Battlefield itself is a series of first-person shooters with a focus on large-scale combat, both infantry- and vehicle-based. The game spans multiple eras, and there are certain charming elements- like chaotic and satisfying moments- that are said to only happen in Battlefield. However, these mostly positively reviewed games' most recent entry, Battlefield 2042, has received flak, and a great deal of it.

The first apparent issues were found during the beta. The map felt barren, and lag was unbearable. The general gameplay was quite fun, but the content was sparse. Even before the beta, some features of the trailer worried gamers- such as a lack of a single-player campaign. When the game was released in full, things worsened even further. A combination of a lack of content (uniform weapons, boring modes, maps with barren landscapes), poor connections, issues with hitboxes, broken vehicles, lots of lag, the poorly balanced nature of the "Hazard Zone mode", and a plethora of removed content led to major backlash when the game was released. It soon became the 8th worst reviewed game on Steam. According to some, 2042 felt rushed and unfinished, a game that would have been just fine, or maybe even great, if it was given another few months or a year of development. Possibly after some updates, 2042 will live up to the hype, but as of now, it is a mediocre mess.

Battlefield 2042 may be able to recover, but can the series as a whole? It’s up in the air, but it seems likely if the devs of 2042 can fix the game to an acceptable level. As of now, it’s another warning to developers to not rush their games out too early and compromise a good gaming experience.