Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

An explosive plunge into conspiracy, survival and the timeless art of never stopping shooting.

Few annual releases carry as much cultural weight as Call of Duty. The franchise returns in 2025 with Black Ops 7, a chapter that aims to merge tradition, modern technology and bold narrative choices, bringing new mechanics, revisited modes and even a completely new perspective for the series.

INTRO

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 arrives as one of the biggest releases of the year, keeping alive the tradition of global conflict, political manipulation and advanced warfare technology. This time, the story connects directly to the events of Black Ops 2, bringing back themes such as fragmented identities, information warfare and clandestine operations across multiple countries.

The title was released in November 2025 for multiple platforms, and the version evaluated in this review was the Xbox edition, played through the PlayAnywhere system.

DEVELOPMENT

Treyarch returns to lead the Black Ops series, supported by one of the most experienced teams in the industry. The graphical, technical and animation upgrades are immediately noticeable, especially for someone like me who spent quite some time away from the franchise. The difference between cinematic CGI and in-game models still exists, but the overall level is impressive.

This new iteration of Black Ops 7 runs on an enhanced version of the IW Engine, a technology Activision has been improving for years. This version offers clear improvements in lighting, physics, facial animation and environmental density, along with modern image reconstruction techniques that help maintain performance without sacrificing sharpness. The movement system is also more flexible, allowing smoother transitions between running, jumping, falling and interacting with the environment, which reinforces fluidity and gives combat a sense of dynamism that stands out even among today’s shooters.

The studio has implemented modern security systems that required changes to my computer’s BIOS to authenticate the game. According to publicly available information, these measures are part of technological advancements aimed at preventing file manipulation and hacking practices, something increasingly common in competitive shooters.

CONTEXT

The new storyline takes place in 2035 and puts us in command of a JSOC unit embroiled in an international political conflict where reality is distorted by key events from the franchise’s recent history.

The protagonist, Mason, is played by Milo Ventimiglia, known for his role as Peter Petrelli in Heroes.

Elements of science fiction blend with the franchise’s classic military realism. Invisibility, advanced tech implants, hybrid tactics and perception distortions enhance the hallucinatory tone of Black Ops.

GAMEPLAY

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 maintains the franchise’s DNA with responsive gunfights, fluid movement and visceral impact. The environments reflect the year 2035, with robots, futuristic gadgets and enemies that at certain points behave similarly to zombies, creating clear parallels to Left 4 Dead.

The biggest new addition is the canonization of third-person mode. Players can now freely switch between first and third person at any moment.

This may appeal to players who struggle with first-person-only games, especially on console, where many are accustomed to third-person titles. I’ll admit I never imagined COD like this, but it works, and it works extremely well.

CAMPAIGN

The Black Ops 7 campaign embraces a bold cooperative philosophy. While it can be played solo, it’s clearly designed for up to four players in a squad, which explains some of the criticism. Certain missions depend heavily on synergy, and without partners, some mechanics become noticeably slower or more frustrating. The requirement to always be online exacerbates this, since any connection drop can cause complete mission progress loss. It’s a system that limits player choice and turns the act of simply advancing the narrative into a constant tension.

Narratively, the campaign takes place in 2035 and follows David “Section” Mason and his JSOC team through an operation involving global conspiracy, psychological manipulation, advanced technology and direct references to classic Black Ops events. The presence of familiar faces and the looming threat of the Guild strengthen the sense of continuity, while missions span an impressive variety of locations—from neon-lit futuristic cities to spaces that feel like fragments of the characters’ psyche. These distortions are not merely aesthetic. They form the emotional core of the campaign, using a mental toxin that induces hallucinations, memory overlap and violent breaks in perception, creating moments of sensory discomfort.

The campaign also introduces a system called Endgame, which transforms the city of Avalon into a fully explorable zone once the main missions are completed. Here, larger groups can engage in dynamic objectives, gather resources and deal with escalating threats, extending the narrative and bringing the experience closer to an extraction shooter. It is ambitious, expansive and makes progression feel like a natural extension of the game world.

Even so, some design choices divide opinions. Many players feel the campaign resembles a PvE looter-shooter more than a traditional Call of Duty narrative, due to enemy behavior, loot mechanics and the lack of AI companions when playing solo. This may reduce immersion for those who expected a more cinematic, linear storyline.

Overall, the atmosphere remains one of the game’s strongest assets. The pacing is frenetic, the characters are impactful and the art direction reinforces the mental chaos that defines Black Ops. It’s a campaign built on risk, intensity and disorientation. It works best in co-op, but still delivers some of the most striking and distorted moments the franchise has ever put on screen.

