Battlefield 2042 is missing a pretty essential feature at launch.
Battlefield 2042 will have big, destructible environments, loads of guns and explosions aplenty when it launches on November 19th (it’s out early already if you want to get a head-start).
What it won’t have is voice chat, one of the most basic and necessary functions of any competitive multiplayer shooter. It’s scheduled to release sometime after the game’s actual launch according to EA, but there’s no hard date set as of now.
No voice chat isn’t the biggest deal in Battlefield’s traditional big team modes, however annoying (and the ping system is not at all intuitive). It becomes quite a lot more crucial when you play Hazard Zone, a tactical squad-based mode that requires careful coordination between teammates.
While you might jokingly point out that no voice chat means not having to listen to a bunch of idiots talk crap, the problem really comes up when you’re playing with friends. After all, you can always mute everyone other than your party—or, well, you should be able to do that. With no voice chat it’s basically a moot point (really resisted saying “mute point” there . . .).
In any case, no voice chat is just one of many problems plaguing Battlefield 2042 right now. Early players who pre-purchased or are playing the game via EA Play and Xbox Game Pass are overwhelmingly disappointed and disgruntled, though the rumblings are not quite as loud as we’ve seen with the epic disaster that is Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy, which is currently being review-bombed on Metacritic. I’ll be curious to see what Battlefield’s scores end up being.
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Fortunately for me, I’m a Call Of Duty player and this year’s, the WWII-themed Vanguard, is actually really damn good.
I’m going to hop into Battlefield 2042 myself shortly and take it for a spin on PC via my Game Pass subscription. That only gets me 10 hours, but something tells me I won’t need more than that—at least not until basic features like voice chat make an appearance.
One reddit user made a list of complaints / missing features and theorized that the game was originally going to be a battle royale and was changed last minute.
“They 100% planned to make a BR and changed course during the development. So many things point at this.
- Huge maps (too big for normal BF gameplay, even for 128 players)
- Armor plates
- Cannot switch/create squads
- Silly long timing when you’re downed with no visibility for medics, because initially it should be only your BR squad that can revive you
- The + system for weapons, instead of ground loot attachments
- No server browser, because you don’t need one in BR
- Lack of game modes
- No hardcore
- No propper factions
- No scoreboard
- No campaign
“The list can go on but I’m too lazy.”
Whether that was DICE’s original plan and the whole thing was mysteriously scrapped, or whether EA has simply slipped back into old, bad habits and rushed this game out the door will probably remain a mystery. Unfortunately for publisher and developer alike, this is all eerily reminiscent of other recent DICE releases. Battlefront 2 and its loot boxes comes to mind, but even Battlefield 5 was poorly received especially compared to previous entries in the series.
Many gamers are giving up after playing the 10-hour Game Pass/EA Play “demo” and heading back to franchise favorite Battlefield 4.
If Microsoft does surprise release Halo: Infinite tomorrow it’s going to be a deathblow to Battlefield 2042, which already faces stiff competition from Vanguard. I guess we’ll see if that happens or not, but it would be a pretty epic move on Microsoft’s part—and not really intentional, either. Battlefield 2042 was delayed into November, after all. And by all accounts, it should have been delayed further.
What about you? Have you played any Battlefield 2042 yet? Is it as big of a mess as it sounds? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.
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