Battlefield 6 Open Beta Impressions — Adrenaline Overload

After two weekends of the Battlefield 6 Open Beta, I feel like I’ve been pumped with adrenaline. As I write this, I can still hear sounds of jets, choppers, explosions, and gunshots. I like how this year’s Battlefield beta stuck with me after it was over, versus my mostly forgettable preview with Battlefield 2042. What made this Open Beta feel distinctly different was the pace. It felt relentless. And while I enjoyed my time and look forward to October 10, I wonder if Battlefield can, and should, sustain this level of intensity.

The maps showcased in the beta are the primary reason why it felt like Michael Bay was injected into my consciousness. All of them featured flavors of corridor design. Siege of Cairo, Iberian Offensive, and Empire State were all city-based maps with hardly any open space to run through. This constantly funneled me into firefights in every mode. There was hardly any room to breathe. Something was always detonating; I was shooting at someone, someone was shooting at me; enemies were always close, so I had to check my corners all the time and keep my head on a swivel. There were no moments to pause. It felt like a Ubisoft open-world map but with sounds and visuals. It was enjoyable because I knew where the action was, which kept me engaged, but it was also exhausting.

I’m used to previous Battlefield games, where there are moments when you can compose yourself, maybe even pause the game and change your settings. That’s not the case here.

Time will tell if it turns out to be bad design, but I liked how the maps created that sense of action. It felt like Operation Metro or Locker every game. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it is, but it doesn’t change the essence of Battlefield. Vehicles had room to maneuver in the streets, but they were just wide enough so infantry could still launch rockets at them. Liberation Peak, a map set in a craggy mountainside, allowed jets and helicopters to fly around, and there was plenty of room to snipe people. That map was more free-flowing than the others, and it demonstrated that the funnel design can allow for some freedom. It was–liberating. But I want to know how this design will ultimately work with Battlefield 6’s biggest maps.

Comparisons to Call of Duty are unavoidable. Battlefield 6 does feel closer to Call of Duty than it has before. The movement and combat, in conjunction with the maps, give Battlefield some of that Call of Duty seasoning. It’s snappier and twitchier. Shooting feels closer to Titanfall in form, though when the pioneer of modern Call of Duty and the creator of Titanfall is working on Battlefield, either comparison will likely work. It feels familiar to laser someone, snap turn, and tag the next person out of your vision. There aren’t outlandish Call of Duty movement tactics, and the shooting isn’t perfectly comparable to other faster shooters, but the movement still feels fluid. It’s a juggling act trying to bring Battlefield up to speed without sacrificing its identity, and so far, Battlefield looks like it’s on the right path to achieve that.

Thankfully, every significant Battlefield mode will return—Conquest, Breakthrough, Rush, and Squad Deathmatch. Conquest is the super big Domination game mode that I love, and it’s fun to play as usual. Breakthrough feels much better in comparison to Battlefield 2042, where it retains the chaos but doesn’t feel burdened by so many vehicles in the 128-player version.

Rush and Squad Deathmatch have serious problems, though. Rush feels like trying to punch a wall when you’re the attacking team. Attacking teams are often annihilated. Perhaps the influx of new Battlefield players soured the experience, but it felt like I could never develop a strategy. Defenders had a tremendous advantage. As long as defenders didn’t overextend, they were fine. Defensive Supports made this much tougher, and it didn’t help that it was only 12 v 12. It helped keep the pace up, but it didn’t work for balance. Thankfully, DICE made adjustments to the M-Com timers during the beta, which seemed to open up successful attacks, but it still didn’t feel like enough.

Squad Deathmatch doesn’t work in this version of Battlefield. The increased pace makes spawning on teammates irrelevant. It’s more advantageous to choose random spawn since teammates are always in a fight. Perhaps it should be three squads, but it seems DICE is opting for constant combat, which is consistent across the other modes. With the announced movement changes, perhaps that will help slow the pace down enough to play this mode the way it was meant to be played.

Vehicles seem to be the most consistent element across all Battlefield games, including the Battlefield 6 beta. They’re strong and demand attention, but not impossible to destroy (though multiple Engineers may need to focus on an adept helicopter pilot). They do a ton of damage, but you can escape if you’re careful around them. And they still require skill to operate. Splash damage is decreased across the entire game, which raises an eyebrow when you shoot a cluster of soldiers and only one or two die, but typically, the gunners help clean things up.

I didn’t go too deep into the weapons. I wanted to spend my time understanding the maps and the game flow without fiddling with new weapons. One thing is certain: snipers need an adjustment. They’re too easy to use. I shouldn’t be able to intentionally sidestep and nail a perfect headshot. I’ve never been able to do that in any Battlefield game, and I shouldn’t feel empowered to do that now. I’m laughing as I write this, just thinking about the absurdity of pulling that off. Shotguns felt like they kill from too far a distance, but that’s a simple adjustment. I’d also say the LMGs felt useless, except for their ammo count. Since suppression isn’t significant, there was hardly any reason to use them, except for TikTok highlight reels.

Battlefield 6 Open Beta left a great first impression, but also some unanswered questions. How will server browsers function? What will Portal look like and how will it improve? How large are the maps, and will they allow slower moments? Will the pace be a strength that should be built on, or will it need to be toned down? These are uncertain questions, but they are born out of exciting possibilities.

Battlefield 6 launches October 10 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.

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