Battlefield 2042 is a solid FPS these days, and it's less than $3 right now

Save for No Man's Sky many moons ago, I can't remember being more crushed and underwhelmed by a game's launch than Battlefield 2042. A buggy, rushed FPS game that reworked or stripped out some core, defining Battlefield features, it was extremely disappointing when it first dropped. However, these days, it's a different story. I know its reputation is hard to look past, but over the last three and a half years, developer Dice has invested a lot of energy into improving the game. Today, it's an enjoyable, solid entry in the series, and right now you can grab it for a ridiculously low price.

While its rollout of Call of Duty-esque seasons wrapped up a while ago now, Battlefield 2042 is still supported with updates and themed events fairly regularly. A new event is already being teased for later this month, which will bring back items from past battle passes and make them unlockable (or purchasable) once more. If you were to hop into the game today, you wouldn't find the buggy mess you experienced (or at the very least heard about) at launch.

Its controversial Specialists system has also undergone a rework to make it feel more like the traditional classes that made past games in the series so popular. It's also now packed with loads of maps and weapons, and some of those underwhelming maps from launch have been drastically improved.

I'm not going to sit here and say that it's now deserving of a place on our illustrious list of the best FPS games, or that it can hold a candle to some of my favorite games in the series like Battlefield 1 or Battlefield 3. However, it still offers all the thrills you'd want from a Battlefield title, with great vehicular combat, environmental destruction, and a huge arsenal of weapons and gadgets.

I've been dipping in and out of 2042 over the last couple of years, and I've always come away satisfied. When you can assemble a few of your mates and dive in as a squad, it feels even better.

Now, thanks to the Steam Summer Sale, PC players can get this redeemed, enjoyable shooter for a remarkably low price. Until Thursday, July 10, Battlefield 2042 is 95% off on Steam and will set you back just $2.99 / £2.49 - the lowest price it's ever been on Valve's storefront.

If you're already looking forward to the Battlefield 6 release date, 2042 is certainly now a viable FPS to fill your time. On Steam alone, there are still thousands of players jumping on every day, so as long as you stick to some of the core modes, you should be fine finding lobbies. If you think that 2042 really isn't for you, we can recommend plenty of other explosive war games instead.

You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We've also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.