Battlefield 6

Battlefield 6 plays it safe but marks a return to form for the long-running series, delivering chaotic, large-scale multiplayer that's as familiar as it is uproariously fun

Battlefield 6 delivers a thrilling multiplayer reset and a decent, if derivative single-player. But it still displays nagging doubts about what makes Battlefield special.

Battlefield 6 is more about refinements than surprises, but a well-made Battlefield is automatically one of the best shooters of the year.

The occasional collapsing wall or exploding shack does add some spice.

The latest entry in the Battlefield series is an amalgamation of immersive moments like this. I only wish some of the postwar rewards matched my many acts of valor and that the campaign reflected the grittiness of its multiplayer counterpart. Despite some military blunders, Battlefield 6 has successfully turned the tide.

In contrast to the blast-em-ups this franchise drops players into a vast and vividly realised military offensive and the latest instalment is a brilliant return to form

Battlefield 6 is exactly what the fans wanted, and what this game needed to be. The single player is fine, if largely tertiary, but the multiplayer shines. Extremely fun to play, rewarding and full of excellent maps and modes, this is the Battlefield multiplayer suite that will be bring those lost by 2042 back into the fold.

As it is right now, with the quality and quantity of content in the launch package of Battlefield 6, it is incredibly easy to recommend the game to anyone who enjoys multiplayer shooters. It’s an especially exciting proposition for those of us who just cannot keep up with Call of Duty’s rollerskates-based movement and its instantaneous time-to-kill. There’s finally a compelling middle ground between the indecipherability of tactical shooters and the yearly slop of CoD, and it’s one you won’t have to convince yourself to play simply because it’s there, you’ll do it with a big grin on your face because of how fun it is.

Battlefield 6 isn't worth buying for its campaign alone - although we suspect no one's really doing that anyway. For us, it's a nice starter while we're waiting for the main meal. It showcases how great the gunplay feels and how nice the game looks as a whole. But it's not breaking any boundaries from a narrative, mechanical, or immersive perspective. Did we enjoy our time with it? Yes, in a turn your brain off kind of way. Will we remember it by the time we're deep in the trenches of the multiplayer? Probably not.But, as mentioned, this is only a part of the Battlefield 6 experience. Once servers go live with real players, and we get some serious sessions out in the field, we'll update our review and score the game accordingly.

Battlefield 6 is a fantastic first-person shooter, and the team at Battlefield Studios - now led by FPS veteran Vince Zampella - has done an amazing job at building this new foundation, especially after the dip in form with Battlefield 2042. The gunplay feels ace, the game looks and runs beautifully, and all of the core ingredients that make a proper Battlefield game are here. Some of those ingredients do need some extra seasoning though; the campaign is fun but bland and I want to see more large scale, Conquest-focused maps in future - but all-in-all, this is a great effort. In this day and age, the day one multiplayer experience is simply a base to be built upon, and that base is rock solid. I can't wait to see where Battlefield 6 ends up in a few years' time.