Battlefield 2042 Beta Review
Battlefield 2042 is set to release in November, but the open beta became available this weekend. As a long time fan of the franchise, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My first concern was if current gen consoles (Xbox one, PS4) would be able to handle the capacity required to play it. And I was shocked the game performed well on my Xbox One console. The game does perform much better on the newest consoles and PC, so take that into consideration throughout the review. Here’s the good, bad and ugly about the Battlefield 2042 Beta.
The Good
One of the things Battlefield games are known for is their astounding graphics, destructible environments, and massive scale (32 v 32)- and this game definitely delivers on all three. Two new features in Battlefield 2042 are “in field vehicle call ins” and “in field weapon customization.” This gives players the ability to call in vehicles directly to the player which speeds up the pace of play. And you now have the option to change attachments while virtually in the middle of a gunfight which I’ve never seen in a first person shooter.
The amount of customization, even with the few weapons and operators we have access to, made the game feel refreshing even after playing one map and gamemode for hours on end. Being able to edit your loadout while you’re on the field lets you control the range of engagements. The gun play feels smooth, with a surprising lack of recoil and “bullet drop” relative to past titles in the franchise. The game seems to reward accuracy and headshots feel really satisfying.
Bad
Visibility in this game is a big issue. It’s sometimes difficult to see player models around certain textures. Another issue is that everyone in the game can only be four different operators, which makes it impossible to tell if someone is a teammate or enemy. The buttons to edit your class setup can get confusing but you can adjust eventually. The Heads Up Display (HUD) gets in your line of sight and makes it tough to hit enemies.
Emptiness of the map was another issue. You can call in vehicles, but only if they’re available. Sometimes you can run around for five minutes to get into an engagement just to instantly die. I recommend playing the objective points to get into as many firefights as possible so it’s not boring.
Ugly
Bugs, bugs, and more bugs. While the game overall performed well there were a ton of minor visual hiccups. I understand this is the beta version, but it’s jarring to see planes go through the ground or have your player model fall through the map. As far as crashing that has only happened to me once or twice so it wasn’t a big deal. Some of the bugs have been legacy issues since Battlefield 4’s beta. Of course they should be smoothed out at launch, but we don’t know yet.
Conclusion:
Battlefield 2042’s beta was a blast to play when the game functioned as intended. In its current state I’d rate it a 7/10. The new features give you a variety of options to explore the massive map and help to give yourself a strategic advantage in a gunfight. But at the end of the day, it’s just Battlefield. It does some things to appeal to fans of casual FPS games like Call of Duty, but overall it keeps to its core “Battlefield” theme. I’d recommend any fan of first person shooters to give this game a shot when it officially comes out and you might be surprised.
