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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Critics Consensus (Skip It)
While the campaign is extremely short and the new multiplayer modes don’t quite hit the spot, Black Ops Cold War is a laudable shakeup of the CoD formula, and a triumphant return of the Black Ops saga.
Game Info
Black Ops Cold War will drop fans into the depths of the Cold War’s volatile geopolitical battle of the early 1980s. Nothing is ever as it seems in a gripping single-player Campaign, where players will come face-to-face with historical figures and hard truths, as they battle around the globe through iconic locales like East Berlin, Vietnam, Turkey, Soviet KGB headquarters and more.
0%
Recommended
0%
Average Score
Total Reviews: 111
RELEASE DATES:
GENRES:
- Shooter
DEVELOPER(S):
- Treyarch
- Raven Software
PUBLISHER(S):
- Activision
SERIES/FRANCHISE:
- Call of Duty
GAME MODES:
- Multiplayer, Single player
GAME ENGINE:
- IW
Where to Play
WHERE TO PLAY
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RATING & REVIEWS
Ratings & Reviews
111
Critic Reviews
76
Average Critic Score
Where to Play
CRITIC REVIEWS
All reviews are from professional critics. Learn more about the critics VSG aggregates.
High Score
96%
Median Score
80%
Low Score
35%
What did you think of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War?
Player Reviews0 Votes
0
Alyssa Mercante (GamesRadar+)
November 13, 2020
3/5 stars
A laudable shake-up of the Call of Duty campaign formula, but Black Ops Cold War misses some targets.
Daniel Tack (Game Informer)
November 13, 2020
8.8/10
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War serves up a great campaign, solid multiplayer with fresh spins, and the zany zombie modes that we’ve come to expect from Treyarch.
Kallie Plagge (GameSpot)
November 13, 2020
8/10
So far, Cold War offers a dynamic campaign and new wrinkles to multiplayer, as well as a promising use of PS5’s DualSense controller.
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Score Ranges
Read the Reviews (111 total)
| Outlet | Author | Score | Date | Quote | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33bits | Jose Antonio Calvo Ceniceros | 85 / 100 | 11-25-2020 | Another year, another Call of Duty. And the first of the new generation of consoles. We return to a spectacular and vibrant campaign with grateful adventure additions, along with a solid, direct and full multiplayer, full of game modes and content that will increase as the ‘season’ passes. Hours and more hours in front of the screen to which the insertion of Wargame within the same game is added to make the multiplayer experience more complete. | Read review |
| 3DNews | Алексей Лихачев | 7 / 10 | 11-21-2020 | An average Call of Duty game with three usual modes which doesn’t wow or surprise, and sometimes looks bland compared to its predecessor. | Read review |
| Atomix | Alberto Desfassiaux | 75 / 100 | 11-20-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War feels like a backwards step for the franchise. A pretty forgettable campaign and an ok multiplayer, makes it a good, but not great new Call of Duty. | Read review |
| Attack of the Fanboy | Diego Perez | 4 / 5 stars | 11-13-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War brings the Black Ops subseries back to its roots, delivering an explosive campaign, fast-paced multiplayer, and a compelling Zombies experience. | Read review |
| AusGamers | Steve Farrelly | 9.4 / 10 | 11-13-2020 | Talk about ushering in a next-generation | Read review |
| Bazimag | Mahdi Eftekhari | 8 / 10 | 11-19-2020 | An engaging and exciting campaign and an addictive multiplayer, make Black Ops Cold War a must experience for fans of the series and all fps lovers. | Read review |
| But Why Tho? | Charles Hartford | 9 / 10 | 11-15-2020 | When all is said and done Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War delivers an exciting, and intriguing spy story with its campaign. While it only clocks in at about six hours, those six hours rarely failed to entertain me. As a single piece of a bundle, it is top notch. However, if the rest of the game’s offerings hold no interest for you, I don’t know if it’ll be enough to justify the full purchase price. | Read review |
| Cerealkillerz | Gabriel Bogdan | 8.2 / 10 | 11-16-2020 | Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War offers on of the best campaigns in years and extends the zombie mode in the right areas. Even if the campaign is extremly short and the new multiplayer modes don’t really hit the spot, Call of Duty Fans will get the usual whole package and can hope for free Updates in the future. | Read review |
| CGMagazine | Clement Goh | 8 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War brings Treyarch’s winning formula back with a few stumbles in content, but manages to deliver on a bombastic story, refined multiplayer and vintage zombies with tons of neon glow. | Read review |
| Cheat Code Central | Jon Gronli | 4.8 / 5 stars | 11-17-2020 | All in all, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War is a great entry into to Black Ops storyline. It gives an interesting view of the time, has a compelling storyline, and leaves you wanting more. That last comment, while it can be used negatively, is actually a positive here since it shows just how well things were thought out. Yes, there are flaws in the campaign, but if it factors into the plot twist, those flaws are not only forgivable, but genius. I can see areas where the game can grow through new mission DLC, but what we got at launch is a surprising gift that bridges the gaps between Black Ops and Black Ops 2. Even just the campaign makes this a buy. If you’re interested in hearing about multiplayer or Zombies, let us know and a follow up is sure to come. Just remember, if you’re a console gamer and want the next-gen upgrades, you’ll need to pay attention to which edition you’re getting. The current-gen version will only be the current-gen version. | Read review |
