Battlefield 2042 is finally officially out, even for those who purchased the Standard Edition of the game. Over the past couple of months, players have been able to sample the game. While during its open beta testing, players experienced a lot of bugs and issues with the game. There have been also a lot of missing game modes and features that players noticed during the open beta testing. However, fans still gave Battlefield 2042 more chances, citing that the game was still in beta, anyway. So now, after the game has already been released in its full capacity, has Battlefield 2042‘s open beta testing woes been fixed? We look at the Battlefield 2042 review scores as an indicator of whether or not this has been achieved.

Battlefield 2042 Review Scores: 76 Metascore on Metacritic

Battlefield 2042 currently has a 76 Metascore for the PC version of the game, slightly higher compared to Activision's Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s PC version. But it's interesting how the situation is reversed when it comes to the user scores: Vanguard has 4.1, while Battlefield has 2.5. This goes to show how far away the games have been received by their respective fan bases, but we'll get to that later.

This doesn't mean that Battlefield 2042 didn't receive any fanfare. EGM gave the game a perfect score, saying: “Battlefield 2042 brings the sandbox back to the series in bold and controversial ways. The new Specialist system might seem like sacrilege at first, but it opens up gameplay opportunities that weren’t possible in previous titles. The massive, well-designed maps offer plenty of room for experimentation and emergent stories, and the modes are a blast. And that’s just All-Out Warfare. Between that, Hazard Zone, and the expansive Battlefield Portal, Battlefield 2042 has something for everyone, without feeling like it’s stretched too thin. It’s a true evolution of the series, one that pushes back against a stagnation that threatened the series’ future. It won’t be for everyone, but for players who crave imagination and fun from their Battlefields, it will give them everything that they crave and more.”

Twinfinite talks up the meaty multiplayer content available at launch, anticipating how multiplayer will even be better in the future with more content planned for the game, at the same time downplaying the game's technical issues.. The review reads: “Battlefield 2042 is an excellent effort and filled with a ton of competitive multiplayer content at launch with much more planned in the near future. There are some technical issues such as respawns and visual bugs to sort out, and some game modes and specialists might need some tweaks, but DICE is off to a great start and Battlefield 2042 should likely be relevant and popular for years to come.”

Dexerto gave the game a 7.5/10. Dexerto says that Battlefield fans (and even FPS fans in general itching to play something new) will have fun with the game. Their review reads: “If you’re a longtime Battlefield fan or just seeking a new FPS to get lost in, there’s a great deal of fun to be had here. But in its current state, 2042 falls just short of being one of the best multiplayer titles in recent years.”

Among the most critical of EA and DICE is Stevivor, who gave the game a “mediocre” 4.5/10 score. “In a world where developers are getting used to working from home and games are being pushed back due to the global pandemic, EA decided that Battlefield 2042 was ready for this year. It’s not.” TheGamer has a more scathing review, with a summary that makes it clear that as fans, they've been disappointed by the game. “It’s hard not to be disappointed with this 2042 offering. You know when the devs said this is a game to “celebrate Battlefield”? They’ve stripped away some of the most fundamental elements of the series and added tornados and Wingsuits to make up for it. It’s Marketing 101. Explosions, tornados, and swooping helicopters look great. One day, they probably will be great. DICE is one of the best when it comes to post-launch patches – for better and for worse. But if you’re on the fence about buying Battlefield 2042, I would just wait. It’s hard for me to condone purchasing what is essentially an unfinished product – an unfinished product with Battle Passes, too. Just wait. It will be a better game in a year’s time. Maybe even six months. If you’ve never played Battlefield and want to experience some of the sheer beauty of 64v64, I say go for it. Just don’t expect an experience that will keep you interested for more than a couple of weeks.”

79.47% of users gave the game a negative score, with the game having an average User Score of 2.5. This is way lower than the main competition's 4.1. It appears that Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s lower scores were all about how Vanguard was a weak entry to the Call of Duty canon. Still, it delivered what fans expected out of a Call of Duty game. But that's not the case for Battlefield 2042 – critics may have liked the changes, but it wasn't ever good enough for the fanbase.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Electronic Arts, System Requirements

Brittany Vincent ·

Conclusion: Is Battlefield 2042 worth your time and money?

Battlefield 2042, with all the time it spent in the open beta, did appear to have benefited from player feedback. Bugs and issues have been fixed, and balancing issues have been fixed. But foundational aspects of the game can no longer be fixed by the time the game arrived in open beta. Things like how there are no scoreboards, the game lacking its character classes, not having a single-player campaign, etc., couldn't be fixed anymore during the time between the open beta and its launch. It also so happened that these things were what mattered the most to many Battlefield 2042 fans, and EA DICE failed to meet their expectations.

So, is Battlefield 2042 worth your time and money? Many would say yes, as they still have a great time playing the game. However, if you're a fan of the game, it's better to first understand how much Battlefield 2042 is different from Battlefield 1 and other Battlefield games, and decide for yourself if that's good enough for you.