Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Review

Being one of the giants in the gaming world, Call of Duty has grown a bit of a love-hate reputation. Every year, it's called repetitive or a cash grab, but it still rakes billions nonetheless, keeping it well at the top.

In the case of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, though, things may be a little different. So, Raven Software had four years to cook this one up, adding in some new movement mechanics, classic round-based zombies, and a pretty surprising twist in the campaign that could very well shake things up.

This is also the first Call of Duty since the Activision Blizzard buyout—now it's officially a Microsoft game. It's the first Call of Duty to launch directly into Game Pass. Ultimately, these changes beg the question of whether that is enough to make this one feel fresh, or is it just the same formulaic stuff people have been complaining about?

Black Ops 6's launch won't surprise you. After a brief introduction, you're sent into Kuwait's deserts to kill a bunch of bad guys without context. If you let Black Ops 6 work its magic, the 8 to 10-hour story will be a spy thriller meets supernatural shooter. The first 10 to 15 minutes are, well, Call of Duty-like.

Immediately, the second mission of the game tosses you into a huge stealth level with a final target, very much like Hitman. While not quite as nuanced, stealth levels dot Black Ops 6's adventure. Though not as advanced, Black Ops 6's stealth levels are scattered throughout the adventure. You're trusted to take your time, which you should because these situations are brutal.

Bear in mind that Raven's campaign this year is harder than your typical Call of Duty game. It's not hard, and the game helps, but if you're rusty with Call of Duty, you may die a lot. This is especially true when the game becomes supernatural.

The Iraq level in Black Ops 6 is the weakest part of this year's Call of Duty campaign. Last year's Modern Warfare 3 open-fire missions fit into a looser Call of Duty story, but this one doesn't. Black Ops 6's story is tighter and more cinematic, and the Iraq level's vast maps full of optional objectives didn't feel right. It also had strange geometry that you could get stuck on in your vehicle or on foot, making it feel unfinished in an otherwise polished story mode.

The newest mechanic in Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is omnidirectional movement. So, in previous games, you could sprint, dive, and slide, but you can now do so in any direction. So, not only can you sprint towards a target or crouch behind cover or camp, but if you're really good at twitch aiming, you can also dive and sprint in any direction.

There's a cool new mechanic in here that amps up the action, especially with the added verticality on some maps. You'll now be able to climb on top of different structures, and if you're in an area with glass ceilings, you can actually smash through and fall on unsuspecting players below. It's a fun way to catch opponents off their feet.

You can have a lot of fun messing around with the omnidirectional movement. Usually, diving from a high place into the open gets you killed really quickly, but that doesn't mean it does not pay off the few times you end up getting a sick multi-kill out of it.

The skill-based matchmaking needs some work, though. You can mess around and do well when you start out, but if you do too well, the matchmaking tends to freak out and puts you way higher than where you should be.

The developers at Activision have said the matchmaking system makes the game more fun; they have player data that says people enjoy it more. But I still think it feels a bit overturned. When you do well, it almost feels like it tries to punish you, and that's not super fun. Maybe it'll balance out once the player pool fills up more.

In any case, the gunplay here is excellent in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. The combination of traditional Black Ops weaponry and Infinity Ward's newer branch of the COD engine works well, and regardless of the weapon you use, Black Ops 6 feels tight and snappy to play. You also get a lot of cool gadgets and equipment to play with, all accessible via a big old weapon wheel, and you rarely feel short-changed in terms of combat options in Black Ops 6.

In the way of progression, Prestiges are back, and with them, there is plenty of grind potential. Specifically, there are 10 main Prestiges, along with a Master Prestige, that can go all the way up to level 1,000. Along the way, you'll unlock tons of cosmetics, everything from camos to operator skins.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is packed with progression and unlockables, so if the idea of grinding in Call of Duty and having a plethora of challenges to work towards gets you going, multiplayer here is a dream. They have quite obviously put a lot of effort into making sure that prestiging rewards you with exciting stuff to unlock, so there's always something new to chase.

It's very good that once you build a loadout for a weapon and level it up, your progress will remain even when you have prestige. Meaning all those loadouts and attachments you've unlocked become available; you'll just have to get to the level that unlocks the weapon again.

So, while you'll still have to reach the requisite level to use each weapon upon prestiging, you won't have to start over in leveling up attachments. It makes prestiging rewarding and a lot less frustrating. And it gives you access to everything you've earned rather than feeling like you're losing progress.

There are several new maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and they all feel fairly simple and fluid. I can't say there were any maps that were frustrating; they were all very simple to understand. I can't really say there were frustrating maps; they were all very easy to understand. You know, with a few games on each map, you kind of get used to the layout and flow of the maps.

As far as game modes go, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has you covered with the usual suspects: Control, Team Deathmatch, Domination, Search and Destroy, Kill Confirmed, Free-for-All, Hardpoint, and Gunfight.

There is also a new mode called Kill Order. It's like a normal 6v6, but one of the team members is a High-Value Target, and that player has plates, just like in Warzone—they're stronger, have more health, and are more difficult to take down, but they're always visible on the map, even through walls.

The ultimate goal is to kill the High-Value Target. If the High-Value Target dies, a new player respawns as the High-Value Target and the game continues until a certain number of High-Value Targets are killed. It's enjoyable; becoming the High-Value Target is exciting, but otherwise, it feels like a standard TDM game.

The weapon selection feels good this time around. It's not too much; there don't really seem to be any super-annoying weapons or loadouts that people are just going to spam and annoy you with. Like, the Riot Shield is not in Black Ops 6. It appears that they have chosen specific weapons that are core to Black Ops and are unlikely to annoy players.

There is a good selection of weapons to pick from, and with all of the challenges, progressions, weapon Mastery Badges, and camos, there is a lot to unlock and work towards. You will not be bored with the number of weapons.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 brings back round-based zombies in two maps. It feels great to be able to play round-based zombies again. Both maps have quests that you can complete, and there is also a directed mode that will guide you through the storyline.

Of course, there are plenty of Easter eggs. Gobble Gums return, along with ornaments that let you enhance your weapons and statistics, just like in previous Black Ops games. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is just good for people who enjoy zombies.

Visually, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 looks good. Call of Duty titles have always looked good, and it's no different this time. Infinity Ward's brand-new engine does not appear to cause any hiccups in terms of performance. Given the recent trend of AAA games being broken at launch, Black Ops 6 passes with flying colors because the experience has been smooth from day 1.

After over twenty Call of Duty titles, it came to a point where the games felt like rereleases of older titles with new maps and a campaign thrown in just to justify a $70 price tag. However, for the first time in a while, it feels like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is finally stepping in a direction that feels new and fun.

The omnidirectional movement is loads of fun to play around with, and the return of Zombies and the older progression system make it feel like this game might stick around for a little while, like the old Call of Duty titles. With the game being accessible via game pass, it would be hard not to give Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 a shot.