| COGconnected | Trevor Houston | 79 / 100 | 11-12-2020 | Treyarch is quick to admin they faced development challenges during the pandemic. To a degree, it shows. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War doesn’t innovate in any big way. It merely gives Call of Duty fans more of what they have been accustomed to playing year after year. At the same time, Cold War is truly an enjoyable experience delivering over 100gigs of content that’ll get ongoing support and free content long after this review is posted. In short, better days ahead. Cold War will once again be considered the must-have shooter this holiday season. Deservedly so. Just don’t expect anything incredibly groundbreaking | Read review |
| Critical Hit | Gavin Mannion | 7.5 / 10 | 11-19-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War is exactly what you expect it to be, but there is a massive amount of content on offer here and it’s still impressive. Maybe the magic is starting to slip now, but if you’ve not picked up a Call of Duty recently then grab this one, there’s still some fun to be had. | Read review |
| Daily Star | Tom Hutchison | 4 / 5 stars | 11-17-2020 | Overall, there have been better Call of Duty games in the past, particularly around the single-player campaign. But Black Ops Cold war gets both the multiplayer mode and zombies just right and those are the ones that really count most for fans. | Read review |
| DASHGAMER.com | Dan Rizzo | 8.5 / 10 | 11-26-2020 | Cold War exudes a creative evolvement in its storytelling, more than its existing blueprint. The framework of its successful gameplay loop remains intact, and while some may criticise it – justly – you cannot deny that it works every time; if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. | Read review |
| Destructoid | Chris Moyse | 8 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | From its shadowy story campaign to its frantic multiplayer action, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War offers the thrilling and magnetic gameplay expected of the series, shined up with solid character models, impressive vistas, and sharp visual effects. While there’s undeniably room for improvement regarding innovation, Black Ops Cold War gets Call of Duty’s third generation off to a strong start. | Read review |
| Digital Chumps | Nathaniel Stevens | 9 / 10 | 04-28-2017 | The PlayStation 5 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the best in the bunch. It tells a solid campaign with branching narrative choices, contains some of the best visuals that you’ve seen on a system not called ‘PC’, and it has some good, new faces on the multiplayer scene. Is it all perfect? Not at all, but it’s a good way for Call of Duty to start on the next generation of consoles. | Read review |
| Digital Spy | Laurence Mozafari | 4 / 5 stars | 11-17-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s campaign is tight, slick, and lots of fun, it almost avoids getting totally bogged down with militaristic mumbo jumbo, thanks to a barmy plot, and fun, albeit cliched characters, and most importantly, genuinely creative and impressive gameplay mechanics, that don’t involve shooting. Sure it’s as short as ever, but given it’s one part of the package that includes zombies and multiplayer, it’s easily the best Call of Duty story for many years, and perhaps one of the best shoot-em-up campaigns, too. | Read review |
| Digitally Downloaded | Matt Sainsbury | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-16-2020 | I’ve never played a game more thoroughly unpleasant than Black Ops Cold War, but since this is the video game industry, the only thing I’m meant to be talking about is how much fun it is to press those buttons. So, let’s finish the review and do that (since I know this conclusion is all most people are going to read anyway). Yes, it is fun to press buttons. You can even press buttons in multiplayer, and after however many Call of Duty titles now, the half dozen development teams that worked on this thing know how to make multiplayer button pressing fun. There are standard multiplayer modes, and classics like Zombies are back because people like those modes. It’s all very accessible since this series is as mainstream as they come and Activision would hate for people to find it overwhelming. In short, if you want to play Black Ops Cold War as a completely passive sponge, then you’ll have a lot of fun pressing those buttons. This score, below, is for you. For anyone else who is even mildly interested in thinking about the games they play, I can’t put into words clearly enough how unacceptable I find this game to be. | Read review |
| DualShockers | Otto Kratky | 6 / 10 | 11-16-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops | Read review |
| Easy Allies | Michael Huber | 3.75 / 5 stars | 12-04-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War offers a solid campaign but plays it safe with multiplayer. | Read review |
| Echo Boomer | David Fialho | Recommended | 11-19-2020 | While it’s not the most exposive and crazy campaing yet, is certainly the most cerebral and interesting one since Infinite Warfare, with well paced missions, opcional side missions, and a lot of contextual secrets to unlock. | Read review |
| Eurogamer | Wesley Yin-Poole | Recommended | 11-19-2020 | At launch, ahead of the release of the game’s first season, Black Ops Cold War is a good shooter and a wonderful achievement, but it is far from being the great competitive multiplayer shooter it should be. I’m confident it can get there. Modern Warfare ended up with some fantastic updates during its first year of life, after all. So I’m sticking with Black Ops Cold War – for now. | Read review |
| Explosion Network | Dylan Blight | 7 / 10 | 12-04-2020 | A solid campaign from Raven Software with a somewhat disappointing multiplayer and zombies experience. | Read review |
