New Battlefield gameplay trailer reveals more features, calls back to old titles

By Otto Kratky Published June 13, 2021

EA revealed a new gameplay trailer for Battlefield 2042 at the joint Xbox & Bethesda Games E3 Showcase today. Included in the trailer were some new features that we haven’t seen previously in other Battlefield titles, including hot-swapping attachments and wingsuits, which were teased in the game’s announcement trailer. However, the gameplay itself confirmed that 2042 will be more akin to Battlefield 3 or Battlefield 4 than Battlefield V or Battlefield 1.

The trailer today showed gameplay of a 128-player match of conquest. The map for the trailer was set in a large cityscape surrounded by sand dunes. Besides getting a look at some unnamed weapons and vehicles, we also saw the game’s grappling hook in action, with a player using it to swing on top of a large construction crane.

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Of course, today’s trailer gave a large spotlight to Battlefield 2042‘s version of levolution, the mechanic from previous Battlefield title that transforms maps as the game progresses. In 2042, many of these transformations will be caused by massive weather events, such as sandstorms or typhoons.

However, despite all of its new features, Battlefield 2042 seems to be a case of teaching an old Battlefield new tricks. The game has multiple callbacks to Battlefield 3 and 4, with the first real reference coming from its reveal trailer. The jet stunt we saw (where a pilot ejected from their seat to shoot another jet with a rocket launcher, then land back in their own jet) was a clear callback to an old stunt performed in those Battlefield titles.

Battlefield 2042‘s visual style even calls back to those past Battlefield titles. While some other gameplay mechanics have yet to be revealed, such as vehicle customization and classes, it’s a pretty safe to assume at this point that they’ll be similar to Battlefield 3 and 4‘s mechanics.

Battlefield 2042 is set to release on October 22, 2021, for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Origin.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…

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