Battlefield 2042 beta review roundup: The good, the bad, and the bugs

Updated on October 7 with comments from PC Gamer.

Battlefield 2042 entered its beta this week, giving players their first deployment into the near-future global conflict. Initial impressions of the gameplay are now surfacing online and the reviews are mixed. Some critics say the upcoming entry is fun while others believe there are too many issues for the game to launch without another delay. 

BF2042 was already delayed from October 22 to November 19, giving DICE another month on what is already the longest development cycle of any Battlefield entry yet. But after playing the beta, some gamers don't think there is enough time to address the remaining problem areas. 

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Below is a roundup of what people are saying about the Battlefield 2042 beta. But first, keep in mind that this is not the final version of the game; in fact, the developers claim this beta is a few months old. The game will receive updates between now and then that could lead to significant improvements. With that stated, here is what people are saying about this early version of Battlefield 2042. 

Battlefield 2042 beta review roundup

PC Gamer: Our friends at Laptop Mag sister site PC Gamer had good things to say about the beta. Staff writer Morgan Park called the game "very fun," in part because it feels like a return to Battlefield 3 and 4. He praised the ability to customize weapons on the fly as well as the gunplay, but admitted that the game "has a lot of rough edges."

Gamespot: The legacy video game website posted an embedded video revealing David Ahmadi's take on the beta. He was optimistic, calling the beta "pretty good" and summing his play session up as "fun." 

"The combat felt snappy with adrenaline-fueled firefights. Having played a lot of non-Call of Duty style shooters lately like Destiny 2, returning to a pretty fast time-to-kill in Battlefield made me feel powerful, and combining the freestyle loadouts with the new specialists made me curious to experiment, letting me revel in the boons that each specialist brings with them," David said.

IGN: In a mostly positive writeup, Luke Winkie at IGN praises the new customization options that let you change your weapon on the fly. He wrote that Battlefield 2042 has the "potential to be the first great shooter of the new generation" so long as the bugs get ironed out. Those technical glitches were quite prevalent in the beta. 

"I was unable to pull up my full map, and the corpses of blown-apart vehicles would freeze in the air and flicker to the ground at single-digit frame rates in the distance. Most prominently, I started up each of my matches with an invisible weapon — just my soldier's hand floating out there in the ether, cradling a muzzle that simply did not exist."

VG247: After playing three hours of the beta, VG247 staff writer Sherif Saed assures readers that BF2042 feels very much like a Battlefield game. He goes on to say that Battlefield 2042's gameplay is fun, but not perfect, and that it seems as if some elements were slapped together at the last moment. 

"Certain parts of the UI for example, such as the announcements about gaining/losing sector majority descend from the top in a way that’s somehow distracting, and not eventful enough. The skull icon that shows up when you kill someone has a very low resolution compared to the rest of the image, and doesn’t come with any distinct ping."

Saed goes into much deeper detail, breaking down everything he noticed in the beta, so I recommend reading the full article over at VG247. 

Tom Henderson: The most esteemed leaker of Battlefield and COD information has been quite vocal on Twitter about his feelings for the game in its current state. In short, Battlefield 2042 has potential, but the current product is a major disappointment. Henderson says "EVERYTHING IS THERE to make the game absolutely stellar" but that his experience on PS5 has been horrific to the point of saying the beta feels more like an alpha. 

Kotaku: The headline says it all here: "Battlefield 2042 Beta Feels Wild, Yet Somehow Plays It Safe." Kotaku staff writer Ari Notis wrote about some of the new additions BF2042 brings (tornados, 128 players, etc) to the franchise but says it ultimately feels like a Battlefield game set in a different era. There is also a not-so-favorable comparison to the Halo Infinite beta with Battlefield dubbed a "rehash."    

"After playing several rounds today, my gut check is that it’s a whole lot like a Battlefield set in any other year."

Dexerto: Writer Brad Norton didn't hold back punches in his Battlefield 2042 beta first impressions article, going as far as asking EA for another delay. Norton cites a myriad of visual bugs and unbalanced audio. While he says there are still some over-the-top moments to be had, the beta suggests the game is in too rough of a state to go out this November. 

"The bombastic spectacle quickly wore out, however, as bugs began to pile up, major issues bogged down the experience, and concern began to seep in."

EarlyGame: Jon Ramuz says Battlefield 2042 is overhyped and that those expecting innovation will be disappointed. In one of the first scored impressions pieces, Ramuz gives the game a 6.1 out of 10 with most criticisms going toward map design, player movement and atmosphere. 

Drift0r: Popular YouTuber Drift0r gave a mostly glowing review of the Battlefield 2042 beta, calling it "good, like really really good." He praised the artistic look of the game, the dynamic weather conditions, and the gameplay. He likens Battlefield 2042 to Battlefield 4 but with new shooting mechanics similar to those in Battlefield V. 

We will continue to add to this list as more beta impressions go live. Also, watch out for our own Battlefield 2042 beta review as well as our full review later this year.