The latest title in the Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops 7, just dropped, and players are complaining about its campaign mode. As reported by IGN, the “innovative Co-Op Campaign” that Activision has been flexing means an online-first experience. So, even if you’re playing solo, you still need to be connected to the internet.
Even though you can launch missions alone, they’re designed from the ground up for cooperative multiplayer. That means those who do not have friends or even random strangers with them would feel like they’re playing in an abandoned online lobby. Some tasks, meant to be accomplished simultaneously by four players, would also feel repetitive if you’re a lone wolf in the world of Black Ops 7. One Steam review even said that they can still hear dialogue from your supposed allies even when you’re alone, making the experience feel weird.
Another side effect of the online-first experience is that you cannot pause the game, even campaigns. So, if you need to step away for a moment, you’d need to hide in a place where enemies can’t get to you. Also note that if you’re AFK for too long, the game will kick you from your session, forcing you to restart the mission. Other points of contention include the lack of checkpoints in each level, so if you’ve been struggling with a particular level and get killed near the end, you’ll have to grind through it all over again, and the inability to set campaign difficulty.
As a result, the game received mixed reviews on Steam, with only 41% of reviewers giving it a positive rating. Other complaints include the bizarre storyline, too many cutscenes, and its $70 price point, which some say isn’t worth it. The Call of Duty franchise had more than 87,000 concurrent players when Black Ops 7 released, which is far fewer than the over 300,000 that Black Ops 6 achieved on its first day. This is also just a small fraction of the 747,000 players that Battlefield 6 achieved when it arrived on Steam last October 10. However, we should note that this does not include Xbox Game Pass players, as the title is included in its library for paying subscribers.
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