PC Critic Reviews

Battlefield 2042 brings the sandbox back to the series in bold and controversial ways. The new Specialist system might seem like sacrilege at first, but it opens up gameplay opportunities that weren’t possible in previous titles. The massive, well-designed maps offer plenty of room for experimentation and emergent stories, and the modes are a blast. And that’s just All-Out Warfare. Between that, Hazard Zone, and the expansive Battlefield Portal, Battlefield 2042 has something for everyone, without feeling like it’s stretched too thin. It’s a true evolution of the series, one that pushes back against a stagnation that threatened the series’ future. It won’t be for everyone, but for players who crave imagination and fun from their Battlefields, it will give them everything that they crave and more.

Battlefield 2042 is a brave new chapter in the history of the series, full of interesting elements and very well done in many respects. Between the evolution of total warfare, the addition of Hazard Zone and the innovative Portal editor, DICE has done things big, and big is the passion that lies behind this new, monumental shooter.

Being online-only, Battlefield 2042 had to make up for its lack of any single-player content whatsoever with a variety of worthwhile online content. The game’s developers have not only succeeded in that regard, but they have gone above and beyond. All-Out Warfare is a fantastic evolution on the classic Battlefield experience, modernizing the franchise with more scale, spectacle, and ways to play than ever before. Battlefield Portal and Hazard Zone likewise shine in their own regards, with the former proving that it can serve as the base for players to create their own unique experiences within 2042. If any future Battlefield title omits these two modes, I might consider them incomplete.

Battlefield 2042 does everything expected of it and more. Not content with fully succeeding in its traditional multi-pan, this opus has the luxury of offering additional gigantic and highly qualitative content to players. Portal mode seems ready to keep all of its promises and allow the creation of various modes whether they are crazy or competitive. Hazard Zone, on the other hand, succeeds in unexpected situations and offers a particularly successful reading of the game in squads. Beautiful as a truck, generous, modular and damn fun to play, 2042 is neither more nor less than one of the best games of the license.

All in all, these are minor points to one of the best Battlefields we’ve had in a while. It’s rekindled my excitement for the series for sure. With new modes like Hazard Zone and the ability to play old games like Bad Company 2 remastered, the game is full of content, even without single-player. If you’ve been thinking of diving into BF, whether it is your return or a first in the series, Battlefield 2042 might be exactly what you were looking for.

What Battlefield 2042 lacks in a single-player campaign, it makes up for in the sheer amount of content that it delivers to fans from all generations of the series. It’s a walk down memory lane that provides hours of that Battlefield action that you’d expect. You may have to spend a few of those understanding the UI and gun customization features, but with the inclusion of Hazard Zone and Portal, the possibilities of enjoyment here are endless.

Battlefield 2042 is an excellent effort and filled with a ton of competitive multiplayer content at launch with much more planned in the near future. There are some technical issues such as respawns and visual bugs to sort out, and some game modes and specialists might need some tweaks, but DICE is off to a great start and Battlefield 2042 should likely be relevant and popular for years to come.

Battlefield 2042 surprised me more than it disappointed me. Some of the attempts are not successful and the bugs and balance are a bit unbearable, but the unpredictable battlefield, the mode full of memories, coupled with this hell of war and time and space, still make me fascinated.

It’s not without its issues, but Battlefield 2042 is off to a fantastic start for DICE’s beloved series. All-Out Warfare modes are immersive, Hazard Zone is enjoyable while Battlefield Portal steals the show. There’s a lot to love here, and I’m excited to see where the game goes.

While the lack of a single-player campaign is a hard pill to swallow, Battlefield 2042 really has others strong arguments. Be able to play with 128 players in the Conquest and Breakthrough modes is obviously very good news, the game becoming more "massively multiplayer" and more spectacular, helped in this by an always impressive Frostbite engine.