I played a lot of Call of Duty during the pandemic and into last year: way too many late nights in Warzone, becoming a stop sign in prop hunt, crashing vehicles while running from fully decked-out rose skin squads, you name it, we did it. We would disappear for entire weekends on Verdansk and Rebirth Island, and we loved it. But lately, I’d fallen off. Life got busier, the games felt kind of tired, and I just wasn’t excited for it anymore.
So, firing up Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 felt weirdly nostalgic, like reconnecting with an old friend I haven’t talked to in a while. And honestly? It was refreshing. The futuristic CoDs have always been my least favourite, but I forgot how good it feels to drop into a match and instantly get pulled back into that familiar chaos, futuristic or not.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 throws a ton of modes at you right out of the gate. You’ve got your classics like Team Deathmatch, Domination and Search and Destroy, but some new twists make things feel fresh again. The big standout is the expanded large-scale mode lineup. There’s a new 20v20 skirmish mode that plays more like a mini-battlefield than traditional CoD, with vehicles, wider lanes, and more room for some crazy moments. The pacing feels great, not as sweaty as 6v6 but still chaotic enough to keep you locked in.
The less-strict SBMM – along with smaller lobbies, refined score-streaks, and better loadout/gear systems – means that jumping in doesn’t feel like a chore. You don’t have to bring your A-game every match; you can play, try some guns, mess around, and have fun. So, if you’ve avoided CoD because past seasons felt like a grind or they were a bit too sweaty for your liking, this might be the version that finally pulls you back.
Zombies is back too, and it’s precisely the kind of fun, brain-off mode I remember. They’ve added a new progression system and some smarter objectives, which makes each run feel like its own little story instead of “survive until you eventually get overwhelmed.” It’s a fun, welcome upgrade from past versions.
Warzone is still Warzone – big, loud, chaotic, and always fun. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 ties into it smoothly, with new weapons and a cleaner looking UI. The anti-cheat improvements are noticeable, which makes matches feel more fair than they have in a while, though you’re still gonna run into the occasional cheater. The new map rotations and seasonal events seem geared toward bringing players like me, who haven’t played in a bit, back in without overwhelming us with a million new mechanics. It genuinely feels like Warzone might finally be settling into a groove again.
Not everything lands, though. The campaign, for all its ambition, still feels divisive. Some missions hit weird, maybe intentionally (hallucinations, horror vibes, plot twists), but maybe because trying too many things at once dilutes the core feel of this type of game. And some modes, like the big skirmish mode, feel a bit sparse at launch, though updates will probably flesh them out as the year progresses.
When Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 looks good, it really looks good. The lighting, the map detail, the effects, everything feels clean and polished. There were moments where I stopped mid-game to appreciate how sharp everything looked.
That said, it’s not perfect. One thing I really didn’t love was how much generative-AI artwork is sprinkled throughout the game. Some of the textures and calling cards look…AI-generated, and you all know what I mean when I say that. Honestly, it bugs me, because this is work that actual artists could’ve done. CoD has always had incredible creative teams, so seeing AI take over pieces of that feels cheap and disappointing. It doesn’t break the game, but it takes away from the overall vibe.
Overall, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 isn’t perfect, but it honestly reminded me why I loved Call of Duty in the first place. The modes feel mostly strong, the gameplay loop is still addictive, and the significant quality-of-life changes make jumping back in way less intimidating, whether you’re playing Warzone or multiplayer. Yeah, some of the AI-generated art feels off, and the game tries to juggle a lot at once, but overall it’s a solid return for the series. I don’t know if I’ll ever be quite as addicted as I was in the early 2020s, but I’ve definitely had some fun with this entry.
If you’ve played Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, let us know what you think in the comments!
