Star Wars Battlefront II Review Roundup: Play It or Skip It?

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Star Wars Battlefront II's story and progression systems are divisive, but reviewers still seem to be having a good time.

Star Wars Battlefront II is almost here, and the reviews are, well, all over the place. EA and Dice's latest take on the Galaxy Far, Far Away is divisive, to say the least. So is the Force with this game?

Credit: EA

(Image credit: EA)

Most reviews are still "in progress," as critics don't feel that they've played enough of the game to render a final verdict. And with the developer and publisher rushing to make changes after a negative early response from fans, some outlets are holding their reviews altogether until retail copies come out on Nov. 17th.

Here's what the critics are saying so far:

GameSpot

GameSpot's Alessandro Fillari found the campaign to be somewhat predictable, but says the fun lies in the expansive multiplayer modes. On top of that, the game's design makes it easy to feel like you're in one of the films.

Along with some stellar visual and sound-design, the large-scale battles have the same exciting flow as Star Wars' most iconic fights, where one heroic action can turn the tide of a conflict. - Alessandro, Fillari, GameSpot

The issue, though, is the game's reliance on loot boxes to get the best stuff, along with a confusing progression system that's not easily or fully explained.

PC Gamer

Over at PC Gamer, Tyler Wilde found the game to be beautifully designed, but also thought the story was far too predictable. His biggest issue, though, was also the progression system.

Wilde was also slightly tripped up by the progression system, which is "interlocked" with premium currency you have to buy, and that the best heroes take too much trouble to unlock.

The Verge

Bryan Bishop focused solely on the single-player campaign at The Verge, which he largely enjoyed. He praised the new protagonist, Iden Versio, and her moral ambiguity, and found that the game is a technical marvel that far outpaces the first game.

Battlefront II is a remarkable improvement over the original on almost every level. - Bryan Bishop, The Verge

But the story does have one issue: It sometimes jumps away from Versio to focus on other, more established characters, taking players away from a new story they haven't seen before.

IGN

IGN's Tom Marks described the game's single-player campaign as "unimaginative" with some levels focusing on characters other than the lead, which feel like filler. But he spent most of the game laser-focused on the multiplayer, praising the 40-player Galactic Assault.

Battlefront 2’s Star Cards may be one of the worst progression systems I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing in a PvP game. - Tom Marks, IGN

But, like many others, he hated the progression system, including Star Cards and premium loot boxes. "[A]ll class leveling, ability customization, and upgrading is funneled through a randomized loot box system with tediously high in-game credit costs if you don’t spend real money to skip over the grind," he writes. Marks said he had fun in spite of the system, not because of it.

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Andrew E. Freedman
Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is an editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming as well as keeping up with the latest news. He holds a M.S. in Journalism (Digital Media) from Columbia University. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Kotaku, PCMag, Complex, Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag among others.