Battlefield: RedSec Review – The Royale Treatment

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Things have changed – at least, according to Battlefield Studios, and the events unfolding in Southern California. What started as a simple incident at Fort Lyndon might actually be a bigger attack by the Pax Armata, the enemies you faced in the previous campaign. Your mission is to infiltrate the area, gather information, and escape before rival teams can intercept you.

While not entirely groundbreaking, Battlefield: RedSec – EA’s new free-to-play battle royale – certainly delivers a spectacle. Following Firestorm, the series’ first attempt at the genre, RedSec offers visually impressive moments, like dozens of helicopters descending over the ravaged environment, complete with realistic radio chatter. The “Circle of Death,” a closing wave of explosions, also adds genuine tension and danger as players try to avoid being caught within it.

The game still feels good to move and shoot in, just like the original, and calling in an airstrike to destroy a building and wipe out the enemy team’s vantage point is a particularly satisfying bonus.

The game also excels at creating a truly chaotic atmosphere, filled with the sounds of jets flying overhead and the sight of buildings falling apart. The fundamental gameplay feels new and exciting, with a modern Battlefield style. But the big question is: does the overall experience stand out enough to recommend it over other similar games? The answer is… mostly.

Okay, so if you’ve played a battle royale before, RedSec feels pretty standard at the start. You pick one of four Classes, tweak your gear with your squad while you’re waiting to jump, and then you’re dropped into the map to start looting. We’re talking guns, armor, grenades, anything to give you an advantage. There are 100 of us total, split into squads of four, and even if I go down, there’s a chance to redeploy – my gear gets better based on how much I’ve trained, and I can even come back if my whole squad gets wiped. Just gotta keep an eye on that shrinking circle – they call it the Circle of Death – and move when you need to. Basically, survive and don’t become someone else’s dinner!

Custom Weapon Drops give you a chance to find better gear, if you can avoid other players trying to ambush you. Contracts offer varied objectives – like hacking beacons or stealing data – each with specific rewards. I appreciate how these rewards focus on different aspects of improving your character, such as finding better weapons. These contracts refresh regularly, which creates a sense of urgency as you decide whether to stay safe or risk it all for a potential advantage. Plus, some rewards include keycards for vehicles, even tanks, so they’re definitely worth considering.

When you add the destructible environments and core gameplay of Battlefield 6 to the mix, RedSec really comes alive. The game maintains the satisfying movement and gunplay of the original, and the thrill of calling in an airstrike and leveling a building to eliminate enemy high ground is a fantastic bonus. The Fort Lyndon map is also impressively large and open, providing plenty of room for vehicles while still offering diverse opportunities for infantry combat. With massive buildings, warehouses, and even a golf course, it’s a varied and interesting environment that all connects seamlessly.

I’m also a little concerned about how loadouts work. Players can kind of skip important parts of the game, like upgrading weapons, if they just get the weapons and attachments they like right away.

While the gunplay in Battlefield: RedSec generally feels good, the speed at which you can eliminate enemies is sometimes inconsistent. You might be quickly defeated, even with armor, but struggle to do the same to others, often because the game doesn’t always register hits accurately. This doesn’t happen constantly, but the unpredictability is frustrating and makes you hesitate to engage in fights, even when you think you have the upper hand. The developers are aware of this long-standing issue – it’s been present since the original game launched – and are working to fix it, so a solution is likely coming soon. When it works well, the time to kill feels fair for the most part.

Fort Lyndon offers several ways to play, including with a team of four (Squads) or a pair (Duos). There’s also Gauntlet, a mode where eight teams of four compete for points across four different challenges. Teams are eliminated if they don’t score enough, so while getting kills is important in some areas, focusing on the objectives and working together is crucial for success. Many players are disappointed, however, that there’s currently no option to play the game solo.

In RedSec, you can’t play by yourself – there’s no solo queue. While you can split from your team in Duos or Squads mode and play on your own, you’ll be an easy target, and you’ll likely put your teammates at a disadvantage. It’s really surprising this wasn’t addressed before launch, especially considering the amount of testing. After all, the core idea of Battle Royale – both the film and the game – is to be the last one standing with everyone starting on equal footing. Not having a solo playlist at launch feels like a major mistake, and it’s something the developers will need to fix in the coming weeks and months – it’s a disappointing issue.

I’m a little concerned about how players customize their gear. They can sometimes skip important features, like upgrading weapons, and just get the guns and attachments they prefer. Warzone had this issue, and it ultimately hurt the game. However, because of how RedSec plays, it’s not a major problem right now. We’ll have to see how it develops over time.

It’s frustrating that Battlefield 6 requires players to interact with RedSec to advance in the Battle Pass. And what’s the point of Battlefield Pro, which offers so many advantages – like exclusive missions – if it costs $25? These issues are largely criticisms of EA, and likely won’t be addressed, but they still negatively impact the game experience.

Battlefield: RedSec is a decent start, but it doesn’t revolutionize the battle royale genre. Players hoping for expansive maps might be disappointed. However, considering this is a new battle royale mode for Battlefield, the developers have made a strong initial impression.

Even though Battlefield 6 still has significant problems – like a clunky and outdated user interface – the RedSec mode is a really encouraging step forward. While I’m not as into battle royale games as I used to be, RedSec still manages to recreate that exciting feeling of parachuting into a new area, unsure of what you’ll find. Combining this with the strategic, team-based gameplay Battlefield is known for creates a fresh experience, even if it isn’t perfect.

The biggest challenges are still ahead. If something is too powerful in online play, will it be weakened so much that it becomes completely ineffective in the RedSec zone? Will the game world grow with new locations and missions to maintain player engagement? Once players master the map and equip the best gear, how will the dominant strategies evolve? And can we anticipate the map expanding with new areas and changing over time?

Battlefield Studios hasn’t shared many specifics about their plans, but the long-term success of the battle royale genre is something they’re clearly thinking about, especially considering how other games in the genre have performed. As it stands, Battlefield: RedSec is decent – it probably won’t redefine your opinion of battle royales, and players who want massive maps might find it frustrating. However, for a Battlefield battle royale game, the team has made a strong start.

This game was reviewed on PC.

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2025-10-31 22:13