Battlefield 6has come out the gate swinging with an impressive trailer that looks set to bring the series back to a gritty, modern setting, full of all the classic explosions, lens-flares, and big action sequences. The nods to older titles in the franchise are pretty clear, with a focus on boots-on-the-ground action amid a range of environments. The commitment to a brutally realistic aesthetic backed up by advances in graphics technology has madeBattlefieldstand out again in ways it has failed to recently, and it’s harkening back to the old days of the series in more ways than one.
One of the reasons this trailer looks so distinctive is partly due to the sheer diversity of aesthetics the series has leaned into in the last few entries.Battlefield 2042is the closest in terms of release, but there is a marked difference between this andBattlefield 6.2042was full of clean lines and semi-futuristic tech, itself a contrast againstBattlefield 5’s motley design language of a very rag-tag World War 2. While not bad-looking games by any means, there was some sauce missing from the prior twoBFgames in terms of graphics, leading some to believe that DICE’s Frostbite engine was falling behind. Now thatBF6has shown its face, that looks unlikely, and the game is set to play one of the biggest aces it hasn’t played in a long time.
Battlefield 6’s Graphics Look Gorgeous in a Way That Recent Entries Have Failed to Realize
BF6is beautiful in a miserable, war-torn sort of way. From mountain vistas to cramped corridors, desert plateaus to tumbling towers, there’s a real majesty to the graphical power on display here. TheBattlefield 6trailer, while not gameplay, was in-engine footage, showcasing a visual feast that can be expected fromBattlefield 6’s open beta. Character models look incredibly detailed, and there is a granularity to the environments not seen before. The way buildings collapsed displayed a level of detail beyond what has come before, with debris and dust clouds giving a dark ambience that has been sorely missed.
The look thatBattlefield 6is going for is very reminiscent ofBF4andBF3, and that feels very deliberate. DICE and EA have been talking about taking the series back to its roots, andBF6looks to be doing just that. Those games really helped to put the franchise on the map in a big way, leading toBattlefield’s competition withCall of Duty.Battlefield 3especially can be credited with this art direction, mixing highly desaturated environmental assets with wild flashes of color from light bouncing off every surface to muzzle flashes in the dark. There was a distinct identity thatBF6is reclaiming, and with the level of technology today, it looks better than ever.
Battlefield 6 Is Putting the Frostbite Engine Back on the Map
Battlefield, DICE, and Frostbite used to be the holy trinity of game graphics, but it feels like that crown has not belonged to the franchise in a long time.BF3and4pushed graphics to their limits around the latePS3 era, andBF1showed off a level of detail made possible by sticking to next-gen consoles. ButBF5and2042, while obviously higher fidelity, lacked a coherent vision.BF5could go from looking photorealistic to half-baked in many places, and2042’s style never leaned into the grime the series is associated with.BF3set out a vision that, while a little dated by now, feels refreshing to see re-emerge inBF6, and the Frostbite engine is looking like its back to being one of the premiere ways for a game to visually shine again.
