The new Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has been out for a few days now and the first reviews are piling up on Metacritic. These particularly praise the single-player campaign. However, there is criticism of the multiplayer, which is actually the heart of Call of Duty.
What kind of game is this? The latest installment of the shooter was released on November 13. It takes place in the 1980s and deals with the Cold War era during the Reagan administration in the USA.
CoD Cold War offers you a variety of content, including
- a story campaign featuring familiar faces from the earlier Black Ops titles
- numerous multiplayer modes in which you can compete against other players
- the return of the popular zombie mode
- loadouts like in Modern Warfare
- a new prestige system
All important information about Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War can be found in this overview. Here we also embed a gameplay trailer for you:
What do the first reviews on Metacritic say? In recent days, the first tests of the new Call of Duty have been published. The ratings vary slightly depending on the platform:
- On PC, the shooter currently has a score of 76 from 7 reviews
- On Xbox consoles, Cold War has an 80 from 5 reviews
- On PS4 a 79 from 15 reviews
- On PS5 an 80 from 9 reviews
Overall, this leads to a rating of 78. The lowest score on all platforms is a 60, which has been awarded three times in total. The highest score is a 94.
In addition to the final ratings, there have also been several reports that are still being completed. These could later influence the overall rating.
The ratings for CoD Cold War at a glance
We have compiled the reviews from 12 well-known sites into an overview for you:
- PCGamesN (PC) – 90/100
- PlayStation LifeStyle (PS5) – 90/100
- Game Informer (PS5) – 88/100
- IGN Italia (PS4) – 84/100
- MGG Spain (Xbox Series X) – 82/100
- Eurogamer Italy (PS4) – 80/100
- The Gamer (PS4) – 80/100
- IGN (PC) – 70/100 (Campaign only)
- GamesRadar (PC) – 70/100 (Multiplayer only)
- PC Gamer (PC) – 69/100
- Game Rant (Xbox Series X) – 60/100
- VGC (PS5) – 60/100
How does it look in Germany? Even in the German-speaking region, there are already plenty of tests, some of which are not yet final or only cover a specific area of the game:
- GamePro (PS4) – tendency from 80 to 85 (not yet final)
- GameStar (PC) – 80/100
- PCGames (PS4) – 8/10
- Play3 (PS5) – 8/10 (campaign only)
- Gamersglobal (no indication) – 8/10 (campaign only)
- Computerbild (PC) – 2.0
This is what critics say about CoD: Cold War
In this section, we summarize some reviews regarding Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and also include conclusions that have not yet given a final rating.
What is praised? The new Call of Duty generally receives praise for the gunplay of the various weapons and the map design. Many reviews also commend the single-player campaign, which is regarded as a positive surprise of the shooter.
It features 5 difficulty levels, a good mix of stealth and action, and interesting story twists. Furthermore, the setting is said to be fresh, and there are crossovers with other CoD games.
What is criticized? The multiplayer, which is considered the heart of the CoD games, receives strong criticism. Initially, there is only a limited selection of maps, and the innovations compared to Modern Warfare are said to be rather minimal.
Overall, some testers regard Cold War as a step back compared to its predecessor, particularly in balance and options with loadouts.
Regarding multiplayer, many see Warzone as stronger and better suited for the future. The Warzone will continue despite the new Call of Duty installment and will be expanded in December with content from Cold War.
The press quotes
PCGamesN: “Treyarch’s latest title feels like it is only a few “Quality of Life” changes away from being the perfect revival of the “Black Ops” series. It delivers on all three fronts and manages to subtly refresh some of the stale ingredients of the series.”
PCGamer: “An unnecessary sequel that cannot escape the shadow of Warzone.”
GameStar: “Even the best CoD campaign in many years cannot quite make up for the low scope and setbacks in multiplayer.”
MGG Spain: “Once again, we find a CoD game with 3 different ways to have fun, and once again, the zombie experience is the best part of the package. The campaign is not bad and tries a few new things, although it is somewhat short and superficial. The multiplayer part is the worst part of the package due to balance issues and lack of content. Fortunately, this will likely be resolved in the coming months, just as CoD: Modern Warfare did a year ago.”
VGC: “Despite its enjoyable campaign, Black Ops Cold War feels like an anachronistic package. The era of a single game with three completely different modes feels so long ago in the age of Warzone.”
What are your impressions of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War so far? Are you satisfied with the content, and do you remain loyal to Warzone or even Modern Warfare for multiplayer? Let us know!
For those of you who want to jump into multiplayer now, here are the most important settings that will make you better right away.
