Battlefield 6: All-Out Warfare (and One Iconic Map) Returns – and it Rocks

f the Battlefield series has ever been known for one thing, it's the massive, chaotic scale of destruction that takes place in its largest multiplayer maps, and I got a wonderfully refreshing taste of just that when I dove into Battlefield 6's upcoming 64-player game modes earlier this week.
Mirak Valley, the biggest map available at launch, is a fantastic new warzone that reminds me a bit of a much bigger version of Blood Gulch from Halo, with two bases on each side battling it out in a massive, deadly no man's land, while a remastered version of the iconic Operation Firestorm from Battlefield 3 made an appearance to

 kick me right in the nostalgia. Both were a literal blast to play, each in their own way, and it just felt so good to be back in large scale war games with bombs exploding and bullets flying every which way, especially with the environments being more destructible than ever and which alter the map in creative ways. Since I skipped Battlefield 2042, it's been a good, long while since I felt the itch to play a military shooter with this kind of crazy player count, and after a few hours with Battlefield 6 I don't know how I've managed to go so long without it. It feels good to be back!

The first map I played was Mirak Valley, which Battlefield Studios says will be the largest map at launch, and yeah, this thing's pretty huge.
Though it's got small settlements and rocky terrain across long stretches of dirt road on each side, the main attraction are the two unfinished skyscrapers found in the center of the map where a lot of the action takes place. Battling in these claustrophobic concrete boxes and stairwells allows for plenty of close-quarters gunplay, but with unfinished walls all around you, it also leaves you exposed to the outside world to sniper you or launch a missile in your direction, which adds a unique challenge

 as you attempt to capture the all-important zones found in each of the buildings. And while the gradual destruction of these buildings can make them harder to control, they also allow for interesting opportunities to alter the geometry of the map, like how part of a destroyed building can fall down to create a ramp, which can then be used to reach the second floor of the skyscraper from the outside and make it much easier to navigate (but also harder to defend from would-be invaders).