Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review - Excellent Multiplayer, Abysmal Campaign

A year passes by, I get old, and Activision releases a new Call of Duty, changing everything about the game in the process. Since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) came out, yearly Call of Duty releases have become a ticking time bomb for me.

Each game essentially undoes everything the previous game fixed, making the whole life cycle of the new title a grueling process. Moreover, since the inception of Call of Duty: Warzone, every Call of Duty studio has had to craft their game keeping the battle royale in mind, and trust me, it's not a good thing.

This year, we have been greeted by Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 from Treyarch, which jumps to the futuristic era of Call of Duty from the post-Cold War setting of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. While fans of the series were excited to get a boots-off-the-ground Call of Duty title after so long, I personally was sceptical of the whole thing, considering the game has to integrate with the whole Call of Duty: Warzone 2 schtick.

I recently got the opportunity to finally try out the new title after its release, and unfortunately, this year's experience didn't go as I hoped it would. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 feels like a chained-together effort that tries to fill the yearly Call of Duty quota for Activision while ignoring what makes the shooter title a staple for the fans of the series.

Ghastly Campaign

By all means, I am a very optimistic person all around, especially when it comes to gaming and shooter titles. I am always eager to try out and look at new things with an open mind. Unfortunately, for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign, it's been a major challenge for me. I am not trying to be rude or disrespect anyone who obviously worked hard for the game, but in my humble opinion, this might be one of the worst Call of Duty campaigns to grace the gaming scene.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review

The open world and Warzone-ish design for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is not it. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) and Black Ops 6 (2024) titles used the same design but to some extent. Narrative-driven campaigns were also the standpoint for Call of Duty titles, and it is what made games like the OG Call of Duty: Black Ops and Modern Warfare titles memorable for me and the majority of the fans of the series.

From the get-go, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign becomes a slop that enforces game mechanics from Call of Duty: Warzone. It becomes even worse when you realise the campaign's a co-op experience you have to share with other players. While I tried to get a free-minded outlook on the story with my campaign teammates, we all ended up baffled at how bad it is. The enemies are bullet sponges, which makes the time-to-kill in a story mode much longer than it needs to be.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review

Visually, the game looks as good as it needs to be. Unfortunately, I could not pull myself together to finish the campaign after playing the first few missions. Even though I am a fan of Milo Ventimiglia (This is Us and Heroes) as David Mason and Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men) as Emma Kagan, the campaign fell apart for me strictly for the game design choices and a story that jumps all over the place.

Polar Opposite Multiplayer

Just like flipping a coin, the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer is a completely different beast from its weak campaign. Treyarch manages to build on the omni-movement mechanics from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, making movement more fluid, and with the futuristic boots-off-the-ground aspect, it all comes together like two peas in a pod.

The gunplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is also reminiscent of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Advanced Warfare. Almost every weapon in the game, especially the assault rifles and SMGs, felt smoother than before. The visual recoil is almost minimal, making the game feel a lot more arcadey. Most gunfights in the game went smoother than in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. With the obvious nerf to rotational aim assist, hitting your shots actually takes some practice. I think keyboard and mouse players are eating very well this year.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review

The map design in the game is very much improved from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. It seems like Treyarch has finally managed to fix the egregious spawns this year. Although Nuketown spawns still remain the same as ever. Moreover, I was impressed with how well the maps complemented the futuristic setting of the game.

One of the biggest upgrades this year is the colour and visual choices Treyarch has made for the operator and weapon skins. Unlike the skins added to the game in the past year, like the cursed American Dad skin, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's operator skins manage to portray the aesthetic choices of a futuristic Call of Duty title. However, it will be a test of time to see if Treyarch falls back to their previous skin choices in the later stages of the game's lifecycle.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review

Visually, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a very colourful and friendly-looking shooter title. I respect the devs for toning down the stereotypical gloomy filter of past Call of Duty titles. The graphical fidelity of the game is up to modern standards but it gets severely held back by last-gen consoles.

Honey with a Hint of Venom

The title might sound corny, but Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's multiplayer shoots itself in the foot for some avoidable issues. Let me begin with the performance issue. Most Call of Duty titles run very well on the PlayStation 5; however, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 had its fair share of issues. I encountered some performance issues after launch, which was unexpected because Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 had almost 0 performance issues on the PlayStation 5. The game files being tied to Call of Duty: Warzone 2 makes it even more problematic, as the Call of Duty HQ itself feels like a chore to maintain with every update.

The second issue that made the multiplayer seem less fun in the long run is the new open matchmaking system. Even though Treyarch urges that there is minimal SBMM in the open matchmaking playlist, I think it is almost similar to the usual lobbies we are used to seeing with the SBMM. Some matches feel like the opponents are playing like professional Call of Duty players, while some matches feel like I am playing with someone who has never played a shooter title before, and there is no in-between.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review

Finally, the worst thing that caught my eye is the use of generative AI for calling cards. Many calling cards in the game feature the signature yellow piss filter, which is the telltale sign of generative AI. Moreover, they Ghibli-fied some calling cards, which is totally out of line for a Call of Duty title. In the age of AI, I am not criticising their choice of using AI, but I am pointing out that there are other things they can use it for, rather than letting artists create calling cards like every other Call of Duty title. Small things like calling cards are important to players, as they remain a major way of tailoring the in-game profile to their taste.

Final Thoughts

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 feels like a penthouse apartment with a broken elevator. While the multiplayer mode feels like one of the best ones I have played in the past few years, it is severely held back by its poor campaign. The futuristic setting of this year's Call of Duty title might be off-putting for many players, like we have seen in the past with titles like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Infinite Warfare. 

The game has serious potential, which can only be achieved if Treyarch manages to build on the game's strong foundation with constant updates that address the matchmaking as well as performance issues of the game.

In all honesty, I think most longstanding and new players will not miss out on much action if they decide to skip Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 this year. Is it a good game? Yes, to some degree, but there are other excellent shooter alternatives this year, like Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders.