Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review. You’d think it couldn’t get any worse, right?

After the stunning success of Battlefield 6, the gaming community abruptly lost interest in the Call of Duty series and, to everyone’s surprise, completely ignored any news surrounding the seventh Black Ops. Just yesterday, everyone was raving about how good the sixth installment was, but now, after the release of the next numbered game, there’s absolute silence. And honestly, that might be for the best, because Treyarch has not only created arguably the worst project in the series (yes, even worse than MW3), but also cut corners in every possible aspect.

In this review, I’ll explain what’s wrong with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and why the franchise desperately needs a complete reboot — otherwise, it’ll quickly sink into obscurity right next to Medal of Honor.

Call of Duty from Treyarch has always been known for its strong stories and competent direction. Just remember Black Ops 6, which many fans consider the best modern entry in the series. The quality of their projects largely depended on development time: the more time the studio was given, the more spectacular and polished the final product turned out.

Logically, the next game should have come from Infinity Ward, since Treyarch released their part last year. In such a short period, the team physically couldn’t create something truly interesting and high-quality. But, surprisingly, it was Infinity Ward who got a delay, and Treyarch had to rush out a slapdash Black Ops 7.

Every element of the story campaign consists of cut and unrealized ideas for Warzone, which the developers barely tied together with expensive cutscenes. The strangest thing is, this isn’t even single-player in the usual sense. Essentially, it’s a co-op “Zombie mode” with a hastily written story that wipes out all the achievements of the Black Ops series.

About a month ago, I criticized Battlefield 6’s single-player campaign for its weak plot, bugs, and boring gameplay, but compared to Black Ops 7, it looks like a solid shooter you wouldn’t be ashamed to recommend to friends. What Microsoft released this year can only be described as a blatant attempt to cash in on fans with minimal investment.

The irony is that Black Ops 7 isn’t even Call of Duty in the classic sense anymore. The easiest comparison is with Left 4 Dead or Redfall. You can play it solo (though technically it’s still session-based), but all the game design is focused on co-op runs and mowing down waves of enemies. An unexpected twist for a series famous for its cinematic, “on-rails” campaigns.

At the same time, playing with friends isn’t as fun as it is in other co-op projects, and playing solo is downright boring. Not only does the game lack mid-mission saves, but you also can’t even pause the gameplay. All of this is set against an incredibly monotonous and tedious process.

As for the difficulty, Black Ops 7 doesn’t feature the usual levels that, in co-op session games, give players a challenge and motivate them to replay. Enemy health and damage are determined by the team size, but even with a full squad, the game never feels truly challenging. It’s obvious that Treyarch didn’t bother with balance or encounter design — there simply wasn’t enough time. Sometimes you’ll find yourself running through completely empty locations, while other times a dozen enemies will spawn in a single doorway, inevitably getting stuck in the geometry and becoming easy targets.

The Black Ops series was famous for its memorable stories and characters, but the seventh installment is a real mockery of common sense. For some unclear reason, the writers abandoned the pseudo-realistic setting in favor of sci-fi fantasy with psychedelic elements. The seventh game feels more like a sequel to Killing Floor than to Call of Duty.

Honestly, I was hoping for a continuation of the Black Ops 2 storyline, not a fever dream. At first, we see the resurrected Raul Menendez and hints of a new global threat, but by the very next mission, the narrative devolves into a banal “dog’s dream,” where four brave soldiers jump through fantastic worlds built in the subconscious. Story-wise, this is explained by the main characters inhaling hallucinogenic gas. It’s a convenient way to add content from “Zombie mode” into a supposedly serious military shooter.

All the key plot points are delivered exclusively through cutscenes, while the gameplay itself is just monotonous bot-shooting without any pre-scripted set pieces. Every level is a reuse of assets that were either already in multiplayer or meant for a Warzone map. If you’re familiar with recent entries in the series, you’ll spot this trick right away. At the same time, Treyarch clearly tried to diversify the tired multiplayer visuals by adding a few locations from the first Black Ops to spark some nostalgia among fans. In reality, there’s only one unique level in the game, which impresses with its design and scale, but you’ll only see it at the very end.

Every mission in Black Ops 6 offered players a unique experience, whereas the seventh game is a sterile shooting gallery where, at the end of most levels, you have to kill a boss. And it would be one thing if these enemies were interesting and well-designed. But no, it’s the classic example of bad game design: a boss helicopter, a stationary turret with a health bar, a giant robot, and a poisonous spitting plant you have to hide from. What’s more, you have to kill some bosses multiple times, simply because the developers couldn’t come up with enough villains for each chapter.

Despite the fact that the Black Ops 7 campaign is fairly short, its monotony manages to become tiresome after just a couple of hours. It doesn’t matter where the action takes place — on a ship, in Tokyo, or on the streets of Avalon — you’re always doing the same thing: mowing down hordes of bullet-sponge bots, just like in Borderlands. Even the weakest co-op action games offer players at least some variety. In Black Ops 7, defending a control point from waves of robots, as banal as it is, almost feels like a unique event.

Gunplay in Black Ops 7 is implemented at the expected Call of Duty level, which is no surprise. But shooting at enemies isn’t fun or satisfying, since they’re just regular bullet sponges. Thanks to the near-future setting, you can wall-run, use a grappling hook, and dive with a wingsuit. These mechanics are executed slightly worse than in the exemplary Titanfall 2, but at least they help break up the tedious runs across huge maps to the next story marker.

