Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 review – A strong multiplayer and Zombies mode offsets a dull and poor campaign

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A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is an interesting game because it largely moves away from the elements that made its predecessor, Black Ops 6, a recent standout title.

Black Ops 7 feels somewhat confused and doesn’t really justify being a brand new game, despite offering excellent improvements to the multiplayer and Zombies modes found in the previous installment.

I’m really excited about the story in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7! It’s a direct continuation of Black Ops 2 from way back in 2012. You play as David Mason, who is actually Alex Mason’s son. And it’s cool because they’re bringing back characters from all over the Black Ops series – like Troy Marshall, who we met in Black Ops 6. It’s going to be awesome seeing how everything connects!

There are even some fun nods to the beloved Black Ops 1 that offer some highlights.

Emma Kagan, the head of the robotics company The Guild, is deliberately causing Mason and other characters to experience terrifying nightmares. She’s doing this by using Raul Menendez and a special toxin that forces them to relive their most painful memories and deepest fears.

This is where Call of Duty Black Ops 7’s campaign gets pretty wacky.

The show has often used mysterious or dreamlike storytelling, but this time it feels chaotic and doesn’t work very well.

Once you get past the initial shock of the game’s craziness, things like being aided by a massive zombie swarm during your escape from Vorkuta prison, or battling a giant Harper who attacks with spit, become surprisingly normal.

Honestly, the Black Ops 7 campaign isn’t hitting the mark for me. I’ve always loved how past Black Ops games felt realistic, even when they were getting a little crazy with the story. This one just doesn’t quite capture that same feeling.

As a long-time fan, what really bothers me about this campaign isn’t just specific issues, but how rushed it feels. It just doesn’t have the same level of polish and attention to detail we’ve come to expect from the series, especially after how amazing the Black Ops 6 campaign was last year. It feels like it wasn’t given the love it deserved.

The game rushes you through its story in roughly four hours, switching quickly between traditional levels and Avalon, a large, battle royale-style endgame map. This fast pace feels exhausting, and Avalon itself is disappointing – it’s a repetitive mix of uninspired tasks, enemies that take too much damage, and areas recycled from Black Ops 6 and other titles.

It feels forced and doesn’t really connect to the main story.

Adding this new endgame mode has also impacted the campaign’s co-op experience. It’s introduced a full progression system with things like level-up notifications, cosmetic unlocks, and random power-ups, plus weapon caches similar to those in Warzone. This ultimately distracts from the core campaign experience.

After playing for a couple of hours, the late-game content becomes repetitive. Although it’s cool to see Call of Duty trying out a new PvE extraction shooter mode, it feels uninspired. Most enemies are simply recycled from previous Black Ops games, the missions aren’t very engaging, and progressing relies on a lot of repetitive grinding to upgrade your character before you can face the final boss.

The multiplayer in Black Ops 7 is a real highlight. While I had fun with Black Ops 6’s multiplayer, this new version feels like a return to the classic Call of Duty experience from the Black Ops and Black Ops 2 days.

The game strongly feels like a return to Black Ops 2, offering a similar pace of combat, many of the same weapons, and maps designed to capture the feel of that game’s beloved multiplayer.

The gunplay in this game is a significant improvement over Black Ops 6, and the movement – which combines elements of wall running from Black Ops 3 and jetpacks from Advanced Warfare – adds a layer of skill without being overly complicated for players.

The game boasts a great variety of weapons, and the maps are truly excellent – some of the best Call of Duty has seen in years.

Popular maps like Toshin stand out with their beautiful look and smooth gameplay, offering interesting areas and flanking routes. Blackheart is another strong choice, excelling at the design of a compact, intense map – a better execution than we’ve seen before.

You can also improve your scorestreaks, grenades, and field upgrades with extra abilities, adding more depth to the class system without making huge changes. This version of the game is currently the strongest it’s been in a long time.

The multiplayer experience builds on the foundation of Black Ops 6, offering even more challenges and valuable rewards for players to unlock.

We’ve made unlocking weapon camouflage a little easier to reduce frustration, though it still takes significant time and effort. Now, each weapon has two prestige levels you can achieve, followed by 150 additional levels after becoming a Prestige Master. These extra levels offer unique camos to earn, culminating in a special, ultimate camo for each weapon – many of which are beloved designs from past Black Ops games.

This game really taps into the feelings of those who loved the original Black Ops games, especially Black Ops 2. And getting rid of the overly competitive matchmaking system is the best thing the series has done in a long time.

The new Zombies map, Ashes of the Damned, essentially asks, “What if we recreated the large, open-world experience of the TranZit map from Black Ops 2, but made it genuinely fun to play?” Treyarch has delivered a much-improved, expansive map that avoids the frustrating issues of its predecessor.

This isn’t a complete re-creation, but it includes plenty of enjoyable references and shared elements. For example, T.E.D.D., the bus driver, and Ol’ Tessie, an armored truck, both return in this map.

The map is enjoyable, but it doesn’t quite capture the intense, close-quarters feeling of the Zombies mode in Black Ops 6. There’s plenty to do, with lots of things to manage, but you’ll also find hidden secrets, enjoyable optional tasks that reward you with perks, and opportunities to improve your weapons.

The map is fun, much like many of the maps in Black Ops 6. More importantly, it suggests a welcome return to the series’ complex storytelling. It appears Treyarch is finally weaving together the long-running storylines, building towards a powerful finale.

Black Ops 7 unfortunately repeats some of the same issues that plagued the criticized Modern Warfare 3 (2023). Although every aspect of this game is significantly better – the multiplayer is the best it’s been in years, and Zombies continues the story well – it ultimately feels more like a large expansion for Black Ops 6 than a fully realized sequel.

The Black Ops story, which used to be a highlight, feels like it was just tacked on in this game. And the new endgame mode doesn’t offer enough compelling content to justify sidelining the campaign like this.

If you’re a big fan of Black Ops Zombies and multiplayer, Black Ops 7 is worth buying. Otherwise, if you prefer other game modes or aren’t heavily invested in those features, you can probably skip this installment.

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2025-11-19 20:35