BATTLEFIELD 6 OPEN BETA PREVIEW
The Battlefield redemption tour is officially underway, and EA is making sure players are feeling as excited as possible about the newest iteration in the series by offering a very generous open beta period. For Battlefield 6, it's all about making a return to form with welcome reintroductions to some of their hallmark features, while also taking inspiration from competitors for a handful of new game modes. However, while online play was certainly the focus of this open beta, it also gave players a taste of Battlefield 6's bold positioning as an old school, down to earth shooter -- something that we don't see much of these days even within Call of Duty. I put about four hours into this trial run of BF6, and I have a few things to say about the experience.
My history with the Battlefield franchise lies heavily with the Bad Company spinoff games. Even still, I was delighted to see Battlefield's hallmark four-class system make its return -- a feature that defined the gameplay of both the spinoff and main-line titles. During my time with the open beta, I made it a point to stress test the medic and engineer classes to see how I could utilize them with my support style gameplay. I'm happy to say, I felt right at home! As I medic, I really enjoyed the challenge of fighting my way to a successful revive. I couldn’t just jump blindly into the middle of a firefight to reach my downed teammate, however, I also needed to consider the bleed out timer to reach them in time to save them. It makes having a skilled medic on your team all the more important. The engineer class was tons of fun to play with as well, as being the sole operator responsible for keeping tanks rolling could make the difference between bulldozing your way to an advantage and losing your momentum towards victory. Regardless of the class, they're expertly designed to let you play the way you see fit, and the game is much better for it.
Right now, I have mixed feelings when it comes to Battlefield 6's game modes. To be clear, I don't think any of them as necessarily bad, some of them just aren't very Battlefield-esque. For example, Domination, a capture the flag style game mode, takes inspiration from Call of Duty with it's scaled down map sizes and compact-sized teams. This results in what feels more like a twitch shooter rather than the slower, more tactical style of play that Battlefield is known for. Thankfully, I got the traditional Battlefield experience I was looking for when I made my way to Breakthrough. In Breakthrough, you either play as an attacker who is tasked with pushing through enemy lines, or a defender, tasked with pushing back enemy advancements. Supported by large scale maps and teams with 30+ members each, Breakthrough feels like the slow, tactical, and utterly chaotic, all out war experience that helped put Battlefield on the map. When the full game launches, this is where I'll likely spend most of my time.
The gunplay in Battlefield 6 reminds me of THE FINALS. In THE FINALS, guns feel well-worn, rickety, and challenging to use, demanding that you master their feel to land your shots. Guns in BF6 feel like they were designed with that same approach. You need to be intentional with each shot you take, and master the feel of each weapon to take enemies down. I've never fired a gun, but I imagine that the slow, tactile nature of BF6's weapons mirror what it may feel like to wield them real life. It leans into Battlefield 6 really achieving that down to earth, old school shooter feel.
Overall, this open beta did its job -- it got me excited for Battlefield 6! Quite frankly, I feel that my days of spending hundreds of hours in a multiplayer shooter are well and truly behind me, but even still, I'm excited to return to a Battlefield experience that harkens back to the heights of its heyday while also implementing the sensibilities of modern game design. Sadly, there aren't any demos available for it, but I'm also excited to experience the first Battlefield story campaign since Battlefield V, in what looks to be a gritty, down to earth, military campaign filled with bombastic, high stakes moments. If you're interested in BF6, check out the open beta before it ends!