Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 doesn’t just drop you into 2035—it grabs you by the vest, slaps night-vision goggles on your face, and whispers, “Things are about to get weird.” And honestly? It absolutely delivers on that promise. Treyarch and Raven have created a full-throttle fever dream of espionage, memory warfare, cyber-tech, and pure adrenaline that feels like classic Black Ops injected with future shock and a whole lot of dramatic yelling. In the best way, of course.
From the opening mission, the campaign radiates swagger. You’re reunited with familiar faces like Section Mason—older, wiser, and still looking like he’s five seconds away from punching classified documents—and Harper, the man who defines the phrase “charismatic trouble.” But the cast doesn’t stop there. There’s the cyber-augmented powerhouse 50/50, whose entire presence screams “send me into danger, I’ll probably power-slam it,” and a whole squad of characters who feel memorable from the jump.
And then there’s Emma Kagan, CEO of The Guild and the new villain who casually dominates every scene she’s in. She’s brilliant, icy, terrifying, and the perfect nemesis for a world built on secrets and surveillance. If Black Ops villains are known for anything, it’s presence, and Kagan arrives with a hurricane of it.
The 12-mission Co-Op Campaign is a bold, refreshing evolution for the franchise. You can run it solo or with your entire squad of friends, which makes every firefight unpredictable and every chaotic leap through a window feel like the world’s most dangerous group vacation. The missions bounce between kinetic firefights, tech-heavy infiltration, psychological breakdowns, and memory-bending sequences that feel like someone fed your brain a suspicious smoothie.
The campaign’s visual style is sleek, neon, and near-future noir—think cybernetic spy thriller meets political conspiracy meets “wait, what dimension is this again?” If Black Ops games are known for unraveling your sanity a little, BO7 is the first to offer those hallucinations in full 4K.
And then you reach Endgame. Oh, Endgame. The new 32-player shared co-op mode is basically Call of Duty saying, “You know what would be fun? Chaos.” Suddenly you’re in Avalon, a sprawling Mediterranean city where every session feels like a fresh run in a living, breathing war sandbox. You pick abilities, you upgrade them, and you face escalating waves of enemies like you’re auditioning for an action movie filmed entirely on fast-forward.
Endgame’s replayability is dangerously high. One moment you’re helping another squad hold down a plaza, the next you’re sprinting across rooftops as drones hunt you like you're the season finale. And every success—every exfil, every ability upgrade, every cleared zone—feeds the new global progression system that ties Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies together. Every mode boosts something else. It’s the gaming equivalent of “treat yourself.”
Multiplayer, meanwhile, is loud, stylish, sweaty, and delicious. BO7 launches with a jaw-dropping 18 maps: 16 6v6 arenas and two massive Skirmish battlegrounds. And the map design? Chef’s kiss. Treyarch clearly raided the vault of Black Ops classics and fused them with cutting-edge layouts and near-future tech aesthetics.
The new Omnimovement system is a standout game-changer. Wall jumps, long dives, tighter slides, perk-enhanced mobility—it all turns the battlefield into a kinetic playground. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like a cyber-trained action hero who just downed an energy drink, Omnimovement is your new addiction.
Arsenal-wise, BO7 flexes hard with 30 weapons at launch—16 of them brand new to the franchise. The guns don’t just look futuristic; they feel futuristic. Everything has a punch, a sleekness, and a mechanical identity that fits the world of 2035. The new Overclock system lets you supercharge equipment mid-match, turning tactical and lethal tools into evolving gadgets that match your aggression level.
Scorestreaks return in explosive fashion, especially with the new ability to customize them through Overclock perks. Want your favorite streak to hit harder, faster, or spicier? BO7 says “go wild.”
But Multiplayer’s crown jewel might just be Skirmish, the 20v20 objective-fueled monster mode full of wingsuits, grappling hooks, vehicles, and more chaos than a holiday shopping rush. Skirmish is big, bold, cinematic, and pure dopamine for players who love team-based chaos with a side of tactical flair.
Yet even with all that, nothing—and I mean nothing—hits like Zombies.
Ashes of the Damned is the biggest, most ambitious Round-Based Zombies map Treyarch has ever delivered. It’s sprawling, atmospheric, and beautifully twisted. One moment you’re exploring a corrupted industrial zone; the next you’re cruising across the landscape in Ol’ Tessie—the wonder vehicle you didn’t know you needed.
