Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PlayStation 5) Review

Blessedly, the sixth title in the Black Ops series is a full-fat experience; that means players get a single-player campaign, frequently serviced PVP multiplayer and the fan-favourite Zombies mode in a single package. What's more, each of these modes feels complete, which is perhaps a strange thing to have to state, but their development has been given due time and attention to make this feel like the most pertinent Call of Duty release in a while.

The blockbuster new addition to the tried-and-tested formula is omni-movement. Much has been made of omni-movement, which essentially allows the player to sprint, slide or dive in any direction à la Max Payne (but from a first-person perspective, of course). This may seem gimmicky at first, but once this reviewer got the hang of it and started incorporating it into play, it has to be said that it's an absolute game-changer. It's a wonderful feeling to dive out of the line of fire only to pivot and get off a return shot from a reversed prone position — especially when it results in a kill. Indeed, once the initial learning curve is surmounted, it seems crazy that this simple but fantastically implemented mechanic has only been introduced now.

Aside from omni-movement, the core gameplay is largely familiar. Love it or hate it, it's impossible to deny that Call of Duty titles offer a tight, cohesive and functional gameplay experience, and Black Ops 6 is no different in that regard. Whether diving into the campaign, partaking in a few bouts of online multiplayer or tackling the incessant Zombie hordes, the gameplay rarely fails to scratch that itch.

The campaign of Black Ops 6 is the answer to fans who have complained about the diminishing focus on the single-player Call of Duty experience. It's a thrilling, varied and action-packed ride almost from start to finish, with some high-octane set pieces and exciting variation — both in locations and mission structure — that serve to make this far and away the best CoD campaign in years. That being said, don't expect an award-worthy experience — the familiar clichés and cheesy writing are still very much present, but they don't overshadow the great gunplay and adrenaline-fuelled set pieces on offer.

Nevertheless, the campaign occasionally falls victim to its own expanded scope by slowing things down a little too often. Between missions, the player is returned to a central hub to upgrade abilities, chat with allies and do some (limited) exploration. After a fast-paced, guns-blazing set piece, this can feel like a frustrating stall in the action. Along similar lines are the more open sandbox sections, where the player can roam around and tick off Ubisoft-esque side activities before tackling the main objective. For the most part, these feel sparse and lifeless outside of the scattered enemy outposts, so it's a relief that they can be skipped by making a beeline straight for the next story beat.

The Zombies mode, meanwhile, is good fun, with some new maps and plenty of secrets to uncover as you battle through hordes of the undead. While it's clearly a fully-fledged game mode with its own progression and unlockables, it's likely to be the least frequented of the three main game modes as it can become quite repetitive in longer bursts. Yes, it's an expanded take on the iconic Zombies formula, but this greater scope makes it all the easier to miss the classic simplicity of the Zombies in older entries.

Still, the new Zombies maps are well-designed and facilitate harrowing moments that always feel organic, like it's the first and only time they'll ever be experienced. This is the magic of Zombies in Call of Duty, so it's a major win to have the round-based mayhem back in such strong fashion.

And now onto the real meat of the Call of Duty canon — multiplayer. Black Ops 6's multiplayer is well implemented, with a pretty stable console experience that gets better and better with each regular update. Achieving a blood-soaked flow state is all the more satisfying thanks to the introduction of omni-movement, which is certainly the mechanic that will set apart the successful players with high K/D ratios from the rest of the pack.

The Call of Duty multiplayer experience has amassed a wonderfully rich variety of modes over the years, of which the best are all present in Black Ops 6. Series fans will love it, but as with every entry, it may struggle to convert detractors.

Like the campaign and Zombies modes, multiplayer is not without its baked-in frustrations. Most obvious among them is the vanilla maps, which vary drastically in quality and mostly skew towards the dull or frustrating. Many of the maps — particularly the smaller ones — are plagued with poor spawn points and weak design that seem to incentivise mayhem for the sake of it, rather than as a valid means of having fun. However, while the map layouts are obviously set in stone, the spawn issues feel like they're gradually being improved upon with the aforementioned regular updates.

Multiplayer progression mostly follows the same tried-and-tested formula of previous CoD entries, but it has to be said that the monetisation feels as insidious as it's ever been since the introduction of Warzone. Seasonal content and meaningless cosmetic items can be a drag for those who just want better guns and more things to shoot them with, but the silver lining is that the seasonal content has exclusively been of a cosmetic nature thus far.

So, is Black Ops 6 the reinvigoration the series needed after the ceaseless release schedule? Well, yes and no. It introduces a great new gameplay mechanic, omni-movement, that will hopefully be a mainstay in every series entry going forward. It offers all three key modes the franchise is known for, and all three are packed with things to do. The campaign and Zombies modes are fun despite their weaknesses, and multiplayer is a great time, too — even if it offers the most frustrations amongst the positive aspects. But perhaps many fans would call this business as usual, then.