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

It’s been a long time since it felt like DICE understood what made Battlefield special. The series has always focused on massive fights across huge maps, but since 2011’s release of Battlefield 3, it’s felt like Battlefield was chasing the coattails 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 series’ roots again with Battlefield 2042This is a good thing. This entry may not reach the same heights as previous entries. Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Oder Battlefield 3, but it’s the most distinct and interesting the series has felt in years — at least, when it’s not getting in its own way.

Battlefield 2042DICE Interactive and Ripple Effect developed ‘. It is available in multiplayer and offers three modes: All-out War (or Hazard Zone), Portal, or Portal.

All-out War, while the two new modes may be new to the series is still a classic Battlefield experience. Conquest allows teams to take over and control certain areas. Breakthrough lets you attack the opposing team’s capture points in a series of sequential attacks. On PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X up to 128 people can compete in either game mode. Last-gen consoles only allow 64 players.

Image: DICE/Electronic Arts

It’s possible to stage epic battles between massive teams within vast settings. Battlefield 2042 comes close to some of the series’ highest watermarks — a feat few of the recent entries and even fewer other franchises can boast. You will find dozens and even hundreds of people firing at one time, as well as dozens or smaller skirmishes blending into each other. It’s chaotic and dazzling in a way few other shooters can be.

It doesn’t hurt that the game is absolutely gorgeous. You can also get random weather effects, such as rainstorms or sandstorms. These all help to add visual chaos to firefights. The effects can occasionally be a bit disorienting, but it’s always enjoyable since players remain pretty easy to spot — thanks to some clever visual tricks, like cutting out flashy particles and clearing away non-essential shrubbery.

Unfortunately, one side effect to Battlefield 2042’s massive maps, which feel much larger than their counterparts from earlier games, is that they can take a little too long to cross on foot. A few Conquest matches, especially on Hourglass’ desert map, left me feeling as though I was participating in battle royale. After distant gunfire from far-off players, I found that all the action had moved to another location by the time my turn came around. While a little downtime is good for the match’s pace, this battlefield game often became boring.

Talk about battle royales 2042’s new attachment system feels like it could have been ripped right out of PUBG, and it’s one of the highlights of this entry. With it, players can customize their weapons with several attachments in each slot — different sights or silencers, to name a couple — then adjust them on the fly during gameplay. This means you can use a long-range scope on your rifle while you’re wandering the mountains, but swap to a red-dot sight when you come upon a few buildings that need to be cleared out. It’s a simple feature, but it gives you the feeling of having an inventory of tricks at your disposal without overcomplicating the game. This makes every day feel more exciting.

Image via DICE/Electronic Arts

This is the biggest problem with 2042’s traditional Battlefield modes was how often frustrating technical glitches popped up during my time with the game.

These impressions were taken during a remote review of the game that took place over three days hosted by EA/DICE. Each block featured a specific mode. Matchmaking was not perfect and many players, including myself, experienced crashes. There were also issues with enemy players disappearing in mid-fight and sliding down dozens upon dozens of metres at random. Also, the warzone was littered with fake bodies that made it difficult to find real enemies.

It’s entirely possible that all of these bugs were issues with our early build of the game — DICE said it would put out one more patch between our version and the Early Access version that will be released on Nov. 12. As of the build I played, these issues weren’t necessarily game-breaking. They were frustrating and a constant source of frustration. At least one showed up in every match.

The event also left the game’s progression unclear. There are 22 available weapons Battlefield 2042You will find dozens upon dozens attachments that can be used to unlock vehicles, special equipment, and other useful tools. Our review accounts got access from the very beginning to these items, making it difficult to estimate how long it will take to unlock them.

Image by DICE/Electronic Arts

As for Battlefield’s new modes, the event left even more questions. In Hazard Zone, several squads are dropped into a small portion of the game’s regular maps to retrieve data drives and earn credits, which can be used to temporarily purchase better Hazard Zone gear in future matches. The AI squads that guard these drives earn credit for killing. While extracting is the best way to earn the most credits, only two match extraction squads are allowed to do so. The actual extractions take several hours. Although each match is considered risky due to this, credits stack up quickly.

Here’s the thing, though: Battlefield 2042 doesn’t have its own voice chat — at least, not yet. EA and DICE split players into teams and provided Discord channels. DICE claims that voice chat will be added after launch. However, as of the time this is being written, nobody has yet confirmed this.

While this isn’t great for the regular modes, it makes Hazard Zone, an otherwise exciting mode focused on communication and teamwork, extremely frustrating for solo players and duos. The game does include a ping system, but it’s overly complicated to the point of being ineffectual, requiring several submenus to select anything that’s actually informative for your allies. Hazard Zone will be fun only with already-formed squads.

Image by DICE/Ripple effect/Electronic Arts

The game’s third major mode, Portal, functions as more of a “Battlefield medley.” DICE set up matches for us that included a VIP mode (which equipped one team with weapons from Battlefield: Bad Company 2.And the other one with weapons Battlefield 1942There were two modes that are free for all (one which was faster and one that allowed everyone to use rocket launchers, but we had to jump 5 times to recharge our weapons). While robust in their own right, none of these options felt suited to Battlefield at all, and weren’t terribly fun.

Portal also features more straightforward matches that import the older games’ rulesets directly. With this, you can now play on maps like Caspian Border. Battlefield 3’s exact weapons and rules. These classic matchmaking modes will also be made available by DICE and community members. While I can’t exactly call Portal fun yet, it does serve as a historical reminder of where the series came from, and how great it can be.

There’s still nothing quite like being in the middle of a massive firefight with dozens of players, while jets strafe the ground around you, and a tank rumbles over a hilltop only 50 feet away. DICE is on the lookout for that Battlefield magic since more than 10 years. Battlefield 2042It is very close. However, 2042So far it’s not much beyond this. It doesn’t feel like a real step forward for the franchise, or a meaningful update on a 20-year old formula. As of now, I’m still waiting for that next big leap.

Battlefield 2042 Early Access will release on November 12th, followed by full availability on Nov. 19, on Windows PCs, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Xbox Series X and Xbox One. Electronic Arts hosted a press conference where the game was played on PC. Vox Media is an affiliate partner. Although these partnerships do not impact editorial content, Vox Media could earn commissions on products sold via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here