“Battlefield 6” seeks to reclaim the top line of multiplayer shooters | Video games

“Battlefield” has been around for over two decades. Still, even its most die-hard fans would probably say it hasn’t been a factor in the first-person shooter conversation for much of the second half of that period, after the disappointing “Battlefield V” in 2018 and “Battlefield 2042” in 2021, a game so broken in its early days that many fans gave up.

Like a soldier bursting into a slow-motion explosion in an action movie after the audience thought he was dead, here comes “Battlefield 6,” an ambitiously designed and remarkably well-executed shooter. The variety of maps, the incredible sound design, the stunning graphics, the tight campaign: it’s the best “Battlefield” in nearly a decade, a reminder of what this series does so well and why it’s still important in its third decade.

In the 2000s and early 10s, EA’s “Battlefield” was one of the most critically and commercially successful franchises on the market, truly pushing the boundaries in terms of immersive combat experiences. I vividly remember being amazed by the malleable environments of the early “Battlefield” games. For those unfamiliar, cover mechanics in shooter games are usually pretty ridiculous in terms of actual physics. Let’s just say that hiding behind a wooden crate to avoid machine gun fire probably wouldn’t work.

And so “Battlefield” created a world in which grenades, tank fire and other weapons had an impact. All. Want to shelter in a house? It could fall around you. By the end of most matches, buildings were reduced to rubble. The games also prioritized teamwork over the lone wolf approach, revolutionizing the idea of ​​cooperative combat as players filled different roles, such as an expert sniper reconnaissance or a much-needed medic. 2005’s “Battlefield 2” and 2011’s “Battlefield 3” were two of the best games in their subgenre, and 2016’s “Battlefield 1” really worked as well. But then the annual juggernaut that is “Call of Duty” took over, and it felt like “Battlefield” was lost.

“Battlefield 6” returns to everything fans love about these games, updating the core elements of the series with the graphics, mechanics and sound design of 2025. From the minute I jumped into the multiplayer portion of the game’s pre-launch, it was simply different from the always frustrating “2042.” I’m a big believer in map design being a vital aspect of whether or not an FPS works, and the layouts here are fantastic, varying from tight corridors with open landscapes suitable for snipers. And, once again, nowhere does one feel safe. Walls are collapsing — hell, an entire cement patio collapsed on me once — and a sense of real danger elevates the tension in a way that just isn’t true with “CoD,” even though I liked what the last installment in that series did well, too.

As usual, there’s remarkable customization and gameplay depth, both in loadouts for your specific gameplay and in modes that can go big like Conquest or small like Close-Quarters Battle. There are still a few issues – I shot a guy and he was left hanging in the air like he was being kidnapped today – but nothing that can’t be fixed quickly. It’s also important to praise the physics and sound design in the multiplayer portion of the game. Weapons react, shots connect, and explosions resonate. It can’t be underestimated how fluid “Battlefield 6” looks and sounds, two key elements in making it immersive.

The same goes for the campaign, which lasts around 5 hours and unfolds relatively linearly in terms of narrative; a few missions can be completed with a little choice in the order of objectives, but player control doesn’t matter. There aren’t multiple endings or open worlds to explore. You play as Gunnery Sergeant Dylan Murphy, a US Marine on the brink of what is essentially an ideologically driven world war. If you thought Apple TV+ was delaying “The Savant” because of its sensitivity to current events, you should get a taste of this, a game that feels like it’s predicting that opposing factions will literally kill each other in major American cities in just a few years. (Unlike many horrifying visions of the future, the writers of “Battlefield 6” aren’t even leaving the late 2020s, so you only have a few years, chaos warriors.)

Murphy is at a NATO base in Georgia before she is about to be transferred to a private organization known as Pax Armata. Suddenly, the base is attacked by a rival faction, leading you and your fellow sailors to find out what exactly is going on while dodging gunfire. The relatively short game allows for something of a crash course in the multiplayer section, as you’ll pilot tanks and other vehicles that also appear there. This gives you an idea of ​​how “Battlefield 6” plays and works as a good tutorial for the gameplay, settings and tone of why most people buy this game, shooting other real players.

After a really promising start, the “Battlefield 6” campaign becomes a little wonky. Crashing helicopters, boring tank missions, and waves of enemies who like to stand next to explosive barrels hamper what could have been great storytelling. The bones are there in the saga of a villain who turns out to be a former British soldier, someone who feels betrayed by the systems put in place by the powers that be and who is in the process of starting a global revolution.

But every time “Battlefield 6” leans into commentary, it reverts to excess. To be fair, some of the more chaotic sequences look downright dangerous as soldiers storm bases that collapse under fire from tanks or helicopters. Once again, the sound design impresses, working with explosive visuals to replicate the “just run for safety” fear of combat. The fact that the AI ​​enemies you find in this landscape are just waiting to be taken down is disappointing, but it’s common in FPS shooter campaigns.

And it’s worth noting that the overarching aesthetic of chaos that drives the campaign seems tied to the multiplayer portion as well. The story of “Battlefield 6” depicts a world at constant war, envisioning a not-too-distant future where battles will take place in previously safe locations. This sense of danger continues in multiplayer as you fight to win matches in locations like Brooklyn and Cairo. “Battlefield” returns with what might be called a callous look at how the powerful push us toward self-destruction. And while other installments have looked to the past or the future, the series has found its voice by moving closer to home.

The publisher has provided a review copy of this title.