Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a bombastic action spectacle of the highest order

The following review and rating refer exclusively to the single-player campaign of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

I’m not a big Call of Duty fan. Although I always take a look at the new entries that appear every year, I quickly forget about them. Nevertheless, I still remember last year’s Modern Warfare 3 well – mainly because of the scandalously horrible single-player campaign, consisting mainly of recycled, half-empty multiplayer maps and uninspired missions. Yaaawn!

Consequently, I’m all the more amazed at the bombastic action fireworks Activision sets off in Black Ops 6. The missions are bursting with clever gameplay ideas, offer incredible variety and constantly surprise me. Even if Call of Duty doesn’t tickle your fancy, definitely give Black Ops 6 a chance.

Wonderfully brainless popcorn cinema

I only vaguely know about the current state of the Black Ops story or universe before playing. I can still barely remember the CIA daredevil duo of Russell Adler and Frank Woods from previous titles. But I’m not sure what they did in the last offshoot (Black Ops: Cold War, 2020).

Luckily, I don’t have to, since the game serves me all the relevant information about the story so far in easily digestible cutscenes. Even without any previous knowledge, you should have no problems following the plot. Another plus is that the espionage story, although exciting, isn’t particularly complex.

The story revolves around a mysterious organisation that has infiltrated the CIA and is in possession of a weapon of mass destruction. Playing as a rogue agent, I investigate this shadowy group with other former CIA members.

Activision’s espionage thriller makes use of numerous clichés and twists familiar from films in the genre. Double agents, Russian villains and, in the end, the fate of humanity is at stake. If you’re OK with the jingoism typical of Call of Duty, expect a wonderfully brainless and fantastically put together popcorn story.

Incredible variety

In the end, that’s all the story needs to be. It fulfils its purpose perfectly, taking me from one mission to the next at the speed of light. It’s amazing how much variety Black Ops 6 offers with its wonderful graphics across endless locations.

From scorching hot deserts to snowy Russian landscapes and magnificent casino interiors, everything is included. Yes, even supernatural scenarios reminiscent of the Zombies multiplayer mode and Remedy’s Control have made it into the game. The range of background music is particularly impressive – sometimes action is accompanied by epic orchestral sounds, or by hard rock à la Doom.

Even more varied than the locations is the mission design, ensuring almost perfect pacing thanks to the wide range of objectives and gameplay mechanics.

At some points, the game takes me by the hand and drags me through linear railroad levels. These spectacular action sequences usually have a simple goal I can only achieve in one way – just like I’m used to from Call of Duty.

At other points, Black Ops 6 lets go of my hand and throws me into the deep end of open game environments without any clear guidelines for achieving my objective. Want an example? In one of my favourite missions, I explore a surprisingly large desert in Iraq using multiple vehicles. The order in which I complete my tasks on the map and the approach I use is up to me.

Across the mini-open world, I discover secret enemy outposts, destroy important defensive instalments and help allied military units out of trouble. In doing so, I constantly unlock new weapons and gadgets to help me in exploration and combat. The massive mission feels like a game within a game. Hell yeah!

Espionage levels – highlights of the campaign

As always, the shooting in Black Ops 6 feels excellent. Guns are powerful, and headshots are as satisfying as ever – whether from a distance with a sniper rifle or up close with a shotgun.

Although I really enjoy the shooting, quieter espionage levels are the highlight of the campaign for me. They’re also open and offer me a lot of freedom. The game keeps putting me in situations where I have to go undercover and gather information. I steal biometric access data on a secret CIA facility, play poker in a casino and infiltrate an enemy military base in disguise. I feel like James Bond himself.

The game usually offers me several ways of tackling these missions. It reminds me of games like Hitman. Sometimes I sneak up on a target, other times I talk to characters and manipulate them to do my bidding. Once I’ve decided on a course of action, I immediately want to repeat the mission and see how else I could’ve completed it.

Turn on your brain at the base

The more open missions in Black Ops 6 require both mindless shooting as well as expert analysis. Again and again, I have to consult the overview map to plan a route through open levels. From time to time, I discover locked doors and safes where I have to solve puzzles in order to progress.

Completing them is worthwhile, since there’s often money waiting behind closed doors. I can spend this on weapon and skill upgrades for my character between missions at the ex-CIA agents’ secret base.

In addition to upgrade options and amazingly written dialogue with my team members, more puzzles wait for me at the base. The run-down villa where my agents have taken up residence used to be a secret KGB base. It’s full of secret doors and cryptic clues.

If I need a break from the action in main missions, I take a leisurely look around the estate to find out what the eerie house is all about. At times, I feel like I’m in a Resident Evil game. The puzzles are fun – clever, but not frustrating. A welcome change from the noisy and often overwhelming rest of the game – I’d have happily played even more of them.

But it wasn’t just the puzzles I’d have liked more of. I played through the single-player mode in one go, which took me about nine hours. This makes the campaign one of the longest in the entire series. Nevertheless, I’m hungry for more after the credits.

In this respect, the game did everything right for me. I went into the campaign with no expectations, was pleasantly surprised and am now hooked. I’ll satisfy my remaining hunger in multiplayer and Zombie mode. We can only hope that the series can maintain its high-quality campaign standard next year instead of slipping back into boring mediocrity.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is available for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. The game is also available in Game Pass. The Xbox Series X version was provided to me by Activision for testing purposes.