| Game Informer | Daniel Tack | 8.8 / 10 | 11-12-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War serves up a great campaign, solid multiplayer with fresh spins, and the zany zombie modes that we’ve come to expect from Treyarch | Read review |
| Game Rant | Dalton Cooper | 3 / 5 stars | 11-16-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be a great game with time, but its launch is disappointing thanks to technical issues and a lack of content. | Read review |
| Game Revolution | Mack Ashworth, Jason Faulkner | 4 / 5 stars | 11-20-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is yet another big win for Treyarch Studios. Despite the reduced development time between releases and the current state of the world, Treyarch has produced one of the better multiplayer/co-op/campaign combinations. If the devs stick to its roadmap for upcoming content, including the syncing of Cold War weapons to Warzone, then I’m confident players will be happy with this package. | Read review |
| Gameblog | Rami Bououd | 6 / 10 | 11-16-2020 | Call of Duty Black Ops is not the hottest episode in the series. It feels a bit rushed, as its campaign is too short and doesn’t rely enough on its fresh ideas. Multiplayer doesn’t offer enough maps and we can question weapons balance and netcode. Zombie Mode is probably the most satisfying thing, but we have to be patient, as new content is on its way. | Read review |
| GameCrate | Cody Perez | 8 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War brings the series back to the start in a much-needed way. Treyarch proves yet again that it is the king of multiplayer, providing exceptional, genre-defining gameplay along with a decent mix of new maps and modes that help with the lack of Zombies content. And Raven Software takes the single player campaign in a different direction that stumbles a bit in execution but lays the foundation for games to come. | Read review |
| Gamefa | Mostafa Zahedi | 8 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is not the best installment in these massive beloved series (as one of the best FPS games in History), but still it can be easily considered a must-buy for series fans and FPS lovers, with its entertaining campaign, amazing zombie mode and fun multiplayer. Still, developers have some unbalanced weapons and technical issues to take care of. In the end Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is a worthy game to play for evertine. | Read review |
| GameMAG | Vadim Eatin | 8 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War lends itself as a bombastic, yet short-lived game. We can only hope that this project will be well-received by Activision higher-ups, and that Raven Software will finally make name for themselves. | Read review |
| GamePro | Tobias Veltin | 83 / 100 | 11-17-2020 | Cold War offers the best CoD campaign in years, but not everyone will like the multiplayer mode. | Read review |
| Gamerheadquarters | Jason Stettner | 6.8 / 10 | 11-20-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War feels like a bit of a step back for the series, it has some special next generation features while presenting minimal content that hits below the expectations of the series. | Read review |
| Gamers Heroes | Blaine Smith | 8.5 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is another solid entry in the Call of Duty franchise. Fantastic shooting, great visuals, a strong story – fans of the series will find a lot to love in the latest entry. Unfortunately, for anyone else, it’s just another Call of Duty game that relies entirely on the same old multiplayer and zombies to carry it through. | Read review |
| GamesBeat | Dean Takahashi | 80 / 100 | 11-13-2020 | But it’s not the best Call of Duty game I have played, and the specter of returning to Warzone battle royale games looms large over this game. That’s why I rate this game as 4-out-of-5 stars (and yes, I might rate it much closer to 4.5 stars out of 5, as it is a shade better than the Watch Dogs: Legion game I played recently). I don’t think it’s as good as last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which was so disturbing and thoughtful and had an excellent and long single-player campaign. | Read review |
| GameSkinny | JosephYaden | 8 / 10 | 11-20-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is full of content that series fans will enjoy and offers a few unexpected surprises along the way. | Read review |
| GameSpace | Chris Bowman | 8.5 / 10 | 01-13-2021 | Overall, I love the old-school feels of Black Ops in Cold War and I love the storyline. All of the modes are fun to play and offer a lot for old players and new players alike. It is fun to get back into the action with players from all consoles and on PC to make the action that much better with cross-play. There are some issues with multiplayer that will seemingly never go away but such is life for an online multiplayer game. COD Black Ops: Cold War is $59.99 USD and has been out for a little while now. If you haven’t played it yet, well what are you waiting for it is so much fun! | Read review |
| GameSpew | Richard Seagrave | 8 / 10 | 11-19-2020 | There’s nothing revolutionary in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Nothing that screams “this is a must-buy”. But once again it’s a solid all-round package that has a little something for everybody – providing they like shooting in first-person. Its campaign is a nice little diversion with some exciting set-pieces and moments of thrilling stealth, while Zombies provides some solid fun when getting together with friends. And then there’s Multiplayer, which some will prefer over Modern Warfare‘s offerings and others will be less impressed with. Each element is far from extraordinary, but when all put together, it’s not a bad deal at all. | Read review |
| GameSpot | Kallie Plagge | 8 / 10 | 11-13-2020 | So far, Cold War offers a dynamic campaign and new wrinkles to multiplayer, as well as a promising use of PS5’s DualSense controller. | Read review |
| GamesRadar+ | Ford James | 3 / 5 stars | 11-16-2020 | A laudable shake-up of the Call of Duty campaign formula, but Black Ops Cold War misses some targets. | Read review |
| GameZone | Cade Onder | 7.5 / 10 | 11-20-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War had a rough development. From switching developers to being made during a pandemic, it was bound to be flawed. Somehow, though, Treyarch and Raven Software have still pulled it together for the most part. With a series-defining campaign, a classical return to Zombies, and a flawed but still fun multiplayer, Black Ops Cold War is yet another worthwhile entry. | Read review |
| Gaming Nexus | Rob Larkin | 7 / 10 | 11-25-2020 | The single-player and campaign modes are actually really great stuff. But like nearly all Call of Duty games, that is the content you’ll breeze through within your first week playing if even for just a few hours a day. The bulk of the ride ends up being multiplayer and zombies and that is where the problems really lie. This is a game that I’m sure will eventually get the extra content, balancing, and bugs worked out along a series of patches and end up being much better than it is today. But unfortunately the buggy, laggy, unbalanced, and content-sparse game we get at launch is the only one I was given to review. And the balance of the excellent single-player with below average multiplayer ends up for an average overall experience. | Read review |
| GamingBolt | Shubhankar Parijat | 6 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | While the single player campaign has some interesting ideas, Black Ops Cold War is let down by anemic content offerings, a Zombies mode that is starting to show its age, inconsistent map design, and some odd regressions, all of which makes this an unfortunately easy recommendation to skip, at least at launch. | Read review |
| GamingTrend | David Burdette | 90 / 100 | 11-12-2020 | Black Ops has absolutely returned with a vengeance. The fast, frantic pace is still there, and the gunplay is still just as great as you remember it. While the campaign may be the weakest part of an overall phenomenal package, it’s still very satisfying and the espionage narrative packs a punch. The modes people are going to play the most, multiplayer and Zombies, are the strongest parts of Black Ops Cold War, and offer the best first person shooter gameplay in video games. PS4 and Xbox One players may be missing out on several improvements offered by the next-gen systems and PC, but it’s not enough to detract from an amazing experience. My appetite for Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is definitely growing, and like Duran Duran, “I’m hungry like the wolf”. | Read review |
| Geeks Under Grace | LJ Lowery | 6.5 / 10 | 12-02-2020 | While suffering from technical issues, the campaign treads new ground as the rest of the game does little to evolve the franchise. | Read review |
| Generación Xbox | Pedro del Pozo | 8.6 / 10 | 11-19-2020 | Do not get carried away by the impressions or analysis of each year’s shift, not even ours, Call of Duty and by extension Black Ops Cold War, is always a great game. The quality standards with their predecessors already establish an enormous self-demand, from which we can only benefit. I always say it, Call of Duty is a safe purchase every year. For the same price you have a brutal Campaign, one of the best and most addictive multiplayer and bonus, the Zombies mode, ideal for cooperative. | Read review |
| Gert Lush Gaming | Jim Smale | 8.2 / 10 | 11-30-2020 | it’s a fine shooter in its execution and the campaign is brilliant but it needs more content and gadgets as at the moment it doesn’t really set itself apart from previous years | Read review |
| God is a Geek | Chris White | 9 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Whether you’re buying Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War for the campaign, multiplayer, or Zombies, there’s so much to enjoy, with great handling, cross-progression, and much more. | Read review |
| GotGame | Dragos Dobre | 9 / 10 | 12-01-2020 | Overall it’s impressive how many experiences they have packed inside Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War. You get a full-fledged, amazing singleplayer campaign, a more than decent multiplayer, endless zombie fights, and a silly twin-stick shooter bundled together. Not all of them are perfect, but somehow it all still holds up pretty good. | Read review |
| Guardian | Unknown | 3 / 5 stars | 11-19-2020 | The sixth conspiracy-fuelled blaster has airstrikes, zombies and macho platitudes a-plenty, but its lack of 80s pop culture is a missed opportunity | Read review |
| Hardcore Gamer | Kevin Dunsmore | 4 / 5 stars | 11-12-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops lost its way post-Black Ops III. While Black Ops III and 4 were fun in their own ways, they were also a massive departure from the core Black Ops experience. | Read review |
| Heavy | Eli Becht | Not Recommended | 11-24-2020 | There’s a lot to enjoy here, and if you’re a person who’ll just check out the game in your free time versus grinding it for hours on end, you’ll like it. If you are somebody who likes to dedicate whole days to playing CoD with your friends, then you might quickly find yourself wanting to find something else to play. | Read review |
| Hobby Consolas | David Martinez | 90 / 100 | 11-13-2020 | Black Ops Cold War delivers one of the best campaigns in the Call of Duty saga, alongside multiplayer, zombies and a perfect integration with Warzone. | Read review |
| Hynerd.it | Riccardo Retez | 7.5 / 10 | 11-20-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War does not fully exploit its potential, showing itself with a very short-lived campaign, few maps for multiplayer and a single map for the zombie experience. Treyarch is surprising but still has a lot to do. | Read review |
| IGN | Ryan McCaffrey | 7 / 10 | 11-13-2020 | Cold War’s quiet times are more memorable than the loud ones, even if the story’s ambition outweighs its execution. | Read review |
