Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review: The Good, The Sweaty, and The Always-Online Dumpster Fire

Look, Black Ops 7 is the latest in Treyarch's Black Ops saga—a direct sequel to Black Ops 2 set in 2035, where you're chasing ghosts from the past (literally, with fear toxins and nightmare realms) as David "Section" Mason and his squad take on some evil tech corp called The Guild. Critics gave it a middling 65-66 on Metacritic, calling it "mixed." Users? A brutal 1.6—"Overwhelming Dislike"—the lowest ever for a Call of Duty game. Steam's at 35% positive. Why the Grand Canyon of a review gap? Critics played the polished multiplayer demo. Players got the full launch slop: always-online campaign bugs, sweat-lord lobbies, and a game that feels like a $70 DLC pack for Black Ops 6.

If you're a multiplayer masochist or Zombies diehard, grab it on sale. Casual fans? Wait for patches. Here's the breakdown.

Campaign: Co-Op Experiment Gone Wrong (6/10)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 - 18 Minutes of Solo Campaign Gameplay

This 5-hour co-op shooter promises high-stakes psy-ops across Tokyo rooftops, Mediterranean coasts, and hallucinatory hellscapes. Gunplay is snappy, movement (grapple, wingsuit, super jumps) feels fresh, and boss fights with weak-point weak sauce can be a blast with friends. But solo? It's a tedious nightmare. Always-online means no pausing, AI teammates are AWOL, and you're stuck repeating fetch quests like placing C4 solo while swarms overwhelm you. Story's a confusing mess of exposition dumps and Menendez callbacks—fine for BO vets, impenetrable for newbies.

The "Endgame" tacked-on horde mode has progression (skill points, combat ratings), but it's repetitive extraction shooter slop with dumb AI. Users rage about crashes, unskippable slop, and it feeling like "Skibidi Toilet." Skip unless squaded up.

Multiplayer: The Savior (8/10)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer finds the fun in its chaos

This is where BO7 shines. 18 launch maps (now 30+ with seasons) like Retrieval (glacier chaos), Hijacked remake, and Fringe (wall-jump heaven) are expertly designed—no camper heaven, all movement-friendly. Omnimovement evolves with wall runs/jumps—fluid, vertical, bunny-hop legit. Guns feel premium (MK.78 LMG shreds, Shadow SK sniper pops heads), except meh SMGs.

Big W: Toggle SBMM on/off. Non-SBMM default means wild lobbies—gods or stomps—but leavers ruin it. Modes like Overload (EMP CTF chaos) slap; camo grind and Prestige system keep you hooked. Downside? Sweaty as hell—meta slaves, fast TTK, head glitches. Users call it a "tournament simulator" despite the toggle.

Zombies: Big Map, Bigger Frustration (6/10)

Black Ops 7 Zombies Ashes of the Damned: Full Map Overview ...

Ashes of the Damned is the biggest round-based map ever—a massive figure-8 with truck travel (Ol’ Tessie, Pack-a-Punch on wheels). Gunplay pops, Mystery Box thrills, Easter Eggs are goofy (axe zombie feet?). But the EE quest? Hours of steps, one death = full restart (bye upgrades). Randos suck; it's punishing casuals into paying for Gobblegums. Fun in bursts, but feels like BO6 leftovers.

The Verdict: 7/10 – MP Carries, Rest Drags

Black Ops 7 nails multiplayer chaos and progression (XP everywhere, shared camos). But launch bugs, always-online BS, and "AI slop" cosmetics tank it. Users aren't wrong—it's sweaty, grindy, cash-grabby. Patches could fix servers/leavers. For now: MP gods eat it up; story chasers, look elsewhere.

Buy if: You're a multiplayer fiend. Skip if: You want a real campaign or chill vibes.