I’ve been playing a good chunk of Battlefield 2042 over the past week, and I have to tell you that it’s a lot. The game is only multiplayer, and while that might sound fine, it’s so much to take in when it comes to actually playing. I’m really struggling to stay focused on what the game is and how to get into it, and I think that part of that is just how much there is to do and see and play. The core three modes are enough, but Portal opens up an entire realm of stuff that’s so far removed from the rest of the game that you have to wonder if you’ll ever play it all.
Battlefield 2042 opens up easily enough. You’re taken through a Conquest mode match against bots and get used to the idea of how it all works. From there, you can jump into more of that or play a different mode if you’d like. This gives you something to do, and the progression of each Operative makes every match feel rewarding. The thing is, there is just so much for you to do in the game, and it never seems to feel less daunting.
I think that part of this might be because the game is purely focused on large scale multiplayer warfare with no single player campaign. I know this going in, but it feels so different in practice. Star Wars Battlefront was the same, and I felt the same playing that as I do now, though I think it might be worse with Battlefield 2042. It’s like jumping into a huge game of football and everyone on your team counting on you to do the right thing. The problem is that you’re new, and you won’t always get everything right. You constantly feel like you’re letting your team down, and it’s not a nice feeling.
I think that a lot of this is probably down to me and how I feel playing the game, but I do think that others will struggle with it as well. There’s just something about how overwhelming it all is that gets me right in the pit of my stomach and won’t let me go.
