Really, there is no shooting game like Battlefield. Indeed, when it comes to delivering mayhem on such a massive scale, no other series comes close to Battlefield. More GTA than Call of Duty, the beauty of DICE’s big-map squad-based FPS has always been in how its players interact with the many toys in the sandbox, throwing toys at each other like instrumental toddlers. The results are often both interesting and spectacular.
Played Battlefield 2042 last week and if you know where to look for these magical moments, you can still find them. My team and I squeezed into an elevator, climbed about 60 floors to the roof of a skyscraper, silently waited for the door to open, then loudly wiped out the other two teams, captured this point, and parachuted down to better capture the other team. I was sprinting through the sandstorm, the vehicle jolted in the air and debris ripped through the air, only to cross the other side and see a flaming helicopter hovering toward my face. I giggled and gaped as the giant map around me spun into the wheels of the Katherine Massacre.
In some ways, Battlefield 2042 is a celebration of it all. A major component of its three-part offering is Portal, a mode that shrinks and gives players a sandbox to play by themselves. Here’s a selection of classic maps from Battlefield 1942, Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3, with rules and action sets drawn from each title. Mix and match however you want, pit massive WWII soldiers against squads equipped with modern gear, or just stick with the old loyalists: use Bad Company 2’s tools and rules for a round of Rush at Arica Harbor, or conquer at Noshahr Canals Battlefield 3 toy box.
It’s not just a nostalgic urge to play with these beloved old toys, all now polished to a modern sheen. It’s a reminder of the potency of Battlefield’s formula, the reason many players endure the series’ sometimes bumpy patches, and the reason it has always maintained such a strong community. Placed next to Total War mode, where you’ll find Battlefield 2042’s new toy and trick kit, as well as five huge new maps supporting 128 players across Conquest and Breakthrough modes, you’ll see exactly what’s in the series The formula has changed. Some of these changes are a little weird.
The headliners are expert, heroic characters who bring their own unique abilities to the battlefield while replacing the old class system, and perhaps the biggest surprise is that their lasting impact is so small. Loosely building on existing classes, they introduce some neat wrinkles – as someone who prefers to play support, I’m a fan of Casper’s scouting options and Falck’s ranged healing abilities – but they seem to hinder balancing squads rather than enhancing them. The degrees of freedom you get are great, but given the limited number of weapons at launch loadout, it’s quickly merged until every build feels pretty much the same.
The system has room to focus, but right now it feels like one of many vague design decisions. After more than 20 hours of using Battlefield 2042, the removal of the scoreboard is still a pain point. I know it’s to encourage teamwork and discourage lone wolves, but it’s antithetical to the camaraderie and competition that arises when you spend a night on any particular server, seeing the same username at the end of your eye or being caught by the same Skinny-knit team. The lack of in-game voice chat, while understandable, seems to run counter to the teamwork necessary to enjoy a game like Battlefield.
In Total War, the map also sometimes seems to run counter to an enjoyable battlefield experience. Undoubtedly, only 128 players means that Battlefield 2042 can go head-to-head with the big battle royale game in terms of marketing points, but these vast spaces only exacerbate the problems newbies tend to have in the series ; you run endlessly from point to point without much movement in between, only to be sniped cleanly once you hit the target and you’re forced to sprint endlessly again.
Of course formations by default help, as does the ability to drop vehicles (including a truly destructive hovercraft that can bypass entire mobs and even expand skyscrapers – one of the most powerful additions to Battlefield in years) one). There are some great tools in All-Out Warfare, like a cross-menu that lets you customize your weapon on the fly, quickly changing sights and attachments to best suit the situation. It feels and works – after a patch fixed some of the issues with the early release experience – in a decent way, and even if the near-future settings give it a somewhat anonymous aesthetic, it’s still able to offer some real spectacle.
It’s a pity that it’s very rare now. The agile movement you’ll find on classic maps in Portal mode contrasts with the gentle pace of Total War. In fact, the most interesting thing about the modern toolset is in Hazard Zone, where Escape from Tarkov inspired a squad-based mode that brings teams together with AI adversaries as you battle to retrieve and extract packets. When it all comes together, it’s a tense and very enjoyable thing, although I’m not sure it currently has the stickiness to be a lasting prospect or steal players from any of its competitors.
In fact, I’m not sure if there’s anything in Battlefield 2042 that would make new players switch to the series – Danger Zone was fun but limited, and Total War had too many issues at launch to be worth it invest. Obviously, Portal is where the old battlefield magic is, and it’s the brightest. There’s a catch, though, that the more player crafting modes and mods are introduced, the thinner the player base will be. With 128 slots to fill its many modes, this is a game hungry for players, and it already feels like some modes won’t be sustainable. For a game that’s widely available with a 10-hour trial, I’ve come across some worryingly lonely matches where the emptiness of these maps is only compounded.
Not to mention, of course, the bugs and glitches that still occur frequently even after the first day of patching. Unfortunately, when it comes to new battlegrounds, they’re part of the territory, and returning fans will be familiar with some things, but may be off-putting to newcomers. There’s a good chance there will be a smoother experience after the first few rounds of patches, but considering how competitive the first-person shooter arena is, it may be too late. This isn’t the only problem Battlefield 2042 faces, either.
For its breadth and scope, Battlefield 2042 feels like the most chaotic, compromising, and confusing entry in the series to date — a game that’s more troubled than the likes of Battlefield 4 because The more real problems faced by the release of . It’s possible, though, that DICE could do what it’s proven to do well in the past, with both Battlefield 4 and Battlefield 2 facing their own controversies. There are enough moments of ancient magic in Battlefield 2042 — paired with some clever but unrefined new ideas — to suggest that with a little skill and focus, it could have a promising future. For now, though, it boils down to yet another slightly botched Battlefield launch — at least this time it’s screwed up in new and interesting ways.