| IGN Italy | Angelo Bianco | 8.4 / 10 | 11-15-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a shooter that you shouldn’t miss. The excellent campaign and fun online modes guarantee hundreds of hours of entertainment and fun. | Read review |
| IGN Spain | David Soriano | 8 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Call of Duty needs to lean on three pillars every year. If one staggers, like multiplayer, the taste in the mouth that leaves is not what we demand of an annual product, and that is the case of Black Ops Cold War. Luckily, it shouldn’t take much more than the start of the Seasons and the arrival of new content to fix. | Read review |
| Impulsegamer | Sean Warhurst | 3.8 / 5 stars | 11-24-2020 | Probably the safest entry in the series of late, it’s fairly safe to say that if you like Call of Duty games then you’ll most likely enjoy what Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has to offer. The performance issues on PS5 are more than a little frustrating, although when things are running smoothly and those haptics are firing off beneath your fingers then there is a lot of enjoyment to be found, with the caveat being that there just isn’t any discernible innovation at play here. | Read review |
| INDIANTVCZ | Tereza Krečová | 7 / 10 | 11-22-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War managed to balance two sides of the weights: if you play Call of Duty because of the campaing, you’ll be undoubtedly satisfied. Singleplayer brings inovations, that transform classical „run and gun“ missions to think-through spy operations, that looks on Call of Duty beautifully. It doesn’t depend if you look on choices, decryption or investigative puzzles or plesant stealth. Cold War breaks the unfortunate old concept used by older parts. On the other hand multiplayer and zombie mode go in the other direction. Instead of changes and inovations we get gunplay, which is still fun, but not that fun. All the inovations that were brought with Modern Warfare don’t work in cold war anymore. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War can be great part to the series. But in the same way it can be average. All stands on what you prefer better. | Read review |
| Jump Dash Roll | Derek Johnson | 5 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War’s multiplayer is terrible, its campaign is forgettable and its zombies are okay, which all makes for a game that feels like a much worse iteration of previous installments into the franchise. | Read review |
| Kotaku | S.E. Doster | Recommended | 11-16-2020 | Overall, I’m pleased with the launch of Black Ops Cold War. Not having a campaign in Black Ops 4 was a bummer, and the Zombies mode was often a broken mess that didn’t get enough attention or rewards. There were promised features that never surfaced, and Zombies lacked a decent reward system. So, this is already shaping up to be a better Black Ops than the last. | Read review |
| Luis Alamilla | Luis Alamilla | 7 / 10 | 11-26-2020 | Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War isn’t a terrible entry in the series but when going down the recent entries, it feels like a downgrade from last year’s Modern Warfare. There are some interesting ideas implemented with this entry like new large-scale multiplayer maps, a campaign that focuses more on dialogue and storytelling, and a zombies mode that from someone that usually avoids it, actually enjoyed it this time. With that said, most of this package feels hindered back by some odd execution choices that ultimately make this feel more like a mixed bag of some pros and cons as opposed to a straightforward recommendation. | Read review |
| Merlin’in Kazanı | Tayfun Kumaş | 80 / 100 | 11-15-2020 | In the end, I don’t want to remove the responsibility of saying take it or not, because the image of Call of Duty games is obvious. That’s why I’m adding it to the list of games that should be given the chance. | Read review |
| Metro GameCentral | GameCentral | 6 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Not a standout year for Call Of Duty, as while the campaign offers some fun action and minor innovation Zombies and multiplayer are beginning to feel very tired. | Read review |
| New Game Network | Ben Thomas | 80 / 100 | 11-25-2020 | Although short on content, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a dependable entry in the franchise with fast action and a variety of solid modes. The great zombies level and the nostalgic campaign are definitely the highlight, and the competitive multiplayer should become strong once it gets more maps and tweaks. | Read review |
| NoesPaisparaFrikis | David Valero | 8.5 / 10 | 12-14-2020 | Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is one of those deliveries that are marked in red because again Activision is able to offer an attractive and high quality product to its loyal audience, with news in the campaign and the zombies mode destined to offer us hours and hours of action and fun | Read review |
| Noisy Pixel | Azario Lopez | 8 / 10 | 11-19-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War acts as a return to form for the series as Treyarch takes a safe approach to design and online modes. The campaign’s choice-driven narrative is a huge plus as it helped introduce a level of immersion that the series desperately needed, but it relies a bit too heavily on the big twists than the smaller story beats. With a foundation as good as this laid out, it will be interesting to see how it evolves in future updates. | Read review |
| NoobFeed | Adam Siddiqui | 35 / 100 | 11-20-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War serves as another example of how the series has been slowly trending downward, with more preventable issues cloaked in a cover of high-end graphics. | Read review |