MULTIPLAYER

Black Ops 7’s multiplayer preserves everything that has defined the franchise at its best. Asymmetrical maps remain one of the most important pillars, providing varied environments, dynamic strategic reading and real space to improve skills. To me, it’s the mode that best represents the essence of Call of Duty and the core reason behind the series’ massive recurring success.

At launch, the game arrives with eighteen maps, a solid number that provides variety without compromising visual identity. The standout addition is Overload, a competitive 6v6 mode where teams must capture and transport an overload device to the enemy base to score points. It mixes direct objectives with constant combat and works as a gateway for players who want something more tactical without losing the franchise’s trademark pacing.

There’s also the large-scale Conflict mode, with massive 20v20 battles, heavy vehicles, multiple objectives and advanced mobility tools like wingsuits and grappling hooks. It expands on concepts the franchise has tested in recent years but now with more consistency, clearer map readability and truly chaotic battles that take advantage of verticality and large spaces.

Much of the arsenal adheres to the game’s futuristic theme, maintaining visual cohesion with the narrative and the fictional era. The weapons feel aligned with the setting without abandoning the familiar sense of precision and impact that defines Call of Duty.

But COD’s real power goes beyond maps or modes. It lies in two pillars no other franchise has successfully replicated.

The first is gunplay. Few shooters reach the level of fluidity, precision and reward that COD offers as players master each weapon. Recoil control, fire rate understanding, perfecting setups—everything creates a sense of personal evolution few games can match.

The second pillar is progression, arguably even more important. Players progress in the campaign, in multiplayer, in weapon mastery, camouflages, challenges, seasons and military ranks. The ecosystem transforms every match into a micro-goal, every kill into progress and every victory into tangible evolution. The prestige system, unified advancement and layered rewards make it incredibly easy to sink hours—or hundreds of hours—into the progression loop. This is what makes Call of Duty a massive, unstoppable commercial machine.

And for that reason, even if artificial intelligence appears in artwork, banners or cosmetic elements, it does not affect the core of what makes COD so strong. What truly motivates players is the gameplay loop and progression, and that formula remains untouched.

The debate around AI is another story entirely and deserves its own section, because it does not carry enough weight to disrupt the franchise’s multiplayer engine.

ZOMBIES

The Zombies mode has always been one of Call of Duty’s most beloved features, and in Black Ops it maintains a strong identity, with mysterious stories, memorable characters and maps that blend action with survival. It has evolved significantly over the years, gaining missions, bosses and even cinematic moments that genuinely impress, which aligns well with the idea that the evil of men brings incredible cinematics while keeping its gameplay sharp and fun.

Comparing it to Gears of War’s Horde mode makes perfect sense, as both rely on escalating waves that create a compulsive sense of continuous challenge. Even so, Zombies has never been an experience that thrives entirely on its own. Much of its charm comes from cooperation, shared chaos and the need for coordination, which is why I agree that it’s not as fun alone. It shines brightest as a complement to the multiplayer and campaign, forming a core trifecta that keeps Zombies indispensable within Call of Duty.

Third-person Mode

The inclusion of third-person mode is one of Black Ops 7’s most unexpected additions and marks an interesting shift within the franchise’s identity. For the first time, the series experiments with a perspective that has always been distant from its DNA, creating new ways to read environments and engage in combat. It may appear small at first glance, but it represents a meaningful step toward making the experience more flexible and accessible.

The mode itself works as a curious alternative within a franchise built on immersive first-person combat. It doesn’t try to reinvent the game but offers a new sense of spacing, animations and combat rhythm, making it a gateway for players who don’t feel comfortable with first-person-only gameplay. I never imagined a Call of Duty where you could freely switch between perspectives, and I still find it strange to picture myself playing the campaign like that. Even so, it’s easy to understand that first-person gameplay can be a barrier for more casual players, especially on consoles. I know many PlayStation players who simply cannot enjoy shooters unless they’re in third person. In this context, the addition expands the game’s reach and makes it more accessible to those who couldn’t previously connect with the series.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The achievements in Black Ops 7 follow the franchise’s classic pattern, well-distributed across campaign, multiplayer, side modes and specific challenges. Treyarch tends to excel in variety, and this entry is no exception. The list rewards exploration, experimentation and skill-based objectives, offering that familiar sense of progression COD is known for.

