Three years after a Battlefield V rather convincing (except for its historical fidelity) and eight years after a Battlefield 4 based on modern warfare (with a Battlefield 1 between the two… don’t look), DICE marks its big comeback with Battlefield 2042. A return all the more powerful in a semi-futuristic war since this exclusively multiplayer title promises to be the most ambitious of the series. Before opening for some of the open beta today, a few chosen ones including your humble soldier were able to try their hand at it. A successful comeback? Here are some answers.
For three hours, hundreds of content creators and specialized journalists were able to preview the content of the open beta on PC. Namely the only and massive Orbital map, as well as four Sans-Patries, DICE's new approach to the sacrosanct classes of Battlefield. The opportunity to put the mechanics of the game and its servers to the test before you too can join this conflict in the not so distant and imaginary future.
A new “Battlefield-style graphic slap”?
First reflex coming from the habit on an FPS, and in particular a Battlefield, a passage through very complete options was essential before throwing oneself into the action. History to become familiar with controls rather well distributed on keyboard / mouse, to regulate its sensitivity and its graphic parameters. For the sake of this preview, I chose to push all the graphics sliders to the maximum (to disfigure the game later by increasing the FOV… the real ones will understand).
The result is a very beautiful theater of war, in particular thanks to its various visual effects, but which however lacked this “Battlefield-style graphic slap” element as DICE has the secret. In addition, despite a rather solid configuration cut for 1p, it was not uncommon to suffer from a few framerate drops, especially under the literal fire of the action. Of course, players who swear only by performance will do everything to achieve a satisfactory fps rate and therefore some concessions on the visual aspect according to their needs.
Special mention, however, to the game's soundtrack, which literally makes you vibrate, just like the sound design as a whole. When bullets and explosions fly around you, the immersion is total and it really feels like a vast battlefield.
Sans-Patries, but who retain a certain class
Once this obligatory passage is completed, it is also time to get started. For this preview as for the open beta, only the Conquest mode on Orbital was available. Once installed on a server, Battlefield regulars will be a little disconcerted by this new opus. Indeed, instead of the usual classes of anonymous soldiers, Battlefield 2042 proposes to embody specialists called Sans-Patries and anchored in a new story of DICE.
A rather original choice for the franchise and for an exclusively multiplayer title, but is the difference so radical? Four Specialists were available, up from nine when the game released on November 19. Each has a tool and a passive skill specific to him, such as Webster Mackay, who never separates from his faithful grappling hook and proves to be faster than his comrades. In reality, each specialist presented roughly resumes the archetypes of the old Battlefield: Assault, Doctor, Engineer and Sniper. But each has a little extra touch that sets it apart from the others.
In addition to its specialist, it is also necessary to choose its equipment before joining the ground of the cows. Again, Battlefield 2042 stands out from its elders. All specialists can equip all of the weapons and equipment in the game to a certain extent. A Sniper specialist is thus not only confined to sniper rifles, and a medic can equip himself with an ammunition kit. A choice that may surprise and shock veterans of the franchise, because it seems to go precisely against the "specialist" aspect of this new version.
On the other hand, it allows everyone to face different threats without having to change class and therefore slow down their progress on the latter. Indeed, the class experience is now moved to the specialist experience. Everyone can therefore find their own
"hand" and embody it without having to "commit suicide" to eliminate an otherwise difficult threat to face.
Climatic destruction
After selecting your specialist and loadout, it's finally time to join the battlefield. On PC as on next-gen consoles, the maps will accommodate 128 players (compared to 64 on old generation consoles). To accommodate all these beautiful people, the theater of operations is necessarily larger, without leaving too much space.
This was particularly the case on Orbital, the one and only map available, in Conquest mode. This mode has also seen a change to accommodate a double soldier count compared to previous episodes. Instead of capturing an area to lower the number of opposing tickets (now a fairly large number of 1), you have to capture different sectors with two areas each. A great way to bring the soldiers together and not have them trudge through no man's land for several minutes. Even if, Battlefield obliges, there will necessarily be some empty moments, as evidenced by this first gameplay video recorded by me (we do not judge the level execrable, please).
This illustrates rather well a mechanism that is making a comeback in Battlefield: Levolution. Truly introduced in Battlefield: Bad Company and notably resumed spectacularly in Battlefield 4, it brings here a huge degree of immersion. We can thus really see the damage caused by the fight by seeing shell holes on the ground or gutted buildings, and use it as cover. In addition to much of the destructible scenery, the climate on the map changes, and with it the atmosphere of the battlefield.
JVFR
A violent storm could thus make its appearance and scramble the HUD of each soldier. Unfortunately, the famous tornado presented in the game's trailer did not deign to appear. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it means every battle will be different. It is quite possible that the weather is fine throughout the fight, or that a natural disaster comes to invite itself. Unfortunately also, the chaos of the war made me miss the takeoff and the explosion of the rocket present on Orbital, however widely highlighted by DICE. The fault, no doubt, of a game session that was too short.
JVFR
The tools of modern warfare
Along with Levolution's Specialists and Mechanics, Battlefield 2042 introduces two handy new tools. On the one hand, a menu to change the accessories of his weapon on the fly, like a certain Crysis, which further accentuates the versatile side of each specialist. On the other hand, a menu allowing to parachute in a vehicle or a… dog-robot, which turns out to be quite formidable. Welcome elements that greatly energize the gameplay but that my inexperience with these new features has often made me forget, by force of habit on the old opuses of the franchise.
JVFR
JVFR
Speaking of weapons and vehicles, these are generally quite pleasant to handle. Weapons of various categories have more or less pronounced dispersion and recoil, requiring a certain mastery at medium and long range. The vehicles are still as menacing as ever, but my background as a pure infantry soldier didn't encourage me to pilot many of them. I therefore, when the occasion arose, preferred to place myself as a shooter, and the experience here proved to be a little less satisfactory.
JVFR
In a helicopter in particular, it was practically impossible to shoot straight as the pilot was unable to maintain a stable attitude. At the position of gunner on a tank, my turret seemed to suffer from a Parkinson's disease beyond my control.
JVFR
Unfortunately, this was not the only inconvenience encountered during this preview. Some opposing soldiers had a tendency to literally spawn in front of my eyes, or stand still even after being downed. My soldier also tended to get tremors near cover, making aiming tricky. Problems probably inherent in a beta and the fact that the servers hosted 128 players simultaneously, but which we hope will be corrected by the release of the game.
JVFR
Battlefield 2042: our first impressions
Faithful to the license since Battlefield 2 in 2005, I enjoyed finding the battlefields so specific to DICE. I saw everything that makes me love Battlefield, and new elements that come to refresh the experience, even if they will require some time to adapt.
If visually the slap is not as strong as in the old opuses, the immersion is still very present, and all the more chaotic with 128 players on the clock. But all this does not distort these "only in Battlefield moments" that fans love as much as developers. A promising overall experience, which will be even more so with a group of friends.
However, there are still a few problems that spoil the experience, such as animation bugs or the handling of weapons, especially on vehicles, which are hazardous. But that will certainly not make me sulk my pleasure and prevent me from returning to the open beta before the game is released.
Battlefield 2042 will be released on November 19 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. It will support cross-progression on all platforms and cross-play between PC, PS5 and Xbox Series on one side, and PS4 and Xbox One on the other. The purchase of the Digital Standard Edition on new generation consoles will allow you to obtain one in the meantime to play on the old generation, in order to ultimately enjoy the best console version.
