EA and DICE’s highly anticipated, Battlefield 2042’s open-beta started today for pre-orderers, EA Access members, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members, giving them a taste of what is to be expected from the game at its full launch, with all other players being able to jump into the action on Friday (Oct 8th) and play till Saturday (Oct 9th).

The beta is heavily limited in what it divulges to players but manages to show that the formula of what makes older BF titles great is still there and can blend in with their new ideas seamlessly.

Gameplay

The gameplay is both hit and miss for me. I love the direction of where things are going, as it’s the best of both worlds. The best way I can describe it is that it’s basically a new and improved version of Battlefield 4 to a degree. There’s the sense of scale that the maps had, tense and action-packed choke-points, and the ability to pull off action-hero feats.

The modern-themed BF titles offered a sort of fictional action that no other franchise has been able to pull off. There’s nothing quite like jumping off of a building, pulling your parachute as your drop toward an oncoming enemy vehicle, landing while the driver ejects, and then having a standoff that leaves your enemy mortally wounded. It’s the stuff that makes this series great.

I think DICE really ran with that idea as there’s just so much more to play with this time around. Traversal is improved with the game giving you more freedom than ever before. You’re almost able to pull off a bit of parkour in some cases. Not a Mirror’s Edge type of thing but you are able to jump from ledge to ledge and pull yourself up if it’s feasible.

There are many more verticle ziplines as well as horizontal ones that’ll carry you from one structure to another. This plays in well with the action stunts too. I think I spent most of my time in the beta screwing around with what was possible to do as there’s just so much. The last thing, you have gotta use the grappling hook. It’s so fun just to play around with and I promise that you’ll love experimenting with it like a modern combat Batman.

Another cool aspect about the game so far is the fact that classes and load-outs are independent of each other. By that I mean, you can be a recon type of class with the appropriate gadgets, but carry a loadout with an SMG for instance. Or be a medic with a sniper rifle. It’s cool things like that that made the beta so cool to me. I like the idea of getting to play as the complete soldier you want to be.

Going along with that idea, BF2042 allows you to change your weapons’ attachments on the fly while running around. Having that chance to change your equipment in real-time is pretty amazing, at least in my eyes. You can change grips, scopes, and a whole range of different attachments. This digs its heels into that playground feel and I love it.

Expectations

The beta kind of let me down, firstly, on the offerings as far as maps and modes go. Players are only given the conquest mode and the Coastal map. Coastal is a decent map and its dynamic changes are pretty cool, but I really wish that they’d given us something more eventful. It just feels like EA played it safe on this beta. One map and one mode don’t really do it for me at all. I’d also say that the map is a bit bland. We’ve seen island-set maps done to death in this franchise. I’m hoping that the final game isn’t over-encumbered by design choices like this.

Besides that, the game is hit hard by bugs in various ways. The spawn selector is buggy, there are constant visual bugs where the world tears apart or the lighting gets funky, guns have almost no recoil, some guns have no vibrating feedback, elevators are a glitchy mess, ground vehicles feel weightless and bouncy, and you can’t even take game captures on Xbox.

I’m hoping that these issues get iron out quickly as the game releases in just over a month and has already been delayed once. Seeing all of these issues makes me wonder if the game outta be delayed at least once more. I’d hate to have another fiasco like the one that plagued the beginning of BF4’s release.

Aside from that, I’m hoping to see this game lean even more into its fictional and action-filled take on combat as well as show us some more inspired maps to play in. It’s easy to just keep making island maps over and over, it’s harder to think of more adventurous ones with new and interesting design choices.

Verdict

The open beta for Battlefield 2042 definitely shows promise for the game that’s incoming next month. What I have to fear for though is if the game’s performance will be up to snuff. Judging by the bugs at hand, there’s a road ahead it seems. Bugs aside, the game offers a BF4 2.0 feel, which is exactly what I wanted to see from this title. I’ll be eagerly waiting for the game’s release to see if EA and DICE can deliver big for their players.