After completing the main campaign, you unlock access to the endgame, which you can play for as long as you want. Structurally, this mode resembles a single-player version of DMZ: your squad must complete tasks on a large map and fight off waves of enemies. Essentially, it’s a kind of training ground for leveling up weapons, unlocking skins, and increasing your rank. It’s the perfect option for those who want to unlock all the in-game content without having to play multiplayer. Personally, I found this mode — and the entire campaign, for that matter — extremely boring. Running from point to point and shooting the same enemies over and over is simply dull. That’s because the enemy AI doesn’t even try to be smart, and each encounter feels like a shooting gallery for casual gamers.

The story campaign of Black Ops 7 is the laziest and most slapdash product in the series’ long history. Even Modern Warfare 3 (2023), which was made in a similar fashion, at least offered a grounded setting and a couple of set-piece missions. In the seventh game, there’s nothing to outweigh its flaws: boring gameplay, a nonsensical plot, primitive AI, and reused assets from multiplayer and Warzone. Literally, the game was cobbled together from whatever was on hand.

The multiplayer mode of Call of Duty is the main course for which fans buy new installments every year. Due to a lack of serious competition and high demand, the series stagnated for a long time, barely evolving and offering only new maps (sometimes remastered old ones), weapons, skins, and battle passes. This approach could have continued indefinitely, if not for the release of Battlefield 6 this fall. The developers of Black Ops 7 had to hurriedly rework the multiplayer and add features players had been requesting for years, just to keep the audience. We’re not talking about major changes here — mainly matchmaking and balance tweaks. Visually, though, Black Ops 7’s multiplayer is the same game as it was a year ago.

The fundamental difference in the multiplayer mode is the skill-based matchmaking system, commonly known as SBMM. Now, by default, players are placed in lobbies with minimal consideration for skill, allowing pros to slaughter newcomers with impunity.

To put it simply: previously, Call of Duty servers were divided by skill level. Let’s say you consistently perform well and rack up killstreaks. You’re having fun because newbies can’t fight back, and your progression grows. But sooner or later, the game will move you to a server filled with “fanatics” who have thousands of hours played. That’s where the fun ends, as you become the victim, constantly killed by others for their own progression and enjoyment.

So, after numerous complaints and requests not to divide players by skill, the developers added the option to disable SBMM, letting professionals “relax” in lobbies with less experienced gamers. For players with thousands of hours, this seems fair — the game no longer “punishes” them for being highly skilled. However, newcomers are clearly not thrilled with this change.

With SBMM turned off, my matches were constantly filled with hardcore “maniacs” who single-handedly wiped out the entire team and camped respawn points without a care. Needless to say, it was a blast for me, right? Because of the lack of skill balancing, I often saw players mass quitting matches, leaving the pros to face off against each other. It felt a lot like ranked matches in Valorant, where a booster (a player who levels up accounts) with a “Radiant” rank joins a “Bronze” lobby and destroys everything in sight, leaving no chance of victory.

Fortunately, Black Ops 7 allows you to enable SBMM in the settings and actually enjoy the multiplayer battles. Interestingly, matches with this option enabled are found much faster than without it, which clearly hints at its popularity among users.

The gameplay itself has barely changed. It’s still classic Call of Duty multiplayer, where players run around the map shooting at anything that moves. Weapon balance at launch was decent, but far from perfect. Submachine guns had their range damage nerfed, making them less effective. But the developers clearly went overboard with the damage and stability of the M8A1. In 90% of matches, players used either it or the MK.78 LMG. Chances are, these guns will be nerfed to encourage use of the entire arsenal.

The movement system has been tweaked slightly to fit the Black Ops 7 setting. Now, players can jump off walls and quickly climb into hard-to-reach places. Although most maps are designed with this mechanic in mind, players rarely use it, preferring classic sliding. And to be honest, its implementation is noticeably weaker than in Black Ops 3.

Due to the futuristic setting, the maps turned out bland and sterile. They’re often just a jumble of boxes and geometric shapes with no detail. Sure, it’s easier to spot enemies in these empty locations, but you’re also an easy target yourself. Snipers no longer look for cover, since rifles can now shoot through walls and scopes provide a legal “wallhack.”

Among the returning game modes, one stands out as similar to Counter-Strike — “Overload,” where you need to deliver an EMP device to the enemy base. Another new mode, “Skirmish,” was clearly added in a rush to lure players from Battlefield 6. The developers didn’t have time to design maps for such large-scale battles, so every match turned into a chaotic “wall-on-wall” brawl.

The Zombie mode, in my opinion, hasn’t changed much. You still have to run around the map, unlock new passages with in-game currency, and upgrade weapons to fend off attacks more effectively. Treyarch couldn’t come up with anything fundamentally new in a year. They did add vehicles, but in practice, they’re just a way to get to enemy spawn points faster.

The visuals in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 are as gray as its content. The locations are boring and faceless. Lighting and shadows are worse than in Black Ops 6. Textures, geometry, buildings — all the assets were clearly made for Warzone, where optimization and performance matter more than visuals, not for a mainline entry. As a result, the environments are simple and unimpressive.

The models for key characters turned out interesting. Real actors were cast in the main roles. For example, David Mason is played by Milo Ventimiglia, known for the series Heroes. Unfortunately, their potential only comes through in cutscenes, since the gameplay offers nothing but shooting.

The only area where Black Ops 7 has no shortcomings is performance. Yes, there are visual bugs like shadow loading issues, but overall the game runs smoothly, with no drops or stuttering.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is, and I don’t use this word lightly, the worst entry in the series. It’s pure slapdash work, thrown together for a quick profit. And I absolutely don’t blame Treyarch or Raven Software, who assisted them — in normal conditions, these studios create some of the franchise’s best games. They just had the bad luck of being steamrolled by Activision and Microsoft, who apparently forced them to make a new installment in record time using scraps of multiplayer maps and hastily assembled content.

There isn’t a single strong point in Black Ops 7 that would make it worth trying. Not even for free on Game Pass.