Battlefield 6 Nightfall plunges Season 2 into darkness as the shooter's ratings fall

EA will be hoping that Battlefield 6 Season 2: Nightfall is able to recover some of the shooter's lost momentum, and it's turning to the dark side to do so. The second of the three major updates that make up BF6 Season 2, Nightfall introduces darkness and low-visibility mechanics into both the mainline multiplayer game and its Redsec spin-off. With its big launch success now in the rear-view mirror, Steam reviews have been gradually sliding downwards as rivals like Arc Raiders eat BF6's lunch, and now they've slipped into the 'mixed' rating, with just 69% of players recommending the game.

The Battlefield 6 Nightfall update is a chance to reverse that downwards momentum. Its new map, Hagental Base, promises "gripping underground close-quarters combat" through its twisting tunnels. The focus is on infantry combat and squad tactics here, with the ability to break through walls to flank the enemy, or cause ceiling cave-ins to gain the upper hand. Battlefield Studios has cited the likes of Operation Metro as a key inspiration for its design, which immediately sparks my interest.

Also ramping up the stakes is the new Nightfall playlist, which combines Team Deathmatch, Squad Deathmatch, and Domination on the latest map. The vast majority of Hagental Base's lights are malfunctioning, forcing large sections of the map into near-impenetrable darkness. Bring NVGs and flashlights to ensure that you can outsmart your enemies. Redsec gets its own Gauntlet: Nightfall playlist that makes use of similar mechanics.

Redsec is introducing a new underground sector of its own. The plain-sounding Defense Testing Complex 3 is actually a secret chemical testing facility located below Fort Lyndon, and it's another tunnel network packed with "high-stakes close-quarters combat," along with notably higher-rarity loot drops. Also coming to Redsec is the Red Bull Supermoto limited-time event where eight players compete around three knockout rounds to win Red Bull-branded in-game rewards.

The M1030-M1 and TM/O 450 dirt bikes are a pair of two-seater options offering speed and maneuverability. On the weapon side, you'll find the CZ3A1, a high rate-of-fire SMG, and the vz.61 Skorpion, which joins the BF6 lineup of fully automatic sidearms. Both are perfect for the up-close encounters introduced in Nightfall. Elsewhere, helicopter landing stability has been improved, vehicle camera behavior is refined, there's 'deturtling' functionality to flip an upside-down light transport back onto its right side, and tanks can brake a little more reliably.

Dig through the rest of the patch notes and you'll find a pretty significant nerf to Anti-Tank Mines in an attempt to counter the map-covering spam. They're now limited to six active mines per player, and will despawn three minutes after the person who puts them down is eliminated. You're also now able to use the Portable Mortar in HQ areas, with "improved minimap visibility and direct-hit effectiveness," which should result in it seeing more use. I'm not sure how I feel about that one, but we'll watch how it plays out.

Networking optimizations and a higher number of damage events processed promise better hit registration. The 'drag and revive' now lets you change stance faster, and should feel more responsive. There's also a new-look XP curve, which promises a "reduced XP requirement that's about twice as fast in the early ranks and 15% faster in total." On top of this, the experience required for sidearm ranks specifically has been further dropped by an average of 60%.

Battlefield 6 Nightfall launches on Tuesday March 17 at 2am PDT / 5am EDT / 9am GMT / 10am CET. The game will also be offering a free-to-play trial across four maps and six modes from the update's launch until Tuesday March 24.

The grand highs of Battlefield 6's launch feel a long way behind us now. EA recently outlined to its employees that a "realignment" across Battlefield Studios will result in an unspecified number of layoffs. It'd be a tremendous shame to see a game with so much early promise fall into disrepair, so hopefully Nightfall delivers the shot in the arm it needs to get back in the fight.