Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 review - The best CoD in the last 5 years

2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 managed to miss the mark with a rushed Campaign and a lacklustre Zombies mode. Despite this, Multiplayer managed to shine through, even though most of it was recycled from previous games.

Black Ops 6 is the first Call of Duty in franchise history to receive a four-year development cycle. As someone who’s played every annual release for the past 17 years, I had high hopes of the additional development time providing a sense of refinement that’s been lacking for some time. I am pleased to report that Treyarch has managed to deliver across the board.

Let’s kick things off with the single-player Campaign, a follow-on from the events of Black Ops Cold War, Treyarch’s 2020 Call of Duty release. The Soviet Union has fallen, leaving the United States as the last remaining superpower on the world stage.

Russell Adler is back once again with a wheelchair-bound Frank Woods, and following a botched operation, they’re expelled from the CIA alongside Marshall, a young upstart who’s looking to uncover a mole in the Agency.

Open-world missions are back — you can choose to complete optional objectives before taking on the main course — but they don’t really add much to one of the best single-player stories in the Black Ops series.

The Emergence mission is the star of the show, and is one of the best Call of Duty missions I’ve played since All Ghillied Up. It’s proper Black Ops, with plenty of mind-bending trickery and mannequins that heavily resemble the notorious Weeping Angels from Doctor Who.

After Emergence, the plot quickly goes up a gear as the pieces fall into place. It’s a somewhat predictable story, but the mixture of high-octane cinematic set pieces combined with a dose of entering someone’s conscience is nothing short of excellent.

It wouldn’t be a Black Ops game without round-based Zombies, and after several attempts of completing the main Easter Egg quests (they’re back too) on Terminus and Liberty Falls, I can safely say this is the most enjoyable part of Black Ops 6.

The addition of new enemy types injects a breath of fresh air into the endless waves of undead opposition. Adding increased difficulty in the higher rounds is a real test for even the most hardened zombie slayers.

Zombies also features the elements that makes Treyarch the master of the undead-based mode. Pack-a-Punch, Perk-a-Colas and more mark a real return to form for a mode that’s undergone a makeover in a bid to rediscover the magic that made it popular in the first place.

Whether you’re a solo slayer or a squad of zombie hunters, Black Ops 6’s undead offering delivers in ways that will keep you coming back for more every single time.

The main focus for many Call of Duty fans is whether multiplayer delivers, and after ploughing several hours across the usual suspects of Team Deathmatch, Domination and Hardpoint, we can safely say that Black Ops 6 Multiplayer is an improvement on last year.

Omnimovement is the biggest change for Call of Duty since sliding made its debut in Call of Duty: Ghosts. Now, you’ve got the choice of sliding, diving and sprinting in any direction imaginable, allowing you to live out your action hero fantasy.

There’s something extremely satisfying about diving out of the central catwalk on Skyline, landing a headshot with the LR 7.62 and splashing down in the conveniently-placed swimming pool below.

New movement mechanics aren’t all that’s changed. The classic prestige has made its long-awaited return, alongside a streamlined camouflage unlock system that allows you to begin the grind at the earliest possible moment. A refreshing change from having to level up a weapon so I can unlock my beloved Red Tiger pattern.

Call of Duty’s time to kill is always a contentious issue. Black Ops 6 has managed to create a speed where you’ve got a chance of winning an evenly-matched duel, but there are some instances where I found myself being eliminated in the blink of an eye. Time to kill will change as Treyarch applies weapon balancing, but for now, the foundations are solid.

Maps in Multiplayer often make or break the success of a Call of Duty. Treyarch is responsible for some of the very best in the franchise, but in Black Ops 6, I find the maps lack any kind of flow or logic. Yes, the three-lane philosophy is there, but these battlegrounds are a far cry from Raid and Standoff.

Despite the qualms I have with the maps, though, Black Ops 6 is a real return to form for the franchise, which goes to show that some extra time in the lab makes all the difference. I can’t wait to see what Treyarch’s post-launch plans have in store.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox Game Pass. We reviewed on PS5.

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