Let me make one thing clear from the start.
I hate spoilers, so there won’t be any here. I don’t even tell people the endings of movies that are 10 years old. That said, there won’t be any spoilers in this Black Ops 6 campaign review.
I’ll tell you about the qualities I enjoyed and anything I didn’t like (which were few) and give you a gauge of how long it’ll likely take you to complete this journey. For starters, the entire Call of Duty Black Ops 6 campaign shouldn’t take you longer than 12-13 hours to play through, even if you’re not the most experienced first-person shooter gamer.
While things started slow, the missions picked up steam and added diversity in tasks as you continue to play through the story. I loved the direction overall. The campaign allows you to play BO6 in as many ways as possible. I was expecting a pretty standard gameplay experience built purely on shooting and taking cover wrapped around some shiny cutscenes, but this is much more.
Some aspects of the campaign feel like Modern Warfare (not last year’s campaign, relax), other parts feel purely like Black Ops, and others feel like games outside of the Call of Duty family. I got some serious Hitman vibes at a few points, and because that’s one of my all-time favorites, it was a great injection of a different flavor.
Entirely new ideas are always great in game development.
Still, some of the most significant examples of genius in the space come when a team can create something brand new using the elements that were already available. That’s precisely how the stealthier points of the campaign feel.
The cutscenes are masterfully crafted. From the costume design that nails the early 1990s era, the game is based on scenery and lighting. You won’t find video game cutscenes that give off a more accurate sense of movie vibes. The voice acting and render motion capturing are on point.
The characters speak and move as naturally as I remember seeing in video game cutscenes. If I criticize the cutscenes, the feedback lands on the dialog. As with the usual character types for this kind of game/movie, the script felt a bit formulaic. That callout is far from an issue that ruins the experience.
In some ways, it could be seen as a compliment. Most of the campaign is so good that it raises the bar for every aspect of the single-player experience. In a lesser game, I may not have noticed the predictability in the dialog because my expectations wouldn’t have been as high.
As it is, the BO6 campaign is a must-play for fans with any appetite for a single-player experience in a first-person shooter. I know many approach Call of Duty titles like multiplayer titles exclusively.
Still, it would be a shame not to give this story and the execution of diversified single-player gameplay at least a look. In case you want a sneak peek, IGN posted the first 14 minutes of gameplay. The video is below.
If you’re looking for a second opinion, my colleague Matt Gardner wrote a review on the campaign as well.
