Battlefield 2042 Open Beta impressions: The first taste

Undoubtedly one of the biggest releases on the 2021 calendar, Battlefield 2042 has a lot of eyes on it as the official launch date draws closer. Ahead of the launch in November, EA and DICE will be offering players a chance to get some hands-on time with the near-future shooter as part of an Open Beta event. I was offered the opportunity to access the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta ahead of the public and got my first chance to see if DICE’s latest can live up to the lofty expectations.

A storm is brewing

When Battlefield 2042 arrives next month, players will be greeted with the choice of three main game modes — All-Out Warfare, Hazard Zone, and Battlefield Portal. For the Open Beta, all players will be funneled into the All-Out Warfare mode. This mode offers large-scale battles in either classic Conquest mode or Breakthrough, first made popular in Battlefield 1. The Open Beta is limited to a single map, Orbital, in Conquest mode. The game client is quick to launch and matchmaking into a game during the special press event was very snappy.

I was auto-assigned a squad as I entered the server and was greeted to the deployment screen. For those who have played a recent Battlefield title, this screen will be fairly straightforward. From here, you can choose a specific specialist class or a default loadout kit, plus make changes to weapon or equipment specifics. The map will be divided into several sectors that teams must attempt to hold away from the opposing team. You can choose to spawn on a capture point, your team’s home base, or with your squad leader.

Upon my first deployment into Conquest on Orbital, things got intense so quickly that it was nearly impossible to believe it wasn’t scripted. I moved my mouse to look around and see if my sensitivity settings were adequate and I saw a large chopper spinning wildly and it raced across my field of view and then slammed into the side of a rocky hill, erupting in flames. Then, another player on an all-terrain vehicle nearly ran me over and I glanced to my left side, only to catch the rocket (which serves as the de facto centerpiece of Orbital) starting its liftoff procedure. 

Thick bursts of rocket exhaust, dust, and debris are ejected violently from the launch pad in all directions. The smoke particles look similar to other alpha smoke effects I’ve seen in other games, except in Battlefield 2042, the amount you see on screen and how fluid its movement looks is bewildering. Folks who played Battlefield 1 and remember the spectacle of the zeppelin encounters (and their breathtaking combustion) will have a decent idea of what DICE is capable of when it comes to flashy setpieces. Because I was standing there with my mouth open like a noob, a tank shell removed me from the realm of the living. I deserved that.

I respawned into the match as one of the specialists, Maria Flack. She has a special gun that can heal teammates and is capable of reviving players with full health. I ran around trying to play support with her as I began to get acclimated to how the game moves and feels. I was able to revive a few people, but the process takes much longer than in previous Battlefield games and got me killed when I didn’t ensure I had adequate cover. I swapped around the various default kit loadouts and settled on the Engineer kit as it had a semi-auto rifle and anti-tank measures. I assumed I could help take out the crazy amount of hardware flying around the map, but without much success. The few times I did get some kills, I quickly realized they were bots. Bots will fill in all the empty slots in a server that real players don’t. To no one’s surprise, real people are deadlier than the bots. I’ll need lots more practice.

I cannot offer any real insights into how well the gunplay, map design, vehicles, and other parts will work as a whole as the play session was too short. As with any multiplayer game, you can’t learn much in the first couple of matches, but I left with a generally positive vibe. The map itself felt really big, so much so that it felt pointless to move between capture points on foot. The total lack of cover and long distances between caps made me feel like a sitting duck at times. 

I initially felt helpless as I wasn’t familiar with the various ways to quickly traverse ground, but I did see other players hopping off buildings and doing all sorts of your typical Battlefield tomfoolery. I am sure as I get more time in, the map won’t feel as hopelessly big. That said, DICE explained that Orbital was not one of the larger maps, leading me to finally understand that Battlefield 2042 is all about going big. I don’t know how it will affect balance, but the people clamoring for bigger battles will get their wish.

On the visual side of things, 2042 feels more like an evolution of Battlefield 4 than a generational leap. Battlefield 1 and 5 offered some lavish detours into the World Wars, but modern combat is back on the menu again. All of the graphical effects are stepped up over Battlefield 4, but thanks to the aggressive teal/orange color grading and the zany number of post-processed weather effects, it can be difficult to spot fine details while playing. Even at 4K resolution, the overall image felt soft. I also noticed some oddities like ghosting of my weapon’s outline when moved against a high-contrast background. Individually, none of these things are a big deal, but Battlefield games usually set the standard for graphical technology at release. Hopefully, 2042 will carry that tradition.

What is different from Battlefield 4 is the scale. This franchise has always been known for having bigger maps and battles than the competition, but 2042 chooses to leverage the power of next-gen consoles to make maps bigger, add more players, and ratchet up the classic Battlefield insanity.

Enlist yourself

This week, EA and DICE are opening up Battlefield 2042 so the public can finally see what the fuss is about. The Open Beta session will begin October 6 for those who pre-ordered the game or have an active EA Play subscription. The Open Beta will expand to include all players on October 8 and will conclude the following day. Interested parties can access the Open Beta via the PSN Store on PlayStation consoles, the Microsoft Store for Xbox consoles, and either Steam, Origin, or Epic Games Store for the PC version. See if you can round up 127 of your closest friends and try to launch a rocket (or blow it up!).

These impressions were based on early access to the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta on PC. The session was made available by the publisher for coverage consideration.

Chris Jarrard

Contributing Tech Editor

Chris Jarrard likes playing games, crankin' tunes, and looking for fights on obscure online message boards. He understands that breakfast food is the only true food. Don't @ him.