The story campaign in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has numerous restrictions tied to its always-online nature, with no method of pausing levels. You’ll also be booted from your game if you’re idle for too long.
As detailed in IGN’s just-published Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign review (which rates the offering as a 6/10), the story experience — traditionally offered as a solo affair — is really more geared to being played via online co-op, which it supports for up to four people.
The downsides of that, however, are that the game offers no AI companions to fill in if you have missing spots on your four-person squad, no checkpoints, no difficulty options, and the need to repeat tasks clearly designed for completion by multiple players if you are playing solo.
“Playing solo is borderline tedious due to having to repeat multiple objectives, such as placing C4 on a building yourself four times rather than splitting them up as is intended,” our review notes as one example of this.
Set in 2035, Black Ops 7’s campaign features a starry cast that includes Gilmore Girls and This is Us star Milo Ventimiglia as the returning David Mason, alongside Guardians of the Galaxy hero Michael Rooker and Sabrina the Teenage Witch actress Kiernan Shipka.
Long-term Call of Duty fans may raise their eyebrows at some of the more fantastical sequences presented in the mode, with trippy visuals and towering bosses more often seen in something like Activision’s former stablemate Destiny. But it’s here that the offering also provides some variety.
“Dodging giant falling machetes like you’ve stumbled into a Looney Tunes cartoon is a one-off joy, as is taking control of a lavish luxury boat and ramming into the side of a building,” our review continues. “Moments like this feel pinched right out of Christopher Nolan’s back pocket and sit perfectly in the Call of Duty mold.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 arrives just 12 months on from last year’s Black Ops 6 — the first time that the veteran shooter franchise has gone back to the same well of one of its sub-brands for a second year running. The tight turnaround comes just as EA’s rival Battlefield franchise makes its own big return, amping up the pressure on Activision’s new shooter installment.
IGN’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer review so far is still in-progress though, initially at least, sounds more positive.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