The issues begin when viewing these achievements within Call of Duty’s unified Hub. The idea behind the Hub could be excellent if it served as an organized center by game or season, but in practice it merges everything into a single overwhelming list. Achievements from MW2, MW3, MW 2019, Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 appear together in a massive, confusing, unintuitive block. There’s no clear separation, no efficient filtering and this becomes a real obstacle for achievement hunters.

It’s unfortunate because, aside from this structural mess, the internal achievement design of Black Ops 7 works extremely well. They’re varied, rewarding and encourage different playstyles, with only a few falling into the “extremely difficult” category. The problem isn’t Treyarch’s design, it’s how the COD ecosystem presents it.

A.I.

The Debate the Industry Still Refuses to Face

The most sensitive topic around Call of Duty Black Ops 7 isn’t the multiplayer or the campaign, it’s the use of artificial intelligence in the production pipeline, something that creates discomfort among some journalists and content creators. Yet it’s impossible to ignore that any technical decision in this franchise affects the entire industry. COD is one of the most popular shooters of all time, and in a world where Microsoft invests heavily in AI, it would be unrealistic to expect these tools not to integrate into development.

Modern AI can accelerate processes that were once expensive and time-consuming. It can enable voiceovers and localizations that would previously never be produced, create smarter enemies, optimize animations and reduce repetitive tasks, freeing artists for higher-impact creative work. In an industry where production costs have skyrocketed to unsustainable levels, tools like these help keep projects viable.

AI also opens doors that would have been unthinkable years ago. Entire games previously launched silently due to lack of localization can now reach new audiences. Adaptive enemy behavior can turn entire gameplay sessions into unique experiences. Animation, facial capture and sound tools reduce months of repetitive work. After seeing full systems powered by AI in games like Starfield, it’s clear these technologies expand possibilities rather than limit them. Ignoring this is ignoring the natural evolution of the medium.

The key point is that AI does not replace the identity of Call of Duty. Even if skins or cosmetic elements use automation, the core of the series, gameplay, creative direction and major content, remains human-made. AI is a support tool, not the essence. And given the franchise’s scale, it’s not just expected but necessary for sustainability and competitiveness.

The real discussion isn’t whether Call of Duty used AI, it’s when the industry will stop treating this technology as a threat and start acknowledging it as a tool enabling games to be more ambitious, accessible and feasible.

TRAILER OFFICIAL

CONCLUSION

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 is one of those projects that reinforce why the franchise remains one of the industry’s most consistent pillars. Reviewing a COD title always requires care, especially when emotional attachment is involved, which is why it’s important to separate fan expectations from the reality of what’s in front of us.

COD has always been a series that knows exactly what it wants to be. When it focuses on historical combat, it excels. When it embraces modern realism, it delivers some of the best military campaigns ever made. And when it dives into advanced technology, psychological warfare and futuristic chaos, as is the case here it hits its targets just as precisely.

Black Ops 7 fits squarely into the franchise’s more technological and futuristic branch. It’s not full-on exaggeration, but enough to create visual identities, weapons, abilities and combat rhythms that wouldn’t exist outside this setting. Within this proposal, it works extremely well. The campaign is intense, visually striking and full of psychological distortion reminiscent of the franchise’s best moments. The art direction and hallucinatory tone reinforce a world where the player’s perception is constantly under threat.

Gameplay remains the series’ signature. The gunplay is precise, responsive, satisfying and instantly familiar. Simply put it’s Call of Duty at its finest. The visuals are stunning and the ability to play in first or third person adds new flexibility. Despite limitations caused by the online-only structure, the campaign still delivers memorable, identity-driven moments.

In multiplayer, the game stays unmatched. Asymmetrical maps, varied modes, a cohesive futuristic arsenal and addictive progression keep the gameplay loop irresistible. Few franchises turn every match into micro evolution as clearly as COD does. Black Ops 7 not only preserves this but strengthens it.

Of course, issues exist. Aggressive security systems, AI controversies and the confusing achievement Hub structure hinder the experience. These are noises surrounding an otherwise solid and faithful product.

In the end, Black Ops 7 delivers exactly what the series has always promised: high-quality modern action, addictive multiplayer and a campaign that toys with the player’s sanity.

It is a worthy entry in the franchise, worthy of the Black Ops legacy and one that keeps alive one of entertainment’s biggest cultural machines, a strong, impactful sequel built with the confidence of a team that knows its territory.

Black Ops 7 doesn’t reinvent Call of Duty, it reaffirms it. And in an industry that changes so quickly, knowing exactly who you are continues to be one of the greatest strengths a game can have.

Review by Gamertag: Scoulz

SCORE: 88/100