
Console Creatures writes, "Battlefield 6's multiplayer is exciting, despite some launch pains, including just nine maps, close-quarter maps that don't require classes, and the rest being impeccably great. I'm having the best time playing with actual people over the bots I mowed down over the review period. It's abundantly clear that the developers knew how much was on the line, and they delivered a game that's incredibly enjoyable to play with others. Watching as an apartment complex gets levelled by a tank or well-placed explosive is hard to match in other shooters, and the tactical elements the series provides are why I've been drawn to it in recent years."

From battle passes to bloated campaigns, modern games increasingly demand labour rather than leisure. Jump Dash Roll asks: when did gaming stop being a way to unwind and start feeling like work?
The writer of this article seemed to come up with the answer that would make him feel better - to play more single player games that aren't overly long.
But then he basically just says that it's not achievable because there is only a "small selection" of them which isn't true. He even mentioned Mass Effect Legendary Edition as if it isn't 3 separate games. In general, he seems to only care about the high budget games which is a mistake.
In the same way that game designers have to stop players from optimising the fun out of a game, some people need to stop doing that with the entire hobby. It's not that serious.
I’ve been gaming for decades, and I have almost entirely shifted to classic gaming and/or 32-bit era titles. Modern games are exhausting to me and the recognition that I will have to put 20, 30, 50, or 100 hours into a game to complete it is completely daunting to me. Gaming for more than two hours at a time today tends to feel either wasteful, lazy, or drudging to me.
I miss the days of shorter 1-3 hour games that could be enjoyed on repeat play throughs… taxing you on your ability to hone skills, learn patterns, and memorize the best paths, with the ability to replay and sharpen those skills to a razor’s edge.
Barring a few examples today, many games don’t even get off the ground in the first hour, and by the time I reach hour 10, I’m usually hoping the game is almost over so that I can play something else.
Just the old musings of a TiredGamer.
Some gamers are wondering if the hobby of gaming is leaving them. In a sense yes. Same as music or movies, there will not always be a comfort era provided for you especially if you have an attachment to a different era of gaming and the philosophy behind that era's quality. Same with film. There was a time when I hated superhero movies, a time I loved them and now I hate watching them again. This happened to me with FPS games. I played MW2019 and Black Ops Cold War like a religion. And now BO7 puts me to sleep. We move on and/or mainstream gaming moves past us.

O'Dell Harmon Jr. writes: "Before we say goodbye to 2025, let’s take a look back and see what were the most downloaded games of the year. It was a great time for sports, shooters, and some new PlayStation VR2 games. Sports favorites topped the charts in US/Canada and EU, with NBA 2K26 and EA Sports FC26, respectively.
Juggernaut GTA V found a home in the top three for both regions, with new 2025 release Battlefield 6 claiming second place in the US. Fortnite took top place for free-to-play games, and Beat Saber continues its PS VR2 success."
It’s funny to watch the only games EU and USA agree on was Minecraft and back ops 7 both regions on 6 and 7 spot respectively other than that FIFA rules EU
I would like to see a list that has both free to play and paid games together, but at least we have this.
To this day GTA5 is a top downloaded game and it makes me wonder if the industry is really ready for GTA6. I imagine almost nothing else will sell during that game's release window.

Battlefield 6 Season 2 will start on February 17, as Season 1 has been extended with the Frostline Bonus Path.