Review: Is Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War Worth Playing?

Game Overview.

Campaign.

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War has one of the best narrative campaigns in the franchise’s history and is a welcome “return to form” for the Black Ops series, which had not received a narrative campaign since Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War in 2015.

Branching Narrative.

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War offers players a branching narrative with multiple endings for the first time since Call of Duty Black Ops II in 2012, something that singleplayer campaign developer Raven Software felt was important to developers and players alike, many of whom have fond memories of the groundbreaking 2012 shooter.

PlayStation Exclusive Mode.

With Xbox having announced their intention to purchase Activision-Blizzard in early 2022 and both Call of Duty Vanguard and Modern Warfare 2 opting not to include a PlayStation exclusive mode, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War will likely be the last title to offer PlayStation users an exclusive mode (Zombies Onslaught).

Covid 19.

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War was the first Call of Duty game to see substantial development during a worldwide pandemic that saw Activision developers having to work remotely; widely believed to have been in development hell, veteran Call of Duty developer Treyarch was assigned to help bring the product to market late in its development cycle, resulting in one of the buggiest launches in the history of the franchise.

Thankfully the worst of these issues were fixed shortly after launch, but controller disconnects and overheating consoles are not something we have come to expect from a AAA franchise, especially not one that dominated domestic and international charts for the better part of two decades.

Crossovers.

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War continues the trend of playable characters from other media being made available for purchase, with Rambo, John McClane (Die Hard), Judge Dredd, Ghostface (Scream), and Frank (Donnie Darko) being made available to players as premium operator skins.

Won Over the Community.

Despite many fans at launch feeling that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War did not live up to its predecessor, Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019), two years later, the vast majority of the fanbase acknowledges that it is actually in a very good place, with some going as far as to say that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a much better game than both Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (2023).

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War FAQ

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a first person shooter game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, it released on 13 November 2020, and is available on PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Is Cross-Platform Multiplayer Supported?

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War supports:

• ☑ Cross-Platform Multiplayer
• ☑ Cross-Platform Parties
• ☑ Cross-Generational Multiplayer
• ☑ Cross-Generational Parties
• ☑ Cross-Platform Progression

Is There Group Finding/Matchmaking Support?

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War offers the following matchmaking options:

• ☑ Skill-Based Matchmaking
• ☑ Region-Based Matchmaking
• ☑ Solo Matchmaking
• ☑ Group Matchmaking

Are There In-Game Microtransactions?

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in-game store sells:

• ☑ Cosmetic Items
• ☑ Cosmetic Item Bundles
• ☑ Premium Currency Bundles
• ☑ Premium Battlepass
• ☑ Starter Packs

What Peripherals Are Supported?

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War supports the following peripherals:

• ☑ Console - Controller
• ☑ Console - Mouse and Keyboard
• ☑ PC - Controller
• ☑ PC - Mouse and Keyboard

Is There Any Mature Content?

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is rated PEGI 18+ and contains:

• ☑ Bad Language
• ☑ Discrimination
• ☑ Gore
• ☑ Mature Themes
• ☑ Violence

Final Verdict.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is an excellent game worth playing for any fan of the Call of Duty franchise.

While it does not quite live up to its predecessor (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare) in every area, it is easily one of the best Call of Duty titles released in the last decade and the best Black Ops title since Black Ops II (2012).

Is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Worth Playing?

We found Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War to be a great game, meaning it delivers a memorable experience with only minor imperfections that don't detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.