| Oyungezer Online | Engin Vural | 7.5 / 10 | 11-26-2020 | New mechanics of Call of Duty gives hope for future. But is it reasonable to buy a game with such a short main story for this price if you’re only into single player campaign? That’s a big question mark. | Read review |
| PC Gamer | Morgan Park | 69 / 100 | 11-16-2020 | Cold War is an inessential distraction from the best Call of Duty on offer. | Read review |
| PC Invasion | Kurt Perry | 7.5 / 10 | 11-21-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a good game that should be easier to stomach for franchise veterans than Modern Warfare. The campaign is fulfilling, albeit short. The faster-paced multiplayer is also easy enough to jump into and have fun with. It’s just a shame that I can’t shake that feeling that Treyarch’s true vision has been held back by Activision forcing its ideals onto them. | Read review |
| PCGamesN | Jordan Forward | 9 / 10 | 11-13-2020 | Treyarch’s latest feels like it’s only a few quality of life changes away from being the perfect revival of the Black Ops series. It delivers on all three fronts and manages to subtly freshen some of the series’ most stale ingredients. | Read review |
| Player2.net.au | Matt Hewson | Recommended | 11-20-2020 | The most interesting and inventive campaign in the franchise makes this well worth the price of entry. Sadly the multiplayer modes don’t live up to the high bar set by the single-player mode. | Read review |
| PlayStation LifeStyle | Chandler Wood | 9 / 10 | 11-12-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a return to form for the franchise sub-series. While perhaps not as visually splendid as last year’s Modern Warfare, it gets the Black Ops series back to boots on the ground, introducing new characters and elements while lending adequate time and attention to series favorites. Treyarch expertly steps in to continue the recent interconnected Call of Duty franchise shift, exploring and evolving the series while still creating a game that not just retains but oozes that signature Treyarch style. Perhaps more than any Call of Duty game before it, I’m more excited than ever to see where it goes in the future. | Read review |
| PlayStation Universe | Ernest Lin | 8 / 10 | 11-23-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War takes you back to the past, not only in setting and theme, but in its gameplay style and more. It all feels so classic. Between multiplayer, Zombies, and the return of a proper (and surprisingly less-linear) campaign, there is plenty of value for the soldier in all of us. | Read review |
| Polygon | Austen Goslin | Recommended | 11-24-2020 | Then, as your character nears their breaking point, a door opens to your side, revealing a small dark room with an arcade cabinet in it. It’s a game of Kaboom!, which involves catching an endless cascade of bombs as they are dropped by a tiny figure at the top of the screen. Offscreen you can hear your handlers sigh in relief as Bell’s stress levels ease back down to the baseline, absorbed, as you are, by a simulated arcade game from 1981. Even resisting the programming winds up being its own kind of programming. | Read review |
| Press Start | Brodie Gibbons | 8 / 10 | 11-14-2020 | Although the campaign is only a small slice of the larger package in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, it’s great that it counters its ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ length with a bit of replay value and some memorable missions you’re bound to want to play again. Raven Software’s more subtle approach to Cold War espionage feels like viewing Call of Duty through a new, exciting lens. | Read review |
| PSX Brasil | Bruno Henrique Vinhadel | 65 / 100 | 11-20-2020 | With a campaign of inconsistent pace, which does not take advantage of the Cold War environment and gets lost in an old-fashioned version of multiplayer mode, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a setback in some ways. Zombies mode is the best part of the game and is still released with some limitations. It remains a Call of Duty game and shows some qualities, but in general, it ends up disappointing. | Read review |
| Push Square | Liam Croft | 7 / 10 | 11-22-2020 | As solid as the package is, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has to be one of the safest series instalments for quite some time. Multiplayer is seriously starting to show its age with tired ideas and even duller gameplay, leaving the campaign to rescue things. Its open-ended approach allows player choice to take prominence while Zombies is just as deep as ever. A passable effort for the start of the PS5 generation, but Activision must buck up its ideas for next year. | Read review |
| Rapid Reviews UK | TmXGhost | 3 / 5 stars | 12-12-2020 | The campaign starts as any Call of Duty game does, well and truly in the thick of it. You’re hunting Perseus, a Soviet spy whose goal is to subvert global power from the United States and shift the balance towards the Soviet Union. This run of missions sees you travel to East Berlin, Vietnam, Turkey and Soviet KGB Headquarters itself. | Read review |
| Rely On Horror | Avery Xavier Chu | 7.5 / 10 | 11-27-2020 | My relationship with Call of Duty Zombies has been tumultuous for quite a while now. As a fan of horror and first-person shooters, it was | Read review |
| Rock, Paper, Shotgun | Brendan Caldwell | Not Recommended | 11-16-2020 | The story is set in 1981 and it does not take a revisionist pen to history so much as it wraps a cloth bag over history’s head and hoses it down against a chainlink fence. It is incoherent numbskullery, tasking you with avoiding nuclear war, while at the same time insisting that gunning down the entire staff of Moscow’s KGB headquarters will not be interpreted as an act of war in itself. Plausible deniability is at the heart of what we do, argues one of the idiot spooks on your squad. But within the stupidity of this story hides an insidious and intractable message about the necessity of doing wrong. | Read review |
