PC Gamer - UK (2022-01)

Evenafter two decades of sanding

and streamlining, Battlefieldcan still

surprise. The modernFPS scene is

now stacked withbig mapsand

whimsical vehicle physics, but

Battlefieldremains distinct fromthe

milsims and battle

royalegames thathave

encircled it. With

Battlefield2042, DICE

standsits groundasthe

kingof military

shenanigans more

convincinglythanitdid

withBattlefieldV,

ditchingthe

singleplayercampaigntofocus onthe

two pillars of the series: objective-

based multiplayer and scale.

ROOMTOSTRETCH

What was a 64-player gamefor 20

years isnow a 128-playergame, with

proportionallybiggermaps, putting

Battlefieldbackinthe categoryof

games that pushtechnical

boundaries. The increased acreage

isn’t anacross-the-board

improvement tothe Battlefield

experience, but if it’swrong tomake

a gamebiggerand moretechnically

complicated without designing for all

the possibleconsequences, thenI

don’t wanttoberight.

The commitment to

scale doescomewith

regressions, suchas

cruder, less-

destructiblebuildings,

and large tractsof mud,

grass, and sand

between landmarks.

The new vehicle call-in

systemmakes ithardto

becometruly stranded– ona

cooldown, you can ask whatI

presume isanorbital parking garage

todropa vehicle for you – but

sometimes I likegoing for a walk,

anyway. Squad and vehicle spawning

tooka lot of the cardioout of the

Battlefieldseries, and the downtime

gives mea chancetotakeinthe scale

of the battlearoundmeand feel some

of the awe I feltwhenI firstplayed

Battlefield1942.

There issometrend-chasing in

Battlefield2042, but it’shandled

betterthanitwas lasttime, whenthe

Firestorm battleroyalemodewas

airdroppedintoBattlefieldV after

launch. Fromthe start, Battlefield

2042 includesHazardZone, a more

coherent modefor four-player

squads. It’ssimilar toHunt:

Showdowninthatmultipleteams

enter a map, compete tograba

thematicMacGuffin, and thentry to

get out alive, but the stakesare lower

and there’s 100%lessbayou. It’s

plain bycomparison, but oncethe

tornado squad and I got the hangof

seeking out respawn and vehicle

call-insand keeping eachother alive

withour specialist abilities – another

of Battlefield2042’smodernisations

• westarted toget intofun
  protractedbattles withother squads,
  revivingand re-reviving eachother
  astheydid the same.

BACKTOBASICS

Tothe leftof HazardZoneonthe

mainmenu, All-Out Warfare

encompasses Battlefield’sstandard

big-teamwarfare: the classic

Conquest point capture modeand

Breakthrough, the simplebut fun

attack-and-defend mode. And onthe

right sideof the menuisPortal, a tool

for creatingand hosting customgame

modes. It’snoreplacement for

modding and customdedicated

servers, but those ships havesailed

for big multiplayer games. EvenLeft

4 Deadsuccessor Back4 Blood is

without mod support. Asa

compromise, Portal isa powerful

middlegroundthatcan evenbeused

towhipupco-op experiences with

friends and playBattlefield1942

Conquest onBattleof the Bulge. I

hopeevery big liveservice shooter

stealsit and usesit.

There’s a lot toexperiencein

Battlefield2042, but it feels like

Swedish minimalismhas won a

victory here. Outside of the granular

accessibility and graphicssettings(it

runsdecentlyfor a Battlefieldgame

I

wasn’t sure whether or not Battlefield2042’s randomly-appearing

tornadoes could pick up vehicles until my squad’s ATV was inhaled

by one. As we tumbled skyward, I had to make a choice: ride it out

in the gunner’s seat or eject? I bailed. Our driver remained at the

wheel, trusting that ‘all-terrain’ included the sky. Two seconds later

the vehicle fell into a field like a bomb and incinerated him.

BIGGERFIELD

BATTLEFIELD 2042 refocuses the series on itsfounding principle: being huge

ByTyler Wilde

What was a

64-player game

for20years is

now a 128-

player game

NEED TO KNOW

WHATIS IT?

A large-scale

multiplayer shooter

focused on vehicle

combat and point

capture

EXPECT TO PAY

£50

DEVELOPER

DICE

PUBLISHER

EA

REVIEWED ON

Intel Core i5-9600K,

16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX

2070 Super

MULTIPLAYER

Yes

LINK

bit.ly/2ZjwUEC

ZONES VS BAYOUSVS EASTERN EUROPE

How HazardZone’spremise comparestoother modes

HAZARD ZONE

Collect cookbook-sized data

drives from USand Russian

spy satellites asthey fall out

of low orbit.

Verdict: 3/10

“The Cold War if everyone

were stupider”

HUNT:SHOWDOWN

Track supernatural monsters

across big, creepy bayous

and banishthem back to

Hell... if you’relucky.

Verdict: 9/10

“There’sa character named

John Hunter”

ESCAPE FROMTARKOV

Private military companies

and gangsof scavengers

clash in a blockaded Eastern

European city.

Verdict: 7/10

“I’ve been reading the wiki for

three hours”

Battlefield2042

REVIEW