With the Battlefield franchise beginning all the way back in 2002 with BF 1942, it’s no surprise that it has undergone its share of innovation. Some of these changes have been from a narrative standpoint, with vignette-like War Stories explored in BF1 and BF5 while DICE tried its hand at humorous characters with the Bad Company sub-series. Other times, DICE has gotten imaginative with the franchise’s setting, from futuristic properties to the rarely explored era of World War 1. Its gameplay-specific risks have been hit or miss, with 2042’s specialists falling flat while Commander Mode remains a favorite. Battlefield 4’s Levolution system falls into the latter camp for most gamers, though I think it’s for the best Battlefield 6 is dodging it.
To be clear, I have my share of fond memories with Battlefield 4’s advanced form of destruction, and I wouldn’t be angry if it were to come to Battlefield 6 post-launch. The first time I got home from high school, loaded up the Battlefield 4 beta, and saw Siege of Shanghai’s skyscraper collapse, I was stunned, as I had never seen anything like it in a multiplayer game. Paracel Storm’s ship crash was similarly mind-blowing, as the map felt hugely different once the carrier covered up a large chunk of the island. Since I was a teenager during the days of BF4, it would be easy to take a nostalgic look back and only see the positives of such a flashy feature, but after properly examining how impactful Levolution actually was, I think Battlefield Studios made the right call by focusing its efforts elsewhere.
Battlefield 4’s Levolution Was Extremely Hit or Miss
The spectacle of Levolution was undoubtedly the best thing about the feature, as it made for a perfect marketing gimmick to keep the many fans of Battlefield 3 interested in its successor. However, Levolution was exactly that — a gimmick. For every successful implementation, like Flood Zone’s destructible levee that covered the map in water, forcing players to fight on rooftops and swapping land vehicles for boats, there were lackluster changes like:
- The aforementioned Siege of Shanghai skyscraper. While bringing it down certainly looked cool and made for an “Only in Battlefield” moment, the map played significantly worse without its central landmark, as the middle of the playspace essentially became a large and empty pool of water. The dust-covered version of this arena was also far uglier.
- While one would assume that destroying the titular Lancang Dam would be a huge moment, I remember being let down upon doing so. Sure, the rocks moving across the area and squishing enemies was a fun sight, but the map was hardly altered outside some rubble on the bridge and a few darker buildings.
- Rogue Transmission’s Levolution, if it could even be called that, saw players dropping an electrical receiver through a large radar dish after destroying a series of cables. The dent in the dish is negligible, though, and it’s hard to justify the work required for this particular Levolution.
Not only was Levolution present on less than half of Battlefield 4’s maps once its DLC releases came to a stop, but only half of the Levolutions it did have were worth triggering. I love that DICE experimented with the concept, as it helped give Battlefield 4 a distinct identity, but there’s undoubtedly a reason why there were servers where Levolutions couldn’t be triggered on maps like Hainan Resort and Siege of Shanghai. While alternate versions of maps are excellent to have in theory, in practice, a thoughtfully designed map’s flow can suffer once it’s been transformed. That exact thing happened to multiple BF4 maps, so I’m happy that BF6 has focused attention on different mechanics.
As indicated by Battlefield 6’s large maps Labs testing, there are still some “mini-Levolutions” to speak of, with the destructible crane on Mirak Valley blocking movement between two buildings. This could be a healthy compromise where fans of simplified destruction and Levolution are both satisfied.
Battlefield 6 Skipping Levolution May Have Given It The Freedom to Check Other Boxes
While there’s no telling how much time and resources Battlefield Studios will have saved by not reviving Levolution, the 40 hours I spent playing Battlefield 6’s beta made it clear the game has a lot going for it. The new drag and revive mechanic is incredibly immersive, the upcoming sledgehammers and ladders look like game-changers, and the destruction that is in the game is consistently useful while keeping the maps’ identities intact. Even small touches like the landing roll are awesome, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Battlefield Studios not having to get too gimmicky with its destruction is what made those little details possible. While Levolution was all the rage in 2013, and something I have fond memories of, I do think the specialness of it wore off fast and that BF6 is taking the right approach.
Battlefield 6
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- October 10, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-App Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Battlefield Studios
- Publisher(s)
- EA
