The Battlefield 2042 beta began on October 6, and we were covering it the entire weekend; breaking down all the weapons, vehicles, and gadgets, delving into community concerns, and reviewing the game along the way.And as many of you who are clued into the online Battlefield communities will already be aware of, it didn't go down as smoothly as everyone expected. So poorly for some fans in fact that they're asking for a further delay. Tom Henderson, something of a community leader, became the first big figure to say it publically:
When you wish the second #Battlefield2042 delay was real pic.twitter.com/dRz8ewkxUZ
— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) October 6, 2021
But it wasn't just celebs. On the Battlefield subreddit, themost highly voted feedback post of the first 24 hours was simply titled: Battlefield 2042 Looks Worse Than BF1 and Plays Worse Than BF4.
Of course, there are people having a good time, as we said upfront, but it seems for most gamers this hasn't hit the mark.
We'll go through the main concerns beneath, and ask whether a delay could help.
The Biggest Problems With BF2042
Movement
The movement feels janky. Even more so than BF4 did. But it's far less acceptable in 2021. You expect Battlefield to be a bit weaker in this department because the engine (Frostbite) isn't purpose built for first-person shooters, but this year feels even worse than usual. It's probably because we're comparing it in our minds to the IW8 used by Battlefield's biggest competitor - Call of Duty. But seriously, go on the BF2042 beta after playing Warzone, and you'll notice how unresponsive it feels, and how little weight there is behind player movement; it feels almost...floaty.
Map Design
Orbital is a bad map. It might be the case that just this one map is poor, and the others are great. But the beta is effectively your shop-window; it should show off the content they're proud of. Orbital just feels empty and devoid of any character.
Specialists
The Specialists are bizarre. All 128 players are made up of only 4 character models, and even then only one of the specialists is getting much play. The whole idea is too individualistic for Battlefield, and this more than anything else forces one to question whether they've lost their Battlefield identity. The battlefield should make you feel like a soldier, willing to die for the man or woman on your left, but effectively, a grunt. In BF2042, you almost never feel that way.
Atmosphere
This is harder to put your finger on, but it's a complaint we've now seen repeated countless times by playtesters. The idea of no-pats combined with AI filled-lobbies massively diminishes the feeling of being a combatant in a total-war scenario. You don't get the sense of being side by side with a fellow soldier.
Read More Battlefield:
- Battlefield 2042's Open Beta - System Requirements For PC
- Battlefield 2042 Beta - Start Times Around The Globe
- This Is Battlefield 2042's New Battle Pass
Would A Delay Help?
Honestly, no. The problems people have with the game are largely the new design philosophy and the engine limitations - those won't change, even if the game is delayed until March. They can make small things like make snipers more satisfying, improve sound engineering and hopefully lower TTK, but for BF2042 to have a great launch, we're now going to hope for more from the other modes we haven't seen. And hopefully, the other maps are better too; Orbital is very dull.
Are you jumping on with a squad? What maps are you hoping to get added during the beta? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter, and don't forget - you should consider joining MyEarlyGame for loads of great giveaways, exclusive tourneys, and a customizable home page.