Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review

Treyarch is officially back in the driver's seat, and for good reason. Apparently, Black Opera 6 was a success and revived the franchise's Cold War roots. So it's no surprise that Activision has once again handed the reins to Treyarch instead of rotating studios. Result? Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is an ambitious, comprehensive shooter that offers a staggering amount of content right off the bat.

On day one we have 18 multiplayer maps out of the box, a full co-op campaign, an extensive endgame system filled with objectives and real-time world events, and of course a fully realized Zombies mode, which is arguably the best Zombies mode at launch there has ever been. There's even a survival mode and the return of Dead Ops Arcade 4, just in case. It's almost overwhelming how much you can do here. Whether you're a campaign enthusiast, a multiplayer fan like me, or an undead slayer, there's something for every shooter fan.

And with Season 1 content just around the corner, Black Ops 7 is a year-round game. And that's the whole point, as the franchise does everything it can to keep you hooked all year long.

Campaign: Ambitious, glitchy, but fun

The most distinctive feature of the campaign is its co-op mode. I managed to complete the campaign with two others throughout the story. It's a great setup, but not without its problems. During our gaming session, we encountered numerous glitches, non-functioning cutscenes, and unresponsive buttons.

Honestly, Treyarch's track record and resources mean these will likely be fixed soon (if not already). Still, it's hard not to feel pain when a cinematic moment doesn't work right before the big reveal.

When it really works, the campaign is explosive and starts with storytelling. The storyline takes place in 2035, when global tensions and psychological warfare have reached a critical point. We follow David “Section” Mason and his elite JSOC squad, Specter One, as they embark on secret missions around the world to investigate a mysterious new weapon that has the power to turn fear itself into an instrument of mass destruction.

This leads them to a shady technology conglomerate called the Guild, which claims to protect humanity but whose true motives are much darker. Amidst the chaos, an old familiar enemy appears: Raul Menendez. The infamous villain from Black Ops 2 returns as history repeats itself in the most dangerous way.

Sure, it's over-the-top, silly, and downright weird at times, but Black Ops 7 does a surprisingly good job of exploring how fear can be used as a weapon. This may seem far-fetched, but given today's political climate, such chaos will not seem completely impossible in ten years. As wild as this story is, I still find it truly fascinating.

In total, not counting the Finale, there are 11 missions waiting for you, which you can easily complete in a day. It's difficult to pinpoint exact game times due to some of the issues we encountered and frequent stop-and-start moments. However, there's no doubt that you'll be able to reach the Endgame in a single day, which isn't much but isn't surprising since Call of Duty campaigns typically last less than eight hours.

Aside from the co-op elements, the single-player campaign doesn't reinvent the wheel. I tend to appreciate a little more variety and innovation in Call of Duty campaigns, but this one falls a little short in that regard. However, the new grappling hook, kinetic jumping abilities, and wingsuit mechanics add a refreshing twist to both movement and combat. And they seem fantastic to use. While the campaign remains largely linear, as with most games in the series, the levels are impressively large, offering multiple paths, a bit of freedom, and extremely hidden collectibles that reward players who take the time to explore.

Enemies are tough and often require multiple bullets to take them down. Some of the puzzle sequences are good, although some feel unnecessary. On the other hand, boss fights are surprisingly intense and full of unexpected twists, and the gunplay remains as precise and responsive as ever.

Where Black Ops 7 really shines is in the post-campaign endgame – a vast system of challenges, missions and unlockables spread across a huge map divided into difficulty zones. There's a real sense of progress here that makes the campaign feel like more than just a one-time experience. The ending gives players plenty of reasons to come back and keep grinding.

As you progress deeper into Endgame, you begin to unlock skill tracks. Completing objectives strengthens these tracks, allowing you to improve your reload speed, health, tactical abilities, wingsuit control, and more. It's a deep and rewarding system that adds serious replayability and long-term motivation to keep diving into the game. And it will be updated throughout the year.

The ending is somewhat of a game changer for the Call of Duty campaign. It reminds me of Modern Warfare III's big open-world Zombies mode, but it's much more user-friendly and thankfully not nearly as glitchy. I can't wait to see how it will be updated throughout the year.

Multiplayer: addictive and explosive

If you played the beta, you know what to expect, but the full game goes further. Black Ops 7's multiplayer mode is a smorgasbord of content, offering all the modes you'll need and a few new ones that keep matches feeling fresh.

Of course, it still looks and runs like classic COD, but there are enough changes to make it feel updated. The gameplay is reminiscent of the tense and deliberate Black Ops, combining fast-paced action with plenty of tactical breathing room. Omnimovement returns, but is recruited back. For example, tactical sprinting is now an advantage, and wall jumping replaces wall running. This wall jumping feature essentially creates a system that rewards skill rather than spam. I've been the victim of some incredible kills in the highlight moments where an enemy player has jumped, bounced off a wall, and shot me in the head. The combination of sharp gunplay, polished graphics and refined movement makes this the closest thing to Black Ops 2 the series has seen in years.

As I mentioned above, the game has had an impressive amount of content loaded into it since day one. With 30 weapons (16 brand new) and 18 maps available at launch, there's no shortage of variety. Overload mode, a new 6v6 objective-based mode, offers controlled chaos and some strategy, while larger modes like Skirmish rival Ground War, with squad spawns, vehicles, wingsuits, and dynamic targets. Add in score streaks like the hour-long DAWG and unique perks that shape your playstyle, and Black Ops 7 feels more flexible and robust than any recent game.

Multiplayer was created with a long-term perspective. A new boost system allows players to upgrade field gear, score streaks, and gear mid-match, while weapon prestige, mastery camos, and global progression systems ensure ongoing rewards. The overclocking system is my favorite new feature. For example, shrapnel can be improved by increasing the throw range and the density of the explosive material. Lethal, Tactical, and Field upgrades all have overclocks that you can unlock. Thanks to the overclock, score streaks are now even more deadly, as Hellstorm can fire an additional cluster rocket, for example. Needless to say, I love this extra layer.

Bottom line, there's no shortage of things to unlock. Everything from the perk design to the progression cycle is perfectly tuned for replayability. It's still unmistakably Call of Duty, but thoughtful and incredibly meaningful.

And Time to Kill (TTK) may be the best thing a Call of Duty game has ever had.

I have to say that I like how you can send your weapon build to another player. A quiet little new feature for a guy like me who is never happy with his gun setup and is always fiddling with things. Each assembly can be assigned a code that you can transfer to another player. It's that simple.

Interestingly, classic matchmaking is making a comeback, meaning skill-based matchmaking is taking a backseat. Result? Some matches feel like a victory parade, while others feel like a brutal journey through hell. It's nostalgic, chaotic and contradictory. Whether this is a stroke of genius or a step back depends on how much pain you can endure between killstreaks.

Zombies: Undead Perfection

Black Ops 7's Zombies mode is phenomenal. Everything that worked in Black Ops 6 is back, now complete with a huge open map, a survival mode, new enemies, new weapons, new gum and an incredible amount of replayability. The cooperative chaos feels refined, the objectives are interesting, and the sense of progression makes each playthrough worthwhile.

Set in the Dark Aether, Ashes feels like a spiritual successor to Black Ops 2's TranZit, only bigger and more cohesive. This is a vast, interconnected world with explorable zones, convenient movement mechanics and an incredible level of freedom. The highlight is the “Old Tessie” wonder car, a fully controllable, upgradeable vehicle that acts as your lifeline, Pack-a-Punch station, and gateway between locations. It's all over with the return of fan favorite TEDD racer

Beyond its scale, Ashes of the Damned brings some innovation. The eerie fog zones between regions keep you on your toes with constant spawning, and Cursed Mode takes the intensity of the game to old-school extremes – no mini-map, no weapons in your loadout, just pure survival. New wonder weapons like the Necrofluid Gauntlet bring a creative twist, allowing players to absorb ammo and gain bonuses while in combat. Treyarch is also reviving survival maps for the first time since Black Ops 2, offering fast-paced, stripped-down challenges, and even Dead Ops Arcade 4, now with experience progression and more mayhem than ever across 80 levels and 20 arenas.

It's clear Treyarch wants Black Opera 7 Zombies are both nostalgic and forward-thinking. Consolidated progression across Zombies, Campaign, and Multiplayer modes ensures no time is wasted and each mode feels meaningful. From fog-shrouded highways to the fiery depths of the Dark Aether, Ashes of the Damned feels like the ultimate realization of what zombies were always meant to be. It's ambitious, interconnected, and endlessly replayable.

Final Thoughts

With Treyarch at the helm and eight studios collaborating on development, Activision has clearly spared no expense on Black Ops 7. The collaborative approach shows production values ​​are on the rise. Despite a few technical hiccups, this is one of the most meaningful Call of Duty games ever released.

Treyarch has created something special: a sweeping, ambitious, and endlessly replayable shooter that touches nearly every corner of the Call of Duty fandom. It's not flawless, and some may scoff at its lack of innovation, but it represents a stunning achievement in both scale and ambition. Massive and at times messy, it is nonetheless a thrilling ride. Black Ops 7 gives fans everything they could hope for and more.

***Xbox code was provided for the purposes of this review***