I’m not exaggerating when I say that Battlefield is one of the franchises that has most influenced my life. I discovered it with Battlefield 3 And since then I have played all the installments, old and new. I have not always agreed with the direction the franchise has taken, but it has provided me with thousands of hours of fun. It was in its chaotic games that the path that has led me to write these words began.
DICE managed to hit the bottom of my patience with Battlefield 2042 in the same way it did for thousands of fans. My original feeling, without wanting to kick someone else’s butt, is that the game tried to do too many things at once and in the end nothing worked out as it should. I have particularly bitter memories of the map design, specifically the more linear versions for Raid-style modes. I also really resented the fact that everything was based on Portal.
I dropped it in its second or third month of life (PC and PS5) and have only touched the Battlefield series since then to replay the Hardline campaign. My refusal to return was not so much out of resentment as self-knowledge. There is no update or improvement that can make me feel anything for Battlefield 2042I buried it and moved on to other things, and I say that without any malice.
Returning to Battlefield 2042 has been a mistake
There are two words that are like a siren song to my ears: Horde ModeWe all have our weaknesses, and one of mine is killing bugs until they send me to the next neighborhood. So I couldn’t resist the call of Battlefield 2042 with the announcement of Outbreak Mode, something similar to what Rainbow Six Siege did with Outbreak and later with Extraction.
I want to break a lance in favor of DICE: Battlefield 2042 It’s a much better game than that thing I mentally buried in the loneliest desert. I’ve played a few hours to catch up and it actually feels better, they’ve even reworked maps so they don’t look like a mess with three poorly placed covers. Still, our train has long since passed.
And even though I know that getting back together with exes is not a good idea, I have tried to make an exception with Battlefield 2042 on PS5. Not believing myself to be a Chosen One capable of circumventing the rule, but rather looking for a few good times. Needless to say, I haven’t found too many and it has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth again… although this time the feeling is one of sadness and not indignation.
Outbreak It is a limited time game mode in Battlefield 2042. DICE has introduced it alongside a crossover with Dead Space. I know it has its share of lore and the effort is appreciated, although it seems that the aim is to sneak the cosmetic pack to fans of Isaac Clarke’s adventures. The mode has little to do with the iconic horror franchise.
There is no mystery to it. Outbreak The game takes place on a linear map divided into zones. You must endure waves in each one while completing objectives. They are always the same: eliminate enemies and conquer two points. The final objective is to extract the team in elevators. There is a shop in each zone that sells weapons, equipment and supplies. You already know everything. There is no more.
I was expecting a more terrifying setting and for some enemies to be Necromorfossince the event has as its main theme the crossover with Dead Space. But no. They are a kind of robots that remind me of Atomic Heart. There are two or three variants: melee, with firearms (shotguns) and some that need three or four more bullets to die. I have not seen bosses or special units in all the games I have played.
Perhaps the Necromorphs were too much to ask for in a time-limited event, but it would have been nice to have a couple of different enemies: elites and a boss to make things difficult for us. In fact, I managed to complete the map in my first playthrough. We were a firing squad: one with a mounted machine gun, two others with ammo, and me with an automatic turret. The final phase, where we had our asses covered by the exit, was an excessive abuse.
I repeat: I know it’s a limited time mode and I can’t demand the same from it as from Back 4 Blood, for example; but I think DICE had the means (of Dead Space) within their reach to make a very interesting and terrifying Horde Mode. Maybe they wanted to try out a horde mode in Battlefield or they are doing tests for the next installment. I couldn’t say.
The funny thing about all this and the reason for writing this article is that my feeling with Battlefield 2042 It’s exactly the same as it was then: it wants to do so many things and in such a different way from the previous installments, that in the end it doesn’t match the legacy of its predecessors. And the Portal card still doesn’t save everything for me. You can’t live forever on past triumphs.
I admit that I spent a couple of nice moments in Breakthrough and Outbreak, but not enough to balance the scales. This is not for me and that’s okay. I’m leaving Battlefield 2042 on the digital shelf, but I’m very happy to see changes for the better (others not so much) and I keep a sliver of hope for the next one.
At VidaExtra | I miss the war campaigns of Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty WWII, and it will probably be a long time before another one excites me as much
At VidaExtra | This is not the First World War I fought in during Battlefield 1: tension and horror with a hint of Resident Evil
