When Battlefield 2042 was released back in November of 2021, our review of DICE’s latest entry in the shooter franchise wasn’t really nice to the game due to a lot of factors. Mostly it had to do with the Specialists system that added a layer of unneeded complication to the game, as well as the lack of content, bugs and the list goes on.

However, after close to 24 months, DICE seems to finally have struck gold, as Season 6’s launch — coupled with the free game trial — elevated the game’s player base numbers to new all-time highs. With this in mind, and factoring in the past improvements made by the studio, we’ve decided to re-review Battlefield 2042 given the shooter’s resurgence and vast overhaul.

What’s Old Is New Again

In case you haven’t been keeping tabs on BF2042, DICE has made great strides to basically undo most of the new stuff they introduced in the game to make it feel like a more traditional Battlefield experience. While Specialists are still part of the game, they have been re-jigged to make them fit your traditional Battlefield class. Sure, they still have their base abilities, but DICE grouped them up and gave them class-based skills in order to have defined roles on what they can do on the battlefield, and thankfully, it worked.

Now, while I still much prefer your standard class, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Now, you won’t get confused what your teammate can do, and what your enemy is capable of as well. For the most part, you see Falck, you know you’ll get a proper healer. See Blasco or Paik on your team? Expect spawn beacons and the sort.

This class overhaul makes gameplay more streamlined, and helps aid in the teamplay aspect of Battlefield 2042 — something that was lacking when the game first got released. In addition to that, there are other small changes and additions made to make the game feel like your traditional Battlefield title. While one can argue that these things shouldn’t have been missing in the first place, it is what it is, and I’m glad we at least have these available in the game now.

Communication Is Key

With DICE not exactly striking gold on the onset with Battlefield 2042, one major thing the studio worked on was communication. The community managers, devs talked about the game’s shortcomings, upcoming changes, what feedback the community had, and what the studio was planning to do about it.

Sure, you might not like some of the changes, the content flow might not be enough, but at the very least, DICE was communicating with the playerbase. Sometimes they’d answer Reddit queries (not a small feat given how toxic the Battlefield community can sometimes be), or maybe discuss upcoming changes on Twitter, or they’d talk about stuff in one of the many Inside Battlefield podcasts and blog posts players got regularly.

Slowly but surely, BF2042 was turning around in key aspects. From classes, overpowered vehicles and weapons, map sizes and the like, DICE tweaked and tweaked until players had less and less things to complain about. Heck, one can argue now that most of the people saying “Battlefield 2042 is dead” or something similar, are those people who don’t even care to play it in the first place.

Season 6 and Redacted

Things took a huge turn when Season 6 launched in October. EA wisely paired that with a free weekend trial offer, and boom! The game soared. If you’re wondering why this happened in Season 6 and not in previous seasons, I’d wager it’s because of the new map introduced in the new season called Redacted.

While we still haven’t seen fan-favorite close-quarter combat maps like Operation Metro, Operation Locker, we do have Redacted. It’s a lot smaller compared to other BF2042 maps, and it’s for infantry only. This was the catalyst for people to jump in, not get annoyed and overwhelmed by vehicles, and just grind out guns, get kills and go crazy.

Remember those Operation Metro 24/7 playlists that people played nonstop before (or hated)? Yeah, Redacted feels like that. Now, while some hate this “meat grinder” type of skirmishes in Battlefield, evidently a ton of people love it. There’s no other evidence needed other than the playerbase rising during the free trial period and sticking with the game even after it’s over. Hop on the game now, go play the Redacted 24/7 playlist and you’ll see how fast it is to get into a match with real people regardless of the time of day. I’ve poured in hours replaying Redacted, and I honestly see why people are sticking around. Battlefield 2042 in small, infantry-only maps is good fun.

Tempering Expectations

With all the good stuff DICE has managed to do with Battlefield 2042 in roughly two years’ time, I must admit, players should keep their expectations in check. For one thing, we’re not sure whether we’ll be getting another season after Season 6, and EA hasn’t said anything or even hinted at it.

So, while the playerbase is at an all-time high now, those same players should be ready to accept that we might not be getting any significant new content in the near future. I really hope I’m wrong of course, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is it for the game’s post-launch support. I mean, with the game flopping at launch, people expected EA to just pull the plug, complete its promised slate of post-release content and then move on. The publisher — and DICE — went beyond that with Season 6. And with DICE and the rest of EA firmly in the trenches in developing a new full-fledged Battlefield game, they might need all hands on deck for that one.

I would really love to be wrong, and see Season 7 announced. Imagine if EA announces Season 7 and we get another close-quarters map like Op Metro or Op Locker? Yeah, that would certainly make people continue playing it, no? But alas, I do not know where EA is going, and I wouldn’t be shocked if this is it for the game in terms of new content. If it is, at least it’s ending on a high note, which is a good motivator for DICE to understand what they need to do for the next game in the franchise.

• Related Reading: Battlefield 2042 Is Making a Major Comeback, and DICE Should Double Down on Support

In addition to new content being somewhat of a mystery, players should also bear in mind that while DICE did shake up the Specialist system to integrate classes, made maps tighter for more action and so on, there are still issues with BF2042 from a gameplay standpoint that we won’t see resolved at all…this is something the current players and would-be players of the game should understand and accept.

Portal to Nowhere

For all the great strides DICE has made with BF2042, the same can’t be said for Battlefield Portal. Sure, there are new guns added to it from time to time, but for the most part, the mode is a disappointment, and it still feels that way even to this day.

The concept of playing on any Battlefield map from any Battlefield game, using different weapons from various entries in the franchise sounded like a dream come true on paper, but in realty, it lacked support, it felt half baked, and didn’t really go anywhere.

While DICE isn’t the developer behind Battlefield Portal (it’s handled by EA’s Ripple Effect Studios), it’s still something worth mentioning given it is part of the game after all. I suspect Ripple Effect is deep into the new Battlefield game’s development, and this is the reason why BF Portal seems to have been forgotten. Well, we can’t have everything, can we?

Fire in the Hole!

At the end of the day, the big question here is: is Battlefield 2042 worth playing now? I think I can safely say that’s a yes — especially if you’re a Battlefield vet that got turned off with the Specialists system and whatnot they introduced when the game launched.

Just remember before buying that BF2042 might not be getting any new content, and you’re good to go. Even if that’s the case, though, you should be getting your money’s worth (given it’s not at full price these days) just by grinding out the multiplayer, trying out the new classes, testing the new weapons, and just generally having a good Battlefield time.

If you can get past that idea, then you really ought to jump into Battlefield 2042 now, especially at its discounted price across digital storefronts. Who knows? EA might surprise us by announcing Season 7, given the game’s re-emergence.

Score: 8/10

Pros:

• Specialists have been tweaked to act more like traditional Battlefield classes
• Redacted is a load of fun and offers tight infantry gameplay
• The lack of content issue isn’t really an issue anymore
• All the new maps since launch have fixed issues players had with launch maps. Better coverage, layouts, etc, with Redacted being the best so far.

Cons:

• Might not be getting support after Season 6
• Previous problems (like Specialist abilities) are still there
• BF Portal remains an afterthought and is still underwhelming
• No server browser for All-Out Warfare still.