I’m not happy that I have to write about Battlefield 6‘s new map, Eastwood. I’d rather be playing it. I’ve already put around five hours into the map in a single night, and I’m here to say: It good.
On November 18, Battlefield 6‘s latest major season one update landed on all platforms. It added a new game mode, Sabotage, which is too small and not very good. But more importantly, it added a whole new map. And unlike the last map added earlier this month, the dreadful Blackwell Fields, this big new warzone set in a rich California suburb is amazing, providing the perfect blend of open warfare and close-quarters chaos that makes good Battlefield maps so damn enjoyable.
First off, Eastwood is big. Or at least it feels big. I’m sure if you were to take it and compare it directly with other maps from past Battlefield games, it wouldn’t appear massive. Heck, I’m not even sure it’s the biggest map in Battlefield 6. But raw acreage isn’t the key to making a map feel big.
Instead, what Eastwood does is provide lots of spaces to play around in and a variety of locales to destroy. While playing on Eastwood you’ll run into multiple houses with fully explorable interiors, pools, and garages; a large golf course complete with a fancy clubhouse; undeveloped sections of nature; and more. Crossing Eastwood on foot or in a vehicle just feels like such a journey because you’ll pass by so many different locations and landmarks. That helps it feel big.
That variety also makes the map a blast to play. The first night it was in the game, my pals and I played it non-stop for nearly five hours. And I never got bored because matches often felt like smaller battles spread across different tiny maps. Perhaps, at first, we’d fight hard in the dense suburbs, going house to house and dodging tanks. Later, we’d be assaulting the clubhouse in drivable golf carts and avoiding snipers. And we might end the match in a tank war up near the hills as our allies flank via the golf course.
Eastwood has quickly become one of my favorite Battlefield 6 maps and already feels like a classic map that people will talk about years from now. This new level also makes me excited for Battlefield 6‘s future. It shows that the teams working on the game can make maps that feel big and dense, and offer loads of exciting locales in which to fight. More of this, please.
