Battlefield 6 Campaign Is a Short, But Sweet Military Blockbuster

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A major question surrounding *Battlefield 6* is the status of its single-player campaign. While the initial trailer and a brief cutscene shown in July offered a peek at the story, details have been scarce. Honestly, it’s a little worrying. Rumors surfaced earlier this year suggesting the campaign was facing development challenges and had consistently fallen behind schedule.

Before the game came out, reports suggested the *Battlefield 2042* campaign might be incomplete at launch, with additional levels added later. Having played three levels – one from the start, one from the middle, and one near the end – it seems like a fully realized experience. While rumors hinted at a rough campaign, I found it to be a solid addition to an already strong game. It’s not flawless, but it’s definitely enjoyable.

Battlefield 6‘s Campaign Surprised Me

The campaign in *Battlefield 6* is set in 2027, a time when NATO is falling apart. This power vacuum allows a private military company, Pax Armata, to emerge and start attacking its former allies in a bid for global dominance. Players take on the role of Dagger 1-3, a four-person marine squad tasked with fighting Pax Armata. Throughout the story, you’ll experience the campaign from the perspective of each squad member, who each specialize in a different combat role – Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon – giving them unique abilities and responsibilities.

The single-player campaign in *Battlefield 6* follows a straightforward, linear storyline, much like *Battlefield 3* and *4*. This is a departure from the multiple, perspective-driven ‘War Stories’ featured in *Battlefield 1* and *V*. While the story is contained, it will take players to various global locations. In a preview, I experienced levels set in New York, Gibraltar, and Tajikistan, showcasing a diverse range of environments.

Playing this game really gave me *Modern Warfare* (2019) vibes – it’s definitely more realistic and focused on strategy. There’s a mission set in New York that feels a lot like *Modern Warfare*’s ‘Clean House’ – you’re clearing out a tight, multi-story house full of bad guys. But *Battlefield 6* takes that idea and cranks it up to eleven with the series’ awesome destruction. I mean, you can smash through doors, blow holes in walls to flank enemies, and even drop the floor out from under people – it’s seriously intense!

Destroying walls can be a smart way to clear rooms, but enemies can do the same to you. I once hid behind cover only to have it blown apart, leaving me vulnerable to attack. This constant destruction keeps the gameplay exciting and makes you feel like you’re always in danger. Luckily, when you’re defeated, you don’t immediately die – you enter a downed state, similar to multiplayer games. A teammate can revive you using a defibrillator, but these have limited uses, and they could also be downed while trying to help.

If a teammate falls in battle, you can pull them to safety and revive them. What’s really innovative in *Battlefield 6* is the command wheel that appears, letting you give each squad member a unique order. You can tell them to fire a rocket, throw a grenade, create a smokescreen, pinpoint enemies, or concentrate fire on a specific target. While not essential, these commands add a new level of teamwork and strategy to the game’s campaign, something you don’t often find in similar shooter games.

During a chaotic battle, I was badly wounded and dropped to the ground, firing back to keep the enemy at bay. I immediately called in a smoke grenade to cover my retreat and get to safety. It’s these fast-paced, unpredictable moments that make the Battlefield 6 campaign so much more than just a shooting game – they really pull you in and keep you engaged.

The game now features more open-world levels where you have a lot of freedom to complete goals in any way you choose. You’ll get vehicles and the ability to tackle objectives in any order, letting you really experiment with all the tools and gadgets available. It’s not yet clear if this open-ended approach will be throughout the whole game, but it’s a welcome change of pace and a lot of fun.

While I enjoyed the campaign in *Battlefield 6*, the artificial intelligence (AI) was noticeably flawed. Both enemies and allies often behaved strangely – I saw a friendly tank almost overturn, teammates simply stare at enemies instead of engaging, and even an enemy soldier sit down in the middle of a fight while I attacked others nearby. When this soldier eventually stood up, it was through a slow, unconvincing animation, making him an easy target.

One time, I told a teammate to fire their rocket-propelled grenade at an enemy, but they accidentally shot it into a rock instead. This really breaks the feeling of being in the game, and it’s frustrating because you then have to wait before you can give that command again. The AI definitely needs improvement, and I hope the developers can fix it either before the game comes out or soon after.

Battlefield 6 Mixes Blockbuster Moments With High Stakes Storytelling

I’m not going into too much detail about the story of *Battlefield 6* because I’ve only played a small part of it, and the missions I experienced were out of order. It’s difficult to fully judge the writing, but one thing that stood out was the exciting, action-packed moments. Like you’d expect from a major military game, there are plenty of explosions and dramatic events driven by a sense of urgency.

During a mission in New York City, a train full of Pax Armata soldiers-who have hacked into a warship’s systems-is speeding through the city. Failing to stop this train could result in the destruction of New York. After a car chase through the subway tunnels ends in a crash, you must use a helicopter to pursue it. You finally catch up and make the difficult decision to destroy a Brooklyn bridge with an airstrike, derailing the train and preventing a catastrophe.

This isn’t an isolated instance in *Battlefield 6*’s story – there are other moments like it that I won’t reveal. But these scenes really build a sense of massive scale, highlighting the intense situation the characters are facing. It’s exactly the kind of thing I want from a campaign like this, and it’s incredibly satisfying.

Battlefield 6‘s Campaign Will Likely Be Pretty Short

I spoke with the developers about the length of the *Battlefield 6* campaign. They said it will have nine missions, making it relatively short. During my playthrough, each of the three missions took around 30 minutes, though that could vary depending on your skill and the difficulty setting. Considering cutscenes and other elements, I’d estimate the whole campaign will take most players between five and six hours to complete – similar to recent *Call of Duty* games and previous *Battlefield* titles.

I don’t usually mind shorter single-player experiences, especially when they stay fast-paced and action-packed. Stretching them out too much can become tiring, similar to how comedies and horror movies lose their impact if they go on for too long. Finding the right balance is key, and we’ll see if *Battlefield 6* manages that. Ultimately, the strength of *Battlefield 6* lies in its multiplayer, which offers plenty of content and value.

Battlefield 6 releases on October 10th for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.

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2025-09-25 01:14