After Modern Warfare 3 (2023) felt like a paid DLC to Modern Warfare 2 (2022), you’d be forgiven for thinking Black Ops 7 is just another Black Ops 6 add-on. It’s true that Black Ops 7 has similarities to last year’s game, but there are enough innovations to make Black Ops 7 feel fresh. Put simply, Black Ops 7 is so much better than Black Ops 6 in every single way. Treyarch has shown that they have listened to community feedback and applied it to create a multiplayer experience that is addictive, chaotic, and avoids fatigue by catapulting players from the 90s setting to one that is futuristic.
Black Ops 7 is the largest Black Ops release to date in terms of content. There are 18 multiplayer maps at launch, with just three of them being remakes (Raid, Express, and Hijacked). Maps here are bigger than last year and are more similar to traditional three-lane maps. Black Ops 6 was mainly made up of small maps that felt like you were constantly headbutting your opponent. Fast gameplay still runs throughout Black Ops 7 multiplayer, but there’s more breathing room, varied gunfights, and a balance between indoor and outdoor combat that fits all playstyles. Each map is distinct, from the Japanese feudal castle that is Den, to the Australian Outback of Exposure, and Homestead, which is set under the Northern Lights, everyone is sure to find a favourite.
Omnimovement has been built upon with the introduction of wall jumping. You can chain together wall jumps, peek over cover to gain some intel, or use the movement to outsmart foes in combat. Wall jumping can be used to reach areas that would usually be inaccessible, such as ledges and high windows. After some practice, wall jumping becomes intuitive, just like sliding and regular jumping. This new dynamic to the movement even makes remastered maps feel modern, with new strategies and ways to get creative, especially in round-based modes such as Search and Destroy. Part of me wishes they’d gone all the way with the wall jump and brought back jetpacks, but that’s a conversation for another day.
Gunplay is nothing out of the ordinary, and as always, the weapons on offer are a mix of new and familiar guns. With that said, the time-to-kill in Black Ops 7 is as quick as it has ever been, coupled with the deadly headshot multiplayer, the advanced omnimovement is going to be your friend for playing your life and getting out of sticky situations. The latest feature in relation to loadouts in Black Ops 7 is overclocks that act as upgrades for equipment, field upgrades, and scorestreaks. Overclocks are unlocked as you level up items and range from reducing the score needed to earn a scorestreak, to adding extra charges to a trophy system, and applying a brief movement boost after using a stim shot, for example. There are only two overclocks per item, which is somewhat disappointing. When creating a new class, I found myself forgetting to apply overclocks without even realising, so the few options you do have aren’t all that impactful.
The Prestige system from Black Ops 6 has returned. You reach player Level 55, and then you have the option to enter Prestige 1, where you must continue your levelling up journey and unlock weapons, equipment, and scorestreaks again. There are 10 Prestiges to work through, each with its own page of rewards… you know the drill.
The camo grind consists of unlocking military camos and special camos before completing the requirements to get the multiplayer mastery camos, which are Shattered Gold, Arclight, Tempest, and Singularity, with the latter two being animated. But, for the first time since the debut of Black Ops 4 in 2018, weapon Prestige is back. There are six Prestige camos tied to every weapon, as well as a unique Prestige attachment. Some Prestige camos are brand new, while classic camos from Black Ops 2 make a return here. When you reach the maximum level with a weapon, you can enter weapon Prestige, and your attachments will re-lock, a process you can repeat until you reach maximum Prestige for that gun. At least that’s what’s supposed to happen. I reached maximum level with multiple weapons, and the option to enter my first weapon Prestige was still locked. As a workaround for this issue, I found that removing the weapon from my loadout and re-equipping it then let me enter weapon Prestige.
My biggest gripe is that many of the calling cards you unlock are blatantly AI-generated. Black Ops 7 boasts the deepest progression system we’ve seen in recent times, but grinding for calling cards that have operators with six fingers does put a dampener on the satisfaction from achieving all the unlocks. The game isn’t cheap either; the Standard Edition costs £69.99, just for the game to go unsupported after a year anyway. It’s not what you’d expect from a “premium” title, and the lack of care just feels like a slap in the face. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of recycled content when it comes to Black Ops 7 cosmetics, and I’d honestly rather they just copied all the calling cards from any past Call of Duty game and pasted them here than use AI-generated ones.
When it comes to game modes, all the classic modes you would expect to be in a Call of Duty title are present. There are two new modes making their debut in Black Ops 7: Overload, which sees you pick up a neutral device and score it in enemy zones, and Skirmish, a 20v20 battle. Skirmish tasks your team with capturing zones to score points, and the first team to reach 800 points or the team with the most points before time runs out is the winner. Skirmish periodically spawns hijack zones that give you double points if you are able to capture them, providing your team opportunities to get back in the game if you’re down. Supply crates also drop that grant scorestreaks and an extremely fun Grapple gun that has five charges. Your character is equipped with a Wingsuit that is used to efficiently navigate the map, giving you the option to soar from the rooftops and into the action. I’m not usually a fan of Ground War-type modes, but the competitive nature and the potential for high engagements make the mode worth trying if you want to switch up from the traditional 6v6 formula.
Perhaps one of the most popular moves going into the launch of Black Ops 7 is the addition of Open matchmaking, removing the strict skill-based matchmaking that has been in Call of Duty since Modern Warfare 2019. In the Open playlists, some lobbies allow you to casually frag out, while other lobbies are more challenging, which is how multiplayer games should be. Lobbies don’t disband anymore, so the chances are that you will see familiar faces in consecutive matches, just like Call of Duty of old. The absence of skill-based matchmaking has even resulted in lobbies forming quicker, and in my experience, the connection is much smoother and more reliable all around. There is a Standard moshpit that does have skill-based matchmaking, but there’s absolutely no reason to play this, unless you somehow enjoy the relentless multiplayer experience produced from this type of matchmaking.
Speaking of connection, I’m pleasantly surprised by how well Black Ops 7 runs on my Xbox Series X. After playing Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, and Black Ops 6 on PC, switching to Xbox felt like a significant downgrade in the Black Ops 7 beta. Of course, the difference is still noticeable, but since Black Ops 7’s full launch, the game has felt incredibly smooth on Xbox, with none of the frame drops and stuttering I was experiencing during the beta. Everything feels incredibly responsive, gunfights are snappy, and for the most part, the maps are bright and popping with colour.
Am I blinded by the novelty of a new Call of Duty game? I don’t think so. Black Ops 7 is the most fun I’ve had playing Call of Duty multiplayer since Black Ops 4. After too many mediocre games over the past few years, Black Ops 7 is the game I’ve been waiting for and a return to form for the franchise. The gunplay and movement are satisfying and fluid, the maps are a drastic improvement from last year, and Open matchmaking brings back the good old days that first defined Call of Duty multiplayer. Let’s just hope Treyarch is able to keep that momentum going throughout the entirety of the game’s life cycle.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 outshines its predecessors to bring about the most entertaining multiplayer experience the series has seen in years. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does a very good job at expanding on the Call of Duty formula fans know and love. – Lauren Sayles
Continue the action, but in a mech suit:
