It's been a while since I've properly reviewed a new Call of Duty game. The last entry that really grabbed me was 2017's Call of Duty: WWII and since then, I've been a tourist to every new entry, casually enjoying the campaigns and dabbling in multiplayer when the occasion called for it. This year's Black Ops 6 caught my attention for a few reasons and thankfully, it made good on all of those exciting elements. While it's a fairly safe entry in the franchise overall, a surprisingly excellent campaign and new gameplay shake-ups really impress.

First and foremost, the campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 presents a shift in a direction I did not expect going in. Set in 1991, you face off against a rogue paramilitary force called 'Pantheon' that threatens the CIA and its operatives. Journeying across the globe to assemble a ragtag group of soldiers and assassins, you essentially build up your team to quietly infiltrate and bring down Pantheon and its bio-weaponised threats to the world.



Not to mince words, Black Ops 6 is easily the best campaign in the series since Black Ops 2. Developers Treyarch and Raven Software have managed to deliver something that, on the surface, feels familiar yet unique in its execution. Instead of experiencing the big action set pieces that the series is known for (and trust me, you still get a lot of those), most missions boil down to you quietly stealthing your way through objectives, taking down enemies from the shadows, and taking divergent paths to get to your goals.

Not to mince words, Black Ops 6 is easily the best campaign in the series since Black Ops 2.

The campaign does an excellent job of giving players the freedom to tackle several missions in their own way. Infiltrating a fancy dinner, for example, can be done in different ways, either going for the lethal or non-lethal approach. While it doesn't do this for every mission as most still pin you against the wall in huge firefights or explosive climaxes, there's a distinct shift to stealth gameplay in Black Ops 6 that I honestly did not expect and wholeheartedly welcomed. When the game does lean into Call of Duty's usual panache for high-octane spectacle, it's still really exciting and blood-pumping escapades.



Black Ops 6 unfolds like a suspenseful spy thriller more than an action romp. To that end, it sort of reminded me of James Bond movies, oddly enough. The way missions can progress (or regress from failure) usually starts off simple enough before things can (and will) go wrong, forcing you into a situation where your only option is to fight your way out of hotspots guns blazing or take a less conventional path, like racing through city streets on a motorbike or being chased and gunned down by helicopters. There are even sections where Black Ops 6 unexpectedly veers into horror territory and I kid you not, it's incredible. It's all par for the course for a Call of Duty campaign but there's clearly a lot of thought put into the story that ends up being the game's best slice of content, especially after the half-assed campaign from last year's Modern Warfare 3.

If you want to ignore the espionage-filled campaign and prefer the living dead, then Zombies will probably have you covered. Telling its own stories of harrowing ordeals with the undead, Zombies delivers spoonfuls of content across a variety of maps and locations. There are some neat little surprises that I won't spoil but for the most part, the game's Zombies mode once again offers a nice departure from the realism of its militaristic campaign and multiplayer. Unfortunately, it doesn't do anything particularly new or inventive to reinvigorate the formula. If you enjoyed Zombies in past titles, you'll probably enjoy all that Black Ops 6 offers - just don't expect anything groundbreaking here.



The same can be said about the multiplayer in Black Ops 6. There aren't any new modes or ideas brought to the fold, and most modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, Control and the always-entertaining Free-for-All are simply pulled over from past entries in the franchise, but if you're exclusively looking for more reliable multiplayer greatness from the series, you'll find a lot to love about Black Ops 6 - especially with the improved gameplay mechanics and systems at work (which we'll touch on in a bit).

There are even sections where Black Ops 6 unexpectedly veers into horror territory and I kid you not, it's incredible.

Multiplayer introduces 16 brand new maps with at least twelve of these maps designed for the game's 6v6 game modes, and some also retrofitted for its 2v2 stand-offs. Not being the best Call of Duty player online, I dabbled in matches I could find and with relative ease, I was in and out of matches constantly during my review process, and quite consistently as well. Of course, with the servers being packed now, you're bound to find quick matchmaking. However, online play is smooth and stable as expected from Treyarch and Call of Duty's polished multiplayer history.



That said, Zombies and multiplayer only add to the robust amount of content available right out the gate at launch, but don't expect to find creativeness here as good as the campaign. Where Treyarch pulls out all the stops is in its refined gameplay. The new and improved omni-movement system feels absolutely terrific, snappy and super responsive. It can feel a tad bit twitchy at times and your brain will probably take a few seconds to get used to the speed of movement, but in no time, you'll adjust and pull off snappy kills with ruthless efficiency. Sure, it feels a little out of place given the time period of the early 90s (compared to Black Ops 3's hyper-futuristic setting which makes sense for the boosted movement speed), but it's not an issue here considering how fun it all feels.

A big issue with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the completely unnecessary always online requirement. This is understandable for multiplayer and Zombies to some extent but it makes absolutely no sense for the single-player campaign, which should've been offline from the get-go. Instead, the enjoyment of my campaign was at the mercy of my internet which occasionally dipped in my area, leading to severe stuttering, lagging or a swift boot to the menu with a connection error message. Frustratingly, this resulted in me having to repeat a few missions, even some tough ones where I was fairly close to the end. There is a checkpoint system but it's not exactly reliable. It's sad because the campaign delivered here is truly excellent, but unfortunately marred by its always online requirement. Mileage may vary depending on the stability of your internet.



Over on the technical side, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 looks and sounds impressive, as expected for a series that has always delivered outstanding visuals and audio design. Guns sound fantastic, loud and satisfying when fired. Voice acting is also great all-round, delivered with conviction from its cast, especiall Bruce Thomas as Russell Adler and the underrated, great Lou Diamond Phillips as the CIA Deputy Director. The graphics are the best they've ever looked for a Call of Duty game. Even on PS4 (which I did test out for a bit), it looks phenomenal running on PS4 Pro, though some sections really do push the aged console to its utmost limit. I can't say the same for Xbox One but I imagine Treyarch also did their homework on that front.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is reliably entertaining with a robust offering of content across its outstanding campaign, fun Zombies and intense multiplayer. It doesn't do anything particularly new or exciting to reinvigorate the franchise and steer it into a more daring future, but for what it's worth, this is a confident step in the right direction for the series, especially after it started to show shaky legs from last year's Modern Warfare 3. Let's hope that Activision can keep this momentum going.

*PS5 Review code provided by Activision