For the 21st year in a row, a new Call of Duty has arrived this Fall: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. It’s a franchise that has long dominated the multiplayer market, with millions of fans that consistently line up for new entries each year. Marketed as the biggest Call of Duty ever, Black Ops 7 had much to live up to, but ultimately, I was left feeling bitter about the current, almost creativeless state of CoD as a franchise.

A Campaign That Is Certainly Something

The talk of the town regarding Black Ops 7 has been the co-op campaign, by far. It’s been challenging not to see the almost comical events that occur, as many players have been laughing at certain sequences posted on social media. However, before diving into the nonsensical campaign, I do want to give Activision its flowers for at least trying something new.

Too often, Call of Duty has repeated the same typical themes and narratives you’d expect from a game about war. We’ve seen retreaded stories time and time again, and at a certain point, it all interconnects and becomes one big blob. This year, I can without a doubt say that Black Ops 7 was memorable. There was a clear effort to be ambitious in telling a story that was unique to the franchise. It’s unlike anything that has come before it—but that’s not for a good reason.

The Black Ops 7 campaign is equal parts confusing, hilarious, and just dumb. To put it bluntly, this campaign serves as a sequel to Black Ops 2, following David Mason after he comes into contact with a hallucinogenic bioweapon. The hallucinations begin quickly as David and his team begin to experience the memories of his father. Things already sound borderline insane, but then you also begin to see memories of Alex’s squadron as well, for whatever reason. Sure, why not?

Essentially, the entire narrative revolves around attempting to escape the hallucinations, track down The Cradle (the bioweapon), and destroy it. You’ll encounter a boss that can only be defeated with comical knives falling from the sky, a massive, blown-up human that looks as big as the Colossal Titan from Attack on Titan, and plenty more. I respect the development team aiming to deliver something different. There are some neat setpieces, and some of the abilities you can obtain are interesting. However, this completely missed the mark. I felt absolutely nothing by the time credits rolled, often wondering as I played what the reason for any of these cutscenes or missions even was.

Each character contributes nothing of value, and by just the second mission, my friends and I were begging for it to end. Speaking of, Black Ops 7 takes a new approach with its co-op campaign. This is excellent in theory, allowing you to team up with friends and experience the campaign together. Unfortunately, the experience is clearly only made for co-op. Sure, you can play solo, but you’re forced to play online, plus the enemies have ridiculous health bars. You also cannot pause either, so good luck if you happen to need to step away for a second.

I have so many problems with the way Raven and Treyarch approached this campaign from a design standpoint. Everything from Warzone has been thrown in and made a key mechanic. I have spent hundreds of hours playing Warzone over the years, but it felt ridiculous at a certain point to run around looting and plating up as if I was running from other players. This transitions to the gameplay itself, with wave after wave of the same enemies. 

While some missions are alright, that Warzone feel only extends to each area, with most of the campaign unfolding in Avalon, the new map where Endgame takes place. Every place is barren and empty, with zero incentive for player exploration. What’s the point of making a giant open area if I do not need to go explore and find secrets? Everything here culminates in a campaign that almost feels like an identity crisis. Black Ops 7’s campaign comes off as sloppily thrown together and developed under Warzone.

Endgame is a mode that unlocks following the campaign, acting as an extraction mode that takes place across Avalon. I’d describe this as a crossover between DMZ and Zombies. This was a fun and unexpected twist that Treyarch threw in, but it ultimately fell flat for me. I’m not the biggest fan of extraction shooters, and even then, Endgame doesn’t do anything to stand out or be interesting. I have no desire to mindlessly wander an empty, boring world and shoot enemies and zombies.

Overall, the Black Ops 7 campaign is an utter mess. Sure, there was potential, but everything falls into this cluttered, nonsensical mode that is a chore to play through. The hallucinogenic balderdash that is the narrative, with its Warzone DNA, just isn’t fun, and Endgame isn’t much better. I love to see the teams try something new, but this is far from the mark of quality I expect from Activision. Especially coming off of BO6’s fantastic campaign, I am extremely disappointed in what we got. 

What You’d Expect

Good old multiplayer—at least something is fun! It’s exactly what you’d expect, taking the excellent movement changes from Black Ops 6 and bringing them forward with a few tweaks here and there. Nothing feels revolutionary this year, but I am a fan of the Wall Jumps, in particular. These can be really fun to pull off, with some actual practicality depending on the map. Gunplay feels tight and solid, with a quick time-to-kill that is satisfying. Activision also shook things up by removing Skill-Based Match Making, a staple in the series for over six years. 

However, this is really where the changes or additions stop for the most part. There are a few more things here and there, but nothing was enough to make the experience feel fresh. Everything else is completely the same as Black Ops 6, with Treyarch offering the same old batch of modes for players to check out. Even the ‘new’ maps included in this year’s entry end up feeling old, as the designs all mesh together at a certain point. Multiple times, I asked myself why I would rather play this year’s game, which is still due to receive content already in Black Ops 6 in the coming months, when I could just go back and play it there.

Onto Zombies, it is a good time for a while. I spent quite a lot of time in Black Ops 6 going for the Liberty Falls easter egg with friends, and it was solid. I was slightly concerned with back-to-back entries that Treyarch would miss the mark this year, but surprisingly, I’ve had some fun with it. It isn’t revolutionary, but there’s enough here to be enjoyable for fans for at least a few runs. Though I do not think most will find themselves hooked beyond a few hours due to the massive map. At a certain point, it feels like playing Zombies for camos is like being in a simulation with no way out. I tend to quit before then.

While multiplayer and zombies are enjoyable yet expected, I cannot comprehend Activision’s decision to yet again incorporate generative AI into this year’s entry. It’s completely shameless, acting as an egregious decision that only adds to the overall feeling of Call of Duty being creatively drained. Each of the calling cards makes no sense, often being completely out of place just for the sake of cutting corners and costs.

Call of Duty has a problem that I’m not sure Activision is willing to solve. On one hand, it’s stuck in the past, afraid of any change, and on the other, it’s making changes that completely detract from the appeal of the franchise. Is there an answer to push toward one way or the other? I’d say so, but time is running out.

See You Next Year…

At the end of the day, it feels like Call of Duty has hit a point where there isn’t enough innovation happening with each entry. Beyond the campaign, I cannot inherently call what’s here in Black Ops 7 bad, but it isn’t good either; I feel as if I’ve experienced this same game once again without any true effort to shake things up and move the series forward. Don’t get me wrong: there are some attempts to be more ambitious here and there, but often, these fall flat (just look at the campaign). It almost feels like Activision has taken the stance that Call of Duty as a franchise is too large at this point to experiment with. 

There is a ton of content here, but unfortunately, more doesn’t always mean better. Activision must go back to the drawing board and focus first on quality, fun experiences above all else. Black Ops 7 is fine, but I cannot see a world where any player of Black Ops 6 would need to pay $70 and make the jump to this year’s entry. Nothing here is creative enough to justify a purchase. You’ve likely played, watched, or experienced something exactly like it already in years prior.

If Activision and the numerous studios working on Call of Duty wish to make a game worth buying each year, the answer is innovation. It’s time to be bold and try something new. You have a problem as an annual franchise when players are constantly asking what’s new in this year’s entry. The market is not going anywhere—that much is clear with EA propelling its Battlefield franchise to bigger heights than ever. However, if Call of Duty cannot find a pathway to be creative, I fear the franchise will only continue to stagnate, becoming only a memory of what once was.

Disclaimer: Activision provided Final Weapon with a PC (Steam) copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 for review purposes.