With every fresh Call of Duty game, the thrill is always felt, and in this case, for Black Ops 6, the loudest of the trumpets was the sky. Black Ops 6 is, in fact, going to be a retro of the early ’90s, i.e., just after the Berlin Wall came down. Thus, Treyarch not only assured the people a novel way for history to be experienced with the new release but also surpassed their record of having a Game Pass first-day release. So now the title has been launched, but people are still debating whether Black Ops 6 is going to be a trailblazer followed by an ecstatic fan or merely a ransacked wthatfans disappointment with?
It is made to take its boldest and most ambitious steps, by the grace of God, in the multiplayer mode. Treyarch reverts to the conventional method of the tactic-focused style but introduces the concept of omnimovement as a “mad new twist” this time. The characters can run in any direction, turn their bodies mid-air, and do some stunts that seem as if they are from a motion picture. The game is rapid, effortless, and quite surprisingly, people can learn it quickly; afterward, it seems hard and uncomfortable if one has to return to the traditional shooters again. However, the extreme and continuous usage of the characters’ capacities can lead to a player being frustrated with the scenario of the battle. Just envision players running out of a window, twirling in the air, and firing clips left, right, and center. It is fun, but it usually leads to battles that are more random than strategy-based.
The map design is somewhat of a mixed bag. For most 6v6 maps, the old three-lane format is back, which not only gives matches a steady rhythm but also keeps the kamping style of playing under control. Lowtown is a remarkable example of it, with its shining beachside village vibe and the height, which adds visual depth. But that’s not to say that every map is a winner. Babylon, for example, suffers from too many sightlines and spawn points being overcrowded with characters, bringing back the same issues that the players were complaining about in Modern Warfare (2019) at that time. The moment the netcode is not correct, or the spawn logic is failing, the rage that is caused by it can get to a very high level in a very short period of time.
Customization remains a balancing act. The Gunsmith system allows you to adjust almost everything on your gun, which is wonderful—until you see an overpowered build in every single match. Although the time-to-kill is slightly slower than recent installments, it’s fast enough that twitch reflexes prevail more often than not. Loadouts receive an improvement with a third perk bonus reward, catering to players stacking perks of the same type. Wild Cards also make a comeback, enabling creative setups such as dual primaries or additional attachments. The game ships with loads of skins and unlockables, but the worry is whether balance will be maintained with fresh content releases, something Call of Duty has previously struggled to accomplish.
Then there’s Zombies, which goes back to the classic format broadly. The experimental DMZ-style mode is gone. Instead, users are given two maps right out of the box: Liberty Falls and Terminus. Liberty Falls is big, well-detailed, and takes place in a dark West Virginia town, but its open design makes it play a tad too generously. Terminus, on a spooky island blacksite, does a slightly better job of recapturing that classic Zombies tension in tight spaces and creepy set dressing. Each map has its background and cool cutscenes, but they don’t quite have that legendary status of Treyarch’s classic Zombies maps.
Visually and technically, Black Ops 6 is a stunner. The engine cranks out solid graphics, silky-smooth gameplay, and a copious array of accessibility features. Crossplay is seamless, and overall refinement is first-class. But many of the same old problems persist. Janky netcode, obtuse UI, and cheating still plague the series. The new launcher is a minor step forward, but the series is starting to feel its age internally.
Meanwhile, the fan reaction has been tepid. On Steam, the title reached a high of about 300,000 players but fell to 100,000 shortly thereafter—a sharper drop-off than Modern Warfare 3. Some dedicated fans are questioning whether Activision and Treyarch can mend what’s broken or if the series is simply petering out. Even the possibility has been floated that the series will abandon its annual schedule or move further in the direction of Warzone in the future, particularly if current trends continue.
In every sense, Black Ops 6 is the multiplayer at its finest in years, perhaps even since before Modern Warfare (2019). It gets the fundamentals correct, takes gameplay in exciting new directions, and is stunning. But it pulls along some of the same baggage that’s weighed down the series for some time now. And with existing players already falling off, the question is whether this is the next big step for Call of Duty—or the end times for its previous formula.