| Saudi Gamer | ريان الدويش | 6 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | Other than the amazing story mode, there is nothing special or unique here, the game still plays and feels good, but it is too classic and it does not feel complete, I always liked Black Ops because Treyarch takes care of every little detail, but sadly this did not happen here. | Read review |
| Saving Content | Scott Ellison II | 4 / 5 stars | 11-20-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War isn’t the evolution I thought it would be, but it is an excellent entry and return to form for a series that’s lost its way, but now has been found. There’s a familiar sense of movement and way the game plays that reminds you this is a Treyarch game, in all the best ways. The game feels less of a complete package due to how few multiplayer maps there are, and how Warzone feels like a less natural transition as it was in Modern Warfare. The campaign is short and sweet, but does some things to create a shared universe for future games to build off of. Black Ops Cold War is a really exciting 80s shooter that has yet to reach its full potential, but the state that it’s in currently is really fulfilling. | Read review |
| SECTOR.sk | Peter Dragula | 7 / 10 | 11-20-2020 | COD heading back to Black Ops style. Cold War era is a good choice, however campaign is too short and there are not enough maps in multiplayer. | Read review |
| Shacknews | Donovan Erskine | 8 / 10 | 11-19-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a solid entry in the long-running franchise, and a return to form for one of the most iconic titles in first-person shooters. The campaign goes big on thrilling espionage and exciting set pieces, though it does feel quite tone-deaf at times. Multiplayer is more of the arcade-feel that became synonymous with games like Black Ops 2, and will likely only get better once Season 1 kicks off and adds Warzone integration in December. Zombies doesn’t disappoint, as it once again proves to be the best alternate mode in Call of Duty. Treyarch reminds CoD fans that they’ve still got it with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. | Read review |
| Sirus Gaming | Erickson Melchor | 7 / 10 | 11-25-2020 | For the most part, the short-ish campaign can be rushed over a long weekend. Fortunately for the Black Ops Cold War, there are enough choices that might entice most players to go over the campaign at least one more time. For gameplay enthusiasts, there is always fun to be had messing around with perk combinations and higher difficulty settings. All-in-all, it’s a highly polished experience that plays it a little too closely on the safe side. | Read review |
| Softpedia | Cosmin Vasile | 7 / 10 | 11-25-2020 | Moreover, the visuals are outdated, and some technical issues should have been fixed before launch. We expected more from Black Ops Cold War, but I am sure that Activision will rake in enough money from the players to have another Call of Duty next year. | Read review |
| SomHráč.sk | Michal Grác | 60 / 100 | 12-31-2020 | It’s remarkable how much of a mess Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War ended up being. Paying AAA price for a well done story campaign and average multiplayer is just not worth it. | Read review |
| SpazioGames | Unknown | 8.2 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is an interesting new beginning for the series: the campaign is balanced and compelling, and the multiplayer is rich and as captivating as ever. | Read review |
| Stevivor | Ben Salter | 8.5 / 10 | 11-13-2020 | If it didn’t carry the COD name, it could very well have been labeled as an entirely different game marketed as “from the creators of Black Ops”. Raven and Treyarch have tried something new here, and delivered a refreshing Call of Duty single-player experience — just be aware it’s a smaller scale spy thriller, not an epic open warfare game. | Read review |
| Telegraph | Dan Silver | 3 / 5 stars | 11-17-2020 | The short but solid Campaign and back to basics multiplayer lack major innovations but offer plenty of run and gun fun all the same | Read review |
| The Digital Fix | Dan Phillips | 8 / 10 | 11-23-2020 | Black Ops is back and darker than ever. With a rich story and plenty of super-spy moments, this game keeps you gripping down on your controller. Always going to be compared to past titles, this iteration stands up to the challenge and delivers a whole new experience on what a Call of Duty title should be. | Read review |
| The Games Machine | Alessandro Alosi | 8.5 / 10 | 11-16-2020 | This is the great return of a much-appreciated saga: lots of content, a non-linear campaign and various improvements manage to overshadow some technical imperfections. And above all, shooting is pretty damn fun. | Read review |
| The Outerhaven Productions | Karl Smart | 3.5 / 5 stars | 12-05-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is one of those games that people are going to find their own value out of. For me, the story campaign was a great experience, and the Zombie mode is always a fun bonus. Graphically the game is one of the best I’ve seen on the market for any video game of this cross-over generation and would recommend people who have high-end PCs or Next-Generation consoles give the game a play. However Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War does nothing to change the reputation of the online multiplayer mode, from the push to buy season passes to a very toxic community, this would be the only huge negative I would point out, which will upset a lot of die-hards. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a game the die-hards will love, but won’t do much to convert new players to its fold. | Read review |
| TheSixthAxis | Nick Petrasiti | 7 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a decent entry in the series, but it feels like it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. The campaign is full of underused ideas, while the multiplayer misses some of the magical charm of Modern Warfare, opting for faster paced aggressive battles which just don’t feel as satisfying. While still enjoyable, Black Ops Cold War fails to recapture the magic of Black Ops 1 and 2. | Read review |
