Battlefield 2042 initial review: a step below the series’ high points

It’s been a long time since I felt like DICE understood what made Battlefield special. The series has always focused on massive fights on huge maps, but since the 2011 release of Battlefield 3It seems like Battlefield was chasing the tailcoats of every other popular shooter franchise, from Call of Duty to Payday. But after nearly a decade in the wilderness, DICE has finally started to find the roots of the series again with Battlefield 2042. It may not reach the maximums of previous entries like Battlefield Bad Company 2 or Battlefield 3But it’s the most different and interesting thing the series has felt in years, at least when it doesn’t get in its own way.

Battlefield 2042, developed by DICE Interactive and Ripple Effect, technically looks more like three games (or at least game concepts) in one package. The game is multiplayer only, but offers three main modes: Total War, Danger Zone, and Portal.

While the last two modes are new to the series, All-out War feels like the classic Battlefield experience. It includes Conquest, a type of game where teams have to capture and hold certain areas, and Breakthrough, where a team attacks sequential capture points and opponents defend them. In any mode, up to 128 players (on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, with only 64 possible players on next-gen consoles) battle it out on expansive maps with all kinds of vehicular support from planes, helicopters, tanks and armored vehicles from personal transportation.

In terms of staging epic fights between huge teams in sprawling environments, Battlefield 2042 comes close to some of the highest watermarks in the series, a feat that some of the recent entries and even fewer other franchises can boast about. The fights are exciting, with dozens of players firing at once and dozens of small skirmishes bleeding each other out. It’s chaotic and dazzling in a way that few shooters can be.

It doesn’t hurt that the game is absolutely magnificent. There are a number of random weather effects like rainstorms, sandstorms, and even tornadoes, which add to the visual chaos of gunfights. The effects can be a bit disorienting at times, but it’s always nice as players are still pretty easy to spot, thanks to some clever visual tricks like cutting off flashy particles and removing non-essential bushes.

An unfortunate side effect of Battlefield 2042Massive maps, which feel much larger than their previous game counterparts, is that they can take too long to cross on foot. There were a few Conquest matches, particularly on the Hourglass desert map, which made me feel like I was playing a battle royale game, following distant bursts of gunfire and distant players, only to find that the action had moved elsewhere. by the time I arrived. A certain amount of downtime can do wonders for the pace of a Battlefield game, but here it often turns into utter boring.

Speaking of Battle Royales: 2042The new attachment system looks like it could have been ripped straight out of PUBG, and it’s one of the highlights of this post. With it, players can customize their weapons with various accessories in each slot (different sights or silencers, to name a couple) and then adjust them on the fly during gameplay. This means that you can use a long-range scope on your rifle while roaming the mountains, but switch to a red dot sight when you come across some buildings that need to be cleaned. It’s a simple feature, but it gives you the feeling of having an inventory of cheats at your disposal without overly complicating the game. It makes each individual life feel more like an adventure.

The biggest problem with 2042Traditional Battlefield modes were the frequency with which frustrating glitches appeared during my time with the game.

All of these impressions of the game come from a three-day remote review event that was hosted by EA and DICE. The event was divided into specific blocks where we play certain modes. However, the matchmaking had several issues and more than a few players (myself included) encountered multiple crashes. On top of that, there were issues of enemy players disappearing in the middle of the fight, sliding dozens of meters across the ground at random, or dying and freezing in running animations, filling the war zone with dozens of fake corpses that they made. that finding real enemies was not welcome. additional challenge.

It’s very possible that all of these bugs were problems with our initial build of the game; DICE said it would release one more patch between our version and the Early Access version that will be released on November 12. , these problems were not necessarily a deal breaker. But they were a frequent source of frustration, and at least one of them showed up at every match.

The event also did not make the progression of the game clear. There are 22 weapons in Battlefield 2042, with dozens of accessories for each, as well as vehicle unlocks, gear for each unique Specialist, and more. But our review accounts got access to all of these things early on, so it was hard to get an idea of ​​how long it will actually take to unlock new items.

As for the new Battlefield modes, the event left even more questions. In Hazard Zone, various squads are placed on a small portion of the game’s regular maps to retrieve data units and earn credits, which can be used to temporarily purchase better Hazard Zone gear in future games. Protecting these units are AI squads, whose players earn credits for killing. Extraction will earn you as many credits as possible, but only two squads can mine each match, and the extractions themselves take several minutes to arrive. This is designed to make each game risky, but the credits seem to add up pretty quickly.

However, here’s the thing: Battlefield 2042 doesn’t have its own voice chat, at least not yet. During the event, EA and DICE divided players into pre-made squads and offered them Discord channels. According to DICE, there are plans to add voice chat after launch, but as of this writing, no one has confirmed to me when this could happen.

While this is not good for normal modes, it makes Hazard Zone, an exciting mode focused on communication and teamwork, extremely frustrating for solo players and duos. The game includes a ping system, but it is too complicated to the point of being ineffective, requiring several submenus to select anything that is really informative for your allies. So for the moment, Hazard Zone seems like a mode that will only be fun with pre-made squads.

The third main mode of the game, Portal, works like a “battlefield medley”. DICE prepared games for us that included a VIP mode (which equipped a team with weapons of Battlefield Bad Company 2 and the other with weapons of Battlefield 1942) and two free-for-all modes (one that was supposed to be extra fast and one that gave everyone rocket launchers but forced us to jump five times to reload). While they’re robust in their own right, neither of these options felt right for Battlefield at all and it wasn’t much fun.

Portal also features easier matches that import rule sets from older games directly. This allows you to play on maps like Caspian Border with Battlefield 3They are the exact weapons and rules. All of these classic modes, along with some custom community games and made by DICE (hopefully some that are more interesting than the ones we play), will be available at launch for standard matchmaking on Portal, along with a server browser. If you wish. look for something more eclectic. While I can’t say exactly that Portal is fun yet, it does serve as a historical reminder of where the series comes from and just how great it can be.

There’s still nothing quite like being in the middle of a mass firefight with dozens of players, as planes bombard the ground around you and a tank rumbles atop a hill just 50 feet away. DICE has been searching for that old Battlefield magic for over a decade, and Battlefield 2042 is very close. But 2042, so far at least, it rarely manages to be much more than that. It doesn’t feel like a real step up for the franchise, or a significant upgrade on a 20-year formula. As of now, I’m still waiting for the next big leap.

Battlefield 2042 It will be released in Early Access on November 12 and in its entirety on November 19 on Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Xbox One. The game was reviewed on PC during a press event hosted by Electronic Arts . Vox Media has affiliate associations. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information on Polygon’s ethics policy here.