Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 — a disappointing entry into the series redeemed by a gory Zombies mode

Whenever a new Call of Duty game pops up at the end of the year, you can usually be assured of three things: a rock-solid campaign, riveting zombie-slaying action, and a multiplayer mode designed to keep you engaged with the game until the next Call of Duty arrives a year later.

This year, the franchise has its work cut out for it, as it’s headlined by what is easily the weakest campaign in years and a multiplayer mode that has one foot firmly in the past, thanks to a focus on remastered maps.

A hodgepodge of bad ideas

Feeling less like a tightly choreographed selection of sequences featuring best-in-class gunplay, and more like an experiment to try out several new ideas, the Black Ops 7 campaign is occasionally weird and frequently boring.

Positioned as a direct sequel to 2012’s Black Ops 2, Black Ops 7 still looks like an obscene amount of cash was poured into its development, thanks to flashy cinematics and the recruitment of actors like Milo Ventimiglia and Michael Rooker to the battlefields of tomorrow.

The big change this time is the focus on a co-op campaign that allows up to three other players to join you, and while it’s an interesting idea in theory, the always-online and raid-like structure of each mission feels directly at odds with the traditional Call of Duty campaign experience.

Sure, you can solo it, but this quickly reveals just how outgunned you’ll constantly feel in any mission. With a co-op structure in mind, enemies in Black Ops 7 are more bullet-spongy than ever, sapping the joy from firefights as you burn through ammo. While the handful of missions inspired by bad acid trips are inventive – and include at least one encounter where you fight a giant plant monster – the bulk of the environments are bland and forgettable.

Those are problems that could be forgiven if the story was at least decent, but the Black Ops 7 narrative is just an uncomfortable blend of barely disguised jingoism and hallucinogenic sequences. At least it’s a short trainwreck of a flavourless campaign and the overall gunplay feels like a top-class showcase of firepower, but don’t expect much from the replayable “Endgame” mode.

It’s not that this mode is bad, as co-developer Raven attempts to blend several modes within a battle royale-style map, but it pales in comparison to Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders, two games that launched ahead of Black Ops 7 and are clearly eating its lunch in the online multiplayer space right now.

Multiplayer offers no surprises

But let’s be real: a four-to-five-hour campaign isn’t the main selling point when it comes to Call of Duty in the modern age. Multiplayer is where the franchise shines, and this year’s entry sticks to the winning formula that made last year’s Black Ops 6 so popular.

Some might argue that it’s too familiar, as many of the same maps, perks and guns have been retained for this year’s online offerings. The fantastic omnimovement system has also returned for multiplayer, giving matches a sense of agility and speed that helped revolutionise this space last year.

Treyarch has built on this system even further, fine-tuning it and adding a new wall-jump gameplay mechanic to the mix. It might not sound like much, but once you learn to use these new tools in unexpected ways, multiplayer in Black Ops 7 becomes a fast and furious firefight involving pinpoint precision, tactical slides and exhilarating ambushes. Multiplayer places an emphasis on agility within vertical-focused maps that have a three-lane structure within their design, and to drive this point home, a few other changes have been made.

Skill-based matchmaking has been toned down so that the player pool features a healthier mix of casual and experienced players, and the specialist gadgets and killstreaks lean into the near-future warfare themes further, with some wild technologies that can quickly even the playing field, making most matches come down to the wire.

It’s a Call of Duty multiplayer mode that keeps its fundamentals intact, building on the ambitious foundation introduced in last year’s Black Ops 6. It’s a shame about the glut of AI used in the rewards system, as each level-up is accompanied by pure slop that makes your achievements feel cheap and diminished.

Zombies mode is still a blast

If the Black Ops 7 campaign is a disappointment, then the Zombies mode definitely picks up the slack here. The last couple of years have seen Call of Duty’s popular undead-slaying mode evolve into an armpit-moistening adventure that combines its stellar gunplay with a well-constructed tale of apocalyptic danger. Zombies mode is one that pays off not days or weeks after it launches with a Call of Duty game, but months later, as there are secrets to find and strategies to formulate in each map.

That’s very much the case with the Black Ops 7 Zombies mode, but at a foundational level, this year’s entry is fun, gory and leans hard into its bonkers narrative. It’s also a return to its round-based roots and set inside two massive maps. However, with the benefit of years of technical and gameplay enhancements, killing zombies, upgrading your gear and popping a few GobbleGums into your mouth for a mid-battle perk feels better than ever. Ghouls just want to have fun, after all.

So far, Ashes of the Damned and Vandorn Farm offer two distinct experiences. Vandorn Farm is a meat-grinder of action where you’ll do your best to survive long enough for an extraction while hordes of flesh-eating undead pursue you, and Ashes of the Damned has an old-school charm to its layout and is downright grisly with the horrors lurking within its locations. Zombies mode typically receives some of the best DLC throughout a Call of Duty year, and I can’t wait to see how it evolves over the months to come.

Toughest year to date

The year 2025 might just be the toughest to date for Call of Duty. Back-to-back Black Ops sequels might not sound too bad, but a badly designed campaign mode that doesn’t even allow you to pause for a bathroom break brings the otherwise exciting moment-to-moment action of the multiplayer and Zombies modes down.

A Call of Duty game that is fine in comparison to previous entries is still great, but this year’s game doesn’t exist in a vacuum either, as EA’s Battlefield 6 and new extraction-shooter kid on the block Arc Raiders are tearing up the charts.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 feels like a last-ditch effort to keep the franchise on an annualised release schedule. It’s a problem that has become acutely obvious over the last couple of years, as it feels like for every good and revolutionary Call of Duty game released, it’s followed by a year or two of lacklustre entries.

On its own, it’s a Call of Duty experience that keeps the status quo intact. But in the grand scheme of things? Black Ops 7 is a forgettable chapter in the long-running series and is easily overshadowed by its rivals. DM

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was released on 14 November, and is playable on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series consoles, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It’s also included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. This review was first published on Pfangirl.