to see how the mobile ladder will perform in action, allowing snipers to reach the most surprising places. I wonder if anyone will be up for running with a tactical hammer, and I've also noticed a mortar being set up in the frames.
Battlefield 6, EA, 2025.
We didn't learn any details about the new game modes; we only saw a few shots from the Portal editor, which promises to be much more extensive than in BF2042. Most importantly, we don't know how the progression system and unlocking gadgets will work, applying skins, stickers, and lucky charms, which are more of a symbol of the Fortnite era of shooters rather than the military seriousness of the old Battlefields.
So we have quite a few unknowns, a lot of expectations, but also faith in success, because the foundations of the game are really solid. If they aren't overshadowed by poorly implemented monetization, a flood of weapon skins and trinkets, then the chances of the return of the good old Battlefield in all its glory are really high. You can already say that there is more essence of the series in the sixth installment than in the last two parts combined - and that's saying something.
0
Author: Darius Matusiak
Graduate of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Journalism. He started writing about games in 2013 on his blog on gameplay.pl, from where he quickly moved to the Reviews and Editorials department of Gamepressure. Sometimes he also writes about movies and technology. A gamer since the heyday of Amiga. Always a fan of races, realistic simulators and military shooters, as well as games with an engaging plot or exceptional artistic style. In his free time, he teaches how to fly in modern combat fighter simulators on his own page called Szkola Latania. A huge fan of arranging his workstation in the "minimal desk setup" style, hardware novelties and cats.
Latest News
- Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros. has given fans hope that the Nemesis System could be saved
- Dawn of War 4 will dare what no predecessor has. For the first time, you can command a Primarch
- Netflix buys Warner Bros., potentially upgrading its gaming ambitions with new studios and IP
- Puzzled by “Someone who directs an orchestra” in Cookie Jam? Let’s solve it together
- Answer to “Place where bees are kept” in Cookie Jam