| Too Much Gaming | Carlos Hernandez | 7 / 10 | 12-09-2020 | I had fun with Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War, especially with the campaign. Zombies remain great and is now easier to swallow, but multiplayer | Read review |
| TrueGaming | نواف النغموش | 8 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Story missions disappointed, but the content is big and diverse enough to satisfy. Overall, this is a good game that captured the setting and the tension between the two powerful countries in early 80s very well. | Read review |
| Unboxholics | Λεωνίδας Στραβάκος | Recommended | 11-17-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War offers a triptych of experiences for all tastes, without at last focusing exclusively on multiplayer players. It even dares to bring new elements to the table, offering various branches in the plot based on the player’s choices. | Read review |
| USgamer | Julie Muncy | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-20-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is one of the best Call of Duty games in years, with vibrant new gameplay additions and robust multiplayer offerings. Despite that, it still feels hampered by aspects of its approach and tone that would have better been left in Call of Duty’s past. | Read review |
| VGChartz | Thomas Froehlicher | 7.5 / 10 | 12-04-2020 | A strong entry in the long-running series and a fascinating dive into the Cold War. | Read review |
| VGN | Jacopo Mungai | 8.6 / 10 | 11-19-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the best Call of Duty made by Raven Software and Treyarch in all respects. It offers a campaign that is not too long but very exciting and full of novelty, combined with a multiplayer as always impeccable and finally much more open than in the past, thanks to the possibility of playing cross-platform and cross-gen online, that is, between the various platforms on which it is available. Technically superb, complete with ray racing, Black Ops Cold War is one of the best ways to start enjoying the performance of Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5; if you like subjective shooters don’t think about it for a second, run to buy it! | Read review |
| Video Games Chronicle | Jordan Middler | 3 / 5 stars | 11-16-2020 | Despite its enjoyable campaign, Black Ops Cold War feels like an anachronistic package. The era of one game containing three completely disparate modes feels so long ago in the age of Warzone. | Read review |
| VideoGamer | Josh Wise | 7 / 10 | 12-08-2020 | What I didn’t expect from the new Call of Duty was downtime, and the suggestion, at least in the first half, that guns, while great for going in blazing, can provide just as potent a thrill when holstered. | Read review |
| WayTooManyGames | Aaron Price | 8 / 10 | 11-28-2020 | Another year, another Call of Duty entry, and while at this point in time Black Ops Cold War doesn’t stand out from the crowd, the roadmap Activision has laid out certainly looks interesting. With loads of free content coming soon, including new maps for Multiplayer and Zombies, the full potential of the game feels like it’s yet to be unveiled. | Read review |
| Wccftech | Chris Wray | 8 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is as close to true call of Duty as you’re likely to find in recent years, for better or for worse. The campaign does branch out a little, offering you side-missions that are unlocked through evidence gathering, which is fun. It’s also engaging, featuring a good number of entertaining set pieces. However, it’s also insane and has way too many throwaway ‘features’. Multiplayer, and the zombie mode, are both very enjoyable to play and multiplayer has been made more engaging for those who used to struggle to get massive kill streaks. However, there’s no doubt that the multiplayer is seriously lacking in maps. Also, the game needs some technical polish. Still, all in all, this is still a strong FPS and one that will keep fans coming back for more. | Read review |
| WellPlayed | Kieran Stockton | 7 / 10 | 11-25-2020 | The beating heart of the Call of Duty experience in terms of multiplayer feels like a solid return to the classic formula, but abundant technical issues make this a worrying stumble into a new generation | Read review |
| Windows Central | Samuel Tolbert | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-16-2020 | The campaign brings enjoyable new mechanics to the formula but multiplayer and Zombies both fall short of expectations and needed performance, with weaker gunplay and an unstable framerate respectively. | Read review |
| Worth Playing | Redmond Carolipio | 7.5 / 10 | 12-01-2020 | Fans of the franchise and many gamers of a certain age, especially those who have a next-gen console in the hopper, will still find enough to like in Call of Duty: Black Ops | Read review |
| Xbox Achievements | Richard Walker | 85 / 100 | 11-18-2020 | For some reason, I always have a preconceived notion that I won’t enjoy this year’s Call of Duty. How can a series that releases every single year without fail possibly maintain a consistent quality bar? There are detractors who’d say it doesn’t, but let’s be honest – it does. Call of Duty: Black Ops | Read review |
| Zoomg | Afshin Piroozi | 7.5 / 10 | 11-21-2020 | As a single player experience, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War offers short but exciting story mode; one with cinematic action missions and new stealth operations that actually work well. But multiplayer is where Cold War falls short. especially after the successful Modern Warfare reboot of last year, the lack of variety in maps and game modes, makes it more of a step back rather that a evolution. | Read review |
| ZTