Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 review

Call of Duty is stuck in this weird spot of being both an industry-shaking success year after year that fails to completely please its core player base time and again. This year, it feels like Treyarch and Raven have gotten as close as possible to recapturing the ‘lost magic’ of the PS3/360 era while also improving on the unyielding formula across Black Ops 6’s three modes in meaningful ways.

After its identity crisis during the eighth generation of consoles, it seemed like 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot was CoD’s ticket to entering a new golden era. Looking at the sales numbers and the post-Warzone madness guided by endless seasons and the ridiculously overpriced skin packs, sure, CoD has never been bigger. But what about its lasting cultural impact beyond the Twitch crowd?

By and large, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (which actually is the fourth in its messy, half-rebooted timeline) feels like both Treyarch and Raven taking a good, objective look at what has been done to the core formula and loop since 2019, stripping it back down to its modern basics, and adding stuff on top without losing clear sight of what made CoD so freakin’ huge and magnetic. This installment is a fantastic exercise in ‘less is more’ that somehow manages to wow at every turn with smart experiments, especially concerning its memorable campaign, and doesn’t dilute the central experience with trend-chasing bloat and needlessly convoluted grind.

The story/setting takes us to 1991, with Frank Woods somehow still active after getting his legs nearly blown off in Panama (yes, Black Ops 2’s 1980s events are canon) and Russell Adler continuing to sport marvelous hair while being too unpredictable and committed to the larger cause even for the CIA. There are two or three cameos from 2020’s Cold War thrown in for good measure, but for the most part, Black Ops 6 story’s first obvious strength is the big refresh to its main cast of rogue operatives. They’re a shady but younger bunch, almost effortlessly fleshed out over the course of the lively campaign with a number of well-placed character beats, distinct personalities and story arcs, and much-needed downtimes between missions inside a country safehouse that holds many secrets for the curious.

In Black Ops: Cold War, Raven Software already toyed with the idea of perhaps loosening the tried-and-tested ‘giant blockbuster’ formula a little bit, delivering some missions that were open-ended and even included secondary tasks and a surprising amount of decision-making. In Black Ops 6, the RPG elements that reared their head in the previous entry are dialed back, but on the other hand, everything else feels more daring.

Few missions feel alike over the course of the eight-hour campaign, with the overarching design swinging wildly from immersive sim-like sandboxes with guardrails, to more linear spectacle, to genre-bending romps that feel like beta tests for potential spinoffs. All in all, it’s more of a very juiced-up ’90s spy movie than a military story campaign, and I’d wager folks that haven’t been paying attention to CoD in recent times will respond well to that approach.

It was reasonable to expect great things from BO6’s campaign after the extra time the developers have had to bake it real good, but it may very well be one of the year’s biggest single-player surprises, and while some diehard fans might find some of its kookier swings a tad much, I was extremely happy to be blown away again by a Call of Duty campaign this late into the billion-dollar franchise’s life cycle. In fact, I strongly believe we’ll be coming back to two or three missions in this package for future reference, as they easily set new standards for what can be done with these overblown interactive blockbusters. Needless to say, Jack Wall’s fantastic (as always) score also helps.

Of course, you don’t grab the latest Call of Duty for deep-cutting political commentary or fair treatment of countries that aren’t the United States of America or the United Kingdom. Eyebrow-raising sections during which foreigners are reduced to little more than cannon fodder are still a thing, especially when they’re followed up by mindless zombie hordes (yes, really), but you know the deal by now.

Even though it wasn’t perfect by any means, Modern Warfare 2019 committed to doing something through a different point of view, even if the bad guys were ridiculously cartoonish and American politics permeated everything. Five years later, the franchise hasn’t tried something like that again, and BO6’s most cutting commentary is aimed at the CIA as this flawed, faceless monolith that kinda sucks, but is ‘necessary’ without really pointing fingers at anyone tangible. Yet again, a bad apple doesn’t spoil the barrel because saying otherwise would make this triple-A behemoth unpublishable.

The Zombies mode is also back and returning to the classic round-based format, making it a highlight of the package once again. After trying a number of twists in past years, Treyarch just squarely focused on making ‘good ol’ Zombies’ this time around, yet all the tech and movement improvements are part of the deal here as well, thus making running from the hungry hordes more frantic but enjoyable. Yes, you can ‘Max Payne’ your way out of a potentially lethal situation or stupidly throw yourself into the munchers if you miscalculate.

Though the new ‘omnimovement’ system was tailor-made for the core multiplayer experience, I’d say Zombies greatly benefits from it. My only complaint on this front, as someone who’s never been a huge fan of the mode, is that two (admittedly big) levels aren’t enough at launch, but this should be fixed sooner rather than later through the usual seasonal drops.

Perhaps what will make me stick around the mode for a while longer is that it finally feels less ‘aimless’ thanks to easy-to-follow quest objectives and map layouts that are better defined. Sure, secrets and Easter eggs still abound, and all the systems and mechanics (perks, weapon upgrades, gobblegums…) are in service of replaying the missions over and over again, but there’s a clearer structure to them that many players will appreciate.

Last but not least, the central MP experience has all the basic modes you’d expect at launch (minus perhaps Gun Game), with Treyarch clearly saving some bangers for later. In fact, we’re getting Infected and this year’s Nuketown map this week. Sure, the playlist selection is rather thin right now, but that’s how it always is during the first few weeks. Personally, I dig the ‘purity’ of early-weeks Call of Duty, before seasons start pouring in and zany collaborations gradually make the game Fortnite for grown-ups.

In any case, Black Ops 6’s multiplayer is an absolute blast to play and the most tight and polished the series has felt in more than a decade. While Cold War had the right ideas, its rustier underlying tech vs. Modern Warfare’s 2019 refresh undercut its potential. This time around, Treyarch’s work feels both modern and traditional where it counts. Gunplay is fantastic and crunchy, the sound has seen a massive improvement, and omnimovement is a delight that’s the exact opposite of complicated to handle. Sure, tryhards will make the most of it, but even players that choose a more straightforward playstyle will benefit from how bodies now move and react to every window, wall, and obstacle.

Another marked advance comes from rolling back pointless changes to the progression and perk systems, actually. MW3’s Armory was one of the biggest head-scratchers in last year’s troubled entry; an extra layer of grind that only made obtaining weapons, parts, items, and kill/scorestreaks needlessly slow and tiring. Likewise, perks had once again waded into ‘what the hell are we doing here’ territory, with splits that made little sense and class archetypes that felt off when CoD’s create-a-class system has always firmly encouraged flexibility over everything. In Black Ops 6, you just play and level up to get stuff, like in the older games. That’s it. And when it comes to the perks, they work like they used to, with the added bonus of extra perks should you choose to specialize in a type of loadout build. Instead of restrictive, it all feels rewarding. More importantly, far less time is spent navigating menus and submenus.

This no-BS approach also applies to camos, masteries, and prestiges. A quick glance at those gives you all the information you need on the work and rewards involved. There’s a lot of stuff to grind towards, but it just isn’t a hassle to navigate and make sense of. It’s a multiplayer experience that you simply pick up and play, with clear targets and a selection of modes that has let go of large-scale experiments that never fully came together. I’m fully expecting a hypothetical Modern Warfare 4 to try again due to the subfranchise’s own flavor, and that’s okay, but Black Ops 6 is doing ‘leaner and meaner’ and is better for it.

Unsurprisingly, there are heated arguments happening already over the map selection at launch and whether they’re too large or simply dreadful. This specific discussion is one of those that feel like a loop that happens every year. Sure, some CoD installments do maps better than others, but the game hasn’t even been out for a week yet, so it’s hard to discern how players will adapt to each battleground’s layout and camping/movement possibilities. Personally, I think Shipment 24/7 playlists have rotted many brains, and dig the variety on display this time around. None of these maps disgust me, which is more than I can say about other recent launch-day selections (MW3 2023 cheated by going with remastered OG MW2 maps for the most part).

The extra time in the oven has also translated into a robust tech showcase no matter which current-gen platform you’re on, with PS5 having the added extra DualSense haptics and fancy triggers plus system-level 3D audio that kicks ass in tandem with Treyarch’s default recommended sound mix. Both Raven and Treyarch also made excellent use of the recent IW 9.0 engine; BO6 not only looks gorgeous (even when switching to the 120Hz mode on consoles), it also feels far smoother than its predecessor overall. Say what you want about Call of Duty, it’s a game series which consistently makes the most of console hardware and performs amazingly well… as long as you leave the last-gen behind as soon as possible. Special shoutout here to the level designers and artists, who delivered a good handful of marvelously detailed and intricate locations in the story campaign that are far more than fancy set dressing.

In conclusion, Black Ops 6 isn’t just a strong new entry in a massive franchise that feels like going to Burger King and getting exactly what you ordered. It’s the most confident Call of Duty has been in years, with both Raven and Treyarch taking a few well-calculated chances where they could afford to do so, and trimming the fat off the core ‘Twitch FPS’ experience that regular customers come for year after year. As a direct result, the whole package becomes a really easy recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in military-themed competitive shooters. Respawn issues and small glitches are a thing, but there’s a rock-solid offering of varied FPS thrills here that are just well-executed all the way through. As the kids say: we’re so back.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched October 25 for Xbox One & Series X/S, PS4/5, and PC. This review is written based on PS5 code provided by the publisher.