Black Ops 7 is actually a good Call of Duty in multiplayer and better than the negative reviews suggest. But it targets a very specific group of players.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 had to fight criticism upon release, mainly for the co-op campaign and the use of AI. Months before release, players watched as the trailers collected thousands of negative upvotes. Now the game is out and at least on Steam the player numbers look rather modest compared to other CoD releases.
In the meantime, the release weekend is over and the first player reviews have been collected on various platforms. While Black Ops 7 managed to earn at least 42% positive reviews on Steam, it looks much bleaker on the review platform Metacritic:
Depending on the platform, the average player rating fluctuates between 0.9 and 2.0 out of 10 possible points – that’s really not good. Many players only give 0-1 points.
5 points that unexpectedly make Black Ops 7 good
Despite the perceived negative sentiment, I must say: Black Ops 7 is not a terrible Call of Duty; on the contrary. The shooter does some things right, making it actually much better than the thousands of negative reviews suggest. I’d like to address a few of these points here.
I feel like a dog let off the leash while walking
Black Ops 7 relies again on the Omni-Movement. While some adjustments have been made, the basic principle remains the same: We can sprint, jump, and slide at full speed in all directions.
Those who read my preview article on Black Ops 6 know that I am a fan of the Omni-Movement. I play many different shooters, and Black Ops 7 feels like I’m a dog let off the leash in a big field, in the woods, or on the beach.
I’ll just quote myself: “It’s fun just running around the map and fully enjoying the movement.”
I wouldn’t have necessarily needed the wall jumps in Black Ops 7. I also believe that this creates a greater gap between regular players and casuals – but whether the wall jumps are good or bad is purely subjective. If the younger player base enjoys it, I support such movement gimmicks.
Strong improvement compared to BO6
The maps are a significant step forward compared to Black Ops 6. The size is much better tuned to the fast movement, and the paths as well as the general “flow” of the maps feel cohesive and not so chaotic.
Also, I really like the aesthetics of some maps. In a Call of Duty, this is not my main focus, but it’s nice to see different colors than gray and brown once in a while.
The best lobbies in years
The probably most important and best change in Black Ops 7 is the matchmaking: Finally, there are modes with reduced SBMM.
Yes, that is controversial and many players will disagree with me – but I think it’s good.
I am a big fan of not having SBMM in a casual shooter outside of ranked. I don’t want to have to try hard every round because I have to face top players only. Sometimes it’s nice to just play a few rounds and have fun. That’s not possible with SBMM.
A lot of players feel this way, and most of us are not YouTubers or streamers trying to farm clips or compulsively get nukes. We just want to have fun.
Rivalry with random opponents
In Black Ops 7, there are again persistent lobbies. This means that players from a match stay together – if they want to – even after the match. If a player is not having fun because the opponents are too good, they can leave and look for a new lobby until they find one they like.
And if you find a good lobby, you can just stay there.
This creates a fun rivalry between players. If I am the best in my team, I duel with the best of the opponents. If I am the worst, I at least want to be better than the worst opponent.
Once I have played several rounds against the same opponents, one of them almost becomes my rival. This makes matches more interesting than if I am facing new opponents every round.
This rivalry only works if there are persistent lobbies – and those have been missing in recent years.
Aim assist for controller players has been nerfed
The fine-tuning of aim assist is a long-standing debate. PC players often complain that the aim assist in Call of Duty is too strong. Controller players often argue that it is necessary to compete with mouse and keyboard players.
Both sides are essentially right. The aim assist in Call of Duty has been really strong in recent years. This led to even really good players struggling without aim assist. For example, we reported about COD pro Swagg who struggled with the controls in Rainbow Six: Siege because there is no aim assist for controllers there.
The aim assist nerf is positive in that it encourages players to aim independently more. A strong assist for controller players is reasonable, but if the game takes over the main part of the game principle, that might have been excessive. Keep in mind that not every mouse and keyboard player is a pro. In the past, the aim assist for controllers was stronger than the aim of many casual players using a mouse.
I have played the aforementioned Rainbow Six Siege on PlayStation without aim assist using a controller, and I have looked at the aim assist in Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7. My conclusion: I do not find the aim assist in the new Call of Duty to be too weak. It seems like a sensible adjustment.
An optimal gaming experience for a few players
Is Black Ops 7 a good game, a good shooter? Do I recommend Black Ops 7 to you? Is it worth the money? There are many questions, and the disappointing answer is: It all depends on you.
For hardcore CoD fans, purchasing or at least the Game Pass is probably worth it – especially since, in addition to multiplayer, there is again the round-based zombie mode. Shooter fans who are currently enjoying games like ARC Raiders or Battlefield 6 might be able to pass. Players who do not like extreme movement and fast gameplay should probably save their money.
Technically, there are almost the same problems as in previous years. I’m just saying packet burst. In my opinion, the biggest problem with Black Ops 7 is the unclear target audience.
Call of Duty has always been a shooter played by many casual players, especially on console. However, Black Ops 7 feels like a shooter developed for core gamers, streamers, and YouTubers – through the large skill gap in movement, the aim assist nerf, and the lobbies with reduced SBMM.