T.E.D.D. returns, this time serving as your chaotic chauffeur, offering cheerful lines that feel one part comforting and ten parts “we might all die in this truck.” Ol’ Tessie is upgradable, repairable, and an instant icon in Zombies history. It brings mobility to a mode that traditionally keeps you grounded, and it’s a game-changer for navigating such a massive map.
The Necrofluid Gauntlet might be the most unsettling Wonder Weapon ever created. It lets you pull items toward you, skewer undead with hardened spikes, and literally drain their life force. It’s grotesque, creative, and an absolute blast to wield.
Zombies launches with four modes—Standard, Directed, Survival, and Cursed. Survival is a nostalgic return to classic, smaller maps that fans have missed for years, but Cursed is the mode that horror lovers will obsess over. No loadouts. No minimap. Limited HUD. You start with a pistol and pain as your closest friend. It’s gritty, terrifying, and reminiscent of Black Ops 3’s toughest days.
The new Relic system piles on even more challenge and reward, turning each Cursed run into a brutal puzzle of risk versus payoff. It’s punishing in the most satisfying way possible.
The Zombies arsenal launches with 30 weapons, plus a mountain of returning and new Perk-a-Colas, Field Upgrades, GobbleGums, and a massive expansion to the Augment system with over 60 new upgrades. It’s the kind of depth that can easily devour entire weekends.
Then there’s Dead Ops Arcade 4. Good old DOA comes back wearing aviators and blasting synth music, ready to throw you into 80 levels across 20+ arenas with first-person options, Silverback challenges, and the wildest experimental energy this side of a neon arcade hellscape. It’s chaotic, hilarious, and the perfect palate cleanser between intense Zombies rounds.
Season 01 is already promising new Campaign Endgame content, new Multiplayer maps, new Zombies experiences, and enough weapons, modes, and limited-time events to keep the game feeling fresh for months. It’s shaping up to be the biggest first season in Call of Duty history—and for once, that doesn’t feel like marketing hype. It feels inevitable.
On the tech side, PC players get the fully optimized treatment courtesy of Beenox, with TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot providing security while RICOCHET flexes its upgraded anti-cheat muscles. Everything feels smoother, sharper, and more polished across all platforms.
The C-Link interface ties BO7’s world together with stylish menus, clear tracking, and an overall look that feels futuristic but still readable at a glance. It’s a small detail, but it contributes so much to how modern and cohesive everything feels.
Progression across Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies has never been so unified. You earn XP everywhere, unlock cosmetics everywhere, and chase mastery across multiple modes simultaneously. It creates a beautiful, compulsively grindable experience where no time feels wasted.
Mastery camo hunters will be eating well this year—BO7 introduces more mastery tracks than ever before, including a full set tied to the Co-Op Campaign for the first time. Every mode has something worth chasing.
And let’s take a moment to highlight something important: the Call of Duty Endowment Legacy Tracer Pack honoring Danielle Green, U.S. Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient. It’s a powerful, meaningful collaboration, and 100% of Activision’s net proceeds go directly to helping veterans find meaningful employment. That deserves applause.
After hours in Campaign, dozens of matches in Multiplayer, and more Zombies rounds than I care to admit, one truth stands tall: Black Ops 7 is a triumph. It’s bold in all the right ways, experimental without losing its heart, and overflowing with content. It doesn’t rest on nostalgia—it builds on legacy.
This is the Black Ops that fans have been waiting for, whether they crave sweaty gunfights, cinematic story beats, or undead chaos. It’s a love letter to the franchise and a fresh leap into the future at the same time.
Black Ops 7 feels confident. It feels complete. And most importantly, it feels fun—the kind of fun that keeps you saying “just one more mission” until the sun comes up.
If you’re a longtime fan, this is a must-play. If you’re new to the series, this is a fantastic place to jump in. If you’re a Zombies addict, you already know you’re doomed to lose sleep.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 sets a new bar for the series and stands as one of the most ambitious entries ever made. Packed with heart, spectacle, and enough replayability to last years, it’s a megaton blast of everything we love about Call of Duty—dialed up to 2035.
This isn’t just another Black Ops chapter.
This is the beginning of a whole new era—and one that’s as stylish as it is explosive.
Final Score: 10 out of 10 (Xbox) — A near-future masterpiece that fires on every cylinder, melts your brain in the best possible way, and proves Black Ops still reigns supreme.