Two months after release and Battlefield 2042 has dropped in price – but is it worth it? In this article, we're going to go through what you get for your money, and try to answer that question.
A lot of gamers saw what happened when Battlefield 2042 was released. It wasn't good, and we're not going to get into it again here. But now they've had some time to update the game, and fix the worst of the bugs. And a lot of folks are wondering: is Battlefield 2042 worth it now? We're going to try to answer that question below. We'll go through how much it currently costs, what content you get for your money, and what the future looks like.
How Much Does Battlefield 2042 Cost?
Battlefield 2042 is starting to see huge price reductions from 3rd party sellers, but it remains at the RRP on Steam, the PlayStation Store, and the Xbox Store. The various editions will set you back this much from those stores:
- Standard Edition: $69.99 on console / $59.99 on PC.
- Gold Edition (Includes Year 1 Pass): $89.99 on console / $79.99 on PC.
- Ultimate Edition (Includes Year 1 Pass, Digital Artbook & Digital Soundtrack): $119.99 on console / $109.99 on PC.
This is pricey, but it's a price we'll need to accept for current triple-A games, and as we mentioned, you can find editions from 3rd party sellers for half the price.
What Content Do You Get In Battlefield 2042?
We'll break the bad news early: there is no campaign in Battlefield 2042, instead, you have three distinct multiplayer modes: All-Out-Warfare, Portal, and Hazard Zone. Here's a quick overview of what that includes.
All-Out-Warfare
All-Out-Warfare is the main multiplayer mode, consisting of the game modes Conquest and Breakthrough, and seven different maps. You have 10 Specialists and 22 weapons to pick from when you play this mode. Each Specialist has their own abilities, but you'll only really see people playing 3 or 4 of the most popular ones.
The weapons are okay, but they aren't on a par with, say Modern Warfare 2019, but there's enough to keep you going and find a few you like.
The seven maps in All-Out-Warfare are…not great. They all feel quite empty and lacking variation. You can see a gallery of them beneath:
But we do also get some old classic maps via Portal which are all very good, more on that later.
The gameplay of their core multiplayer mode is a little outdated and will feel slow and clunky if you're coming from other modern shooters, but it isn't terrible. The main complaint you'll hear is that All-Out-Warfare doesn't feel like a Battlefield; there's very little team play or strategy. So if you were buying the game to play All-Out-Warfare in its current state, then we'd say Battlefield 2042 isn't worth it. But the other modes are more promising.
And that's it, All-Out-Warfare has had no additional content being added besides Weekly Challenges.
If you do buy the game, and you want to keep ahead of the meta for All-Out-Warfare, we got you:
Portal
Portal is the highlight of Battlefield 2042; it's a great way to relive your nostalgia for the franchise, and it's the only mode that actually feels like a Battlefield game. Portal is a mix of older maps and weapons from the franchise, all jumbled together. In short, imagine a BF2: Bad Company soldier using a WWII weapon from Battlefield 2042, and running around a Battlefield 3 map. That's Portal.
But the really exciting part is that all of these assets and maps are entirely at the disposal of the community. Players have almost unlimited control in what they can add and change when making a Portal game, and then they share it with others. So it's nowhere near as limiting as the other modes, and it should win over the hearts of legacy fans. We have a great video on how to use Portal, if we do say so ourselves, so if you get the game and want to start making experiences, check it out here.
If you're a long-term Battlefield fan, or you like community created experiences in your games, then Portal might make Battlefield 2042 worth it for you.
Besides community, creations, they also update the Portal playlists each week with official Portal creations.
Hazard Zone
Hazard Zone is Battlefield 2042's answer to Battle Royale. Except it's not one, and it's missing the drama and tension that make BRs popular.
In Hazard Zone, you play against 8 other teams of 4 on the normal All-Out-Warfare maps. Then you go around and collect Data Drives. These give you currency to spend on bonuses before your next Hazard Zone match. You can leave the map at the midway point when an extraction vehicle comes, or you can stay and fight it out like a classic BR for the final extraction at the end, and only one team can take that final extraction, therefore “winning the game”.
The problem is that respawning is easy. There are far too few teams, and the collection mission you're sent on is repetitive and boring. There's not a drop of that heart-bounding, blood-racing atmosphere that people play BRs for. And if you couldn't tell by now, we hate it. As do most commentators online.
Will Battlefield 2042 Improve Over Time?
They have been continually updating the game since launch, and they seem to be committed to improving the game. Let's not forget that DICE did a great job of gradually improving Star Wars Battlefront 2 after an abysmal launch, so they have a good track record.
But don't get your hopes up too soon, we're still totally in the dark about a Season 1 release date, and all we really know about future content is which older Battlefield game they want to introduce into Portal next.
Final Verdict: No, Battlefield 2042 Isn't Worth It… Yet.
Battlefield 2042 feels like a rushed and somewhat empty game at the moment. There aren't many modes and the maps are poor. Now, the community might make some great stuff in Portal, but nothing truly fantastic has risen to the surface yet. More importantly, Battlefield is apparently going to get a Battle Royale, after the poor reception of Hazard Zone. This will be free-to-play and so you can experience Battlefield 2042 for yourself without paying. If you really do like it, invest in the full game.
We hope that helped, and we're sorry about the bad news if you're a long-term fan who was saving up to buy it. But hey, there are tons of great games coming out this year, so maybe one of these will live up to the hype?