It only took about five sessions to conclude that Battlefield 6 is a hard pass. At least right now.
We’re in the first weekend of Battlefield 6 open beta, and we’ll get the second and final run next week, before the release date, which is the next time we can play the game. But from now until the end of next week, we get a chance to experiment with the game and see for ourselves if we should get it. Well, I’m here to tell you that despite having some fun, I won’t be getting it right now and EA has proven yet again why many consumers are against pre-ordering their games.
All it took was around five sessions. Five sessions were enough for me to see that Battlefield 6 has glaring issues that can’t be ignored and needs addressing before I even consider purchasing. But, before discussing them, during these few sessions, I’ve acknowledged that there are some hits that we should look into first.
Firstly, let’s talk about the gameplay itself. It’s great. It gives off Battlefield 3 vibes with the way it plays. And Battlefield 3 is viewed as one of the greatest Battlefield games of all time. It feels nostalgic, but at the same time, it feels current because of the modernised technology.
Just like previous Battlefield titles, Battlefield 6 is very well optimised. That means for PC gamers, you don’t need a beefy rig to get a great experience with the game. The content is bigger than ever. We’ve got the standard modes such as Domination, Conquest, and Team Deathmatch. Now, we have new modes like Escalation, which isn’t in this weekend’s beta, but maybe next week. This mode is where two teams are fighting to claim strategic control points.
We’ve gotten new animations and mechanics that make it feel like you’re in an actual battlefield, such as your teammate reviving you by pulling you back and then injecting you with a heal. This is a nice touch so that you’re not in the way of fire when you’re down. The new destruction system introduces a much more realistic destruction presentation. Whether you’re using weapons or vehicles, you’ll cause realistic damage to buildings and the result could be useful to you when gun battling against your opponents.
We’ve also gotten the return of the iconic class system. This is where we get the return of the Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon classes, all of which have their unique abilities and gadgets designed in different ways to help in battle. Each class encourages players to know and play their role in matches. So, if a player is a medic, their responsibilities include reviving and resupplying teammates. Or as an Engineer, they repair damaged vehicles, offer tank support, and more. Each class has its roles that are equally but differently important.
Now to the problems. Where to begin? It’s very difficult to get into a match because of the very high volume of players that makes the existing servers struggle to accommodate everyone. This is somewhat understandable, seeing as we’ve just gotten the beta, at the same time, unstable servers at this time are worrying. But what isn’t understandable is the performance issues in multiplayer.
Although the game has the vibes of Battlefield 3, the movement is a little off. It feels faster than usual, making it closer to Call of Duty’s gameplay. And no, this isn’t a good thing. Because Battlefield is known for its slower, realistic gameplay. Now, the movement is a little more like their competition.
On top of that, the gameplay overall is janky, clunky, sometimes laggy, and the time to kill is shocking. There’s no point in placing any attachments on your weapons because they don’t improve your firearm at all. It’s like they just put them there for the aesthetic. And speaking of weapons, the gunplay is underwhelming, including the weak performance of SMGs and Shotguns. Assault rifles aren’t much better, but they’re better than nothing. Moreover, it feels like your weapon has a mind of its own at times , and the hit registration needs a lot of work.
Also, just like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the maps that they gave us in the beta are horribly designed. This might sound harsh, as there are only a few we get to play in, but this isn’t a great start. On top of that, the map that they showed us in last week’s multiplayer reveal weren’t too impressive.
I’m going to be very honest with you, based on this beta, I believe Call of Duty has nothing to worry about. That’s not to say that Call of Duty is great, because right now it isn’t – however, “COD killer”? Let’s get back to reality. Battlefield 6 is a definite strong miss from me for now. It’s a shame that two iconic franchises have gotten into such a pitiful state. In my opinion, neither of them is worth playing right now.
You see a ton of videos from content creators perpetuating this propaganda that Battlefield 6 will be a genuine threat to Call of Duty. Not only is this very far from the truth, but it’s laughable that anyone actually believes this. In fact, I’d argue that some people who say this don’t actually think this is true and are only saying this for more traction – and it’s working by the way.
Make no mistake about it – I, as a consumer, am done with Call of Duty for now. Even when they release the upcoming Black Ops 7 and its beta, because Call of Duty as a whole is a mess, in terms of the quality of their games, content, identity, and more. They’ve obviously stopped putting love into the franchise, including the disaster-class of Black Ops 6’s multiplayer, and I have zero hopes for the upcoming game.
However, Call of Duty is in a great place, from a business/financial standpoint, and that’s just about the only thing going for them. Understandably, many people are done with Call of Duty because the franchise is doing objectively worse.
It seems like people are placing far too much hope and pressure on Battlefield 6 with the sole purpose of Call of Duty stepping up their game or Call of Duty suffering a downfall because of the franchise’s lack of passion in their games in recent years. But if there is a FPS shooter that’ll at the very least make Call of Duty start sweating, it certainly won’t be Battlefield 6 in its current state.
This is sad because the same goes for EA’s other upcoming title, EA Sports FC 26, that is also riddled with bugs, glitches, and other performance issues. Now, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that, just like EA Sports FC 26, this isn’t the final version. But Battlefield 6 clearly has problems, and lots of them, and they have around two months until launch. How much do you think they can rectify until then?
Also, think about how long it took for Battlefield 2042 to become somewhat decent. Again, Battlefield 6 is fun, but that’s simply not enough. It needs to be an unbelievable experience, and this game simply isn’t providing that. What’s the point of getting a “fun” game when it may get boring after a little while? Therefore, again, as of right now, this game is off my radar, at least until they fix the glaring issues.
In the meantime, I’m using the money I would’ve used for it and getting another game that’s much more deserving. This is crazy, because this is the best time for them to take the crown as FPS king with how Call of Duty is at this time. People are yearning for an incredible shooter right now, and EA must fix these problems fast to stand a chance of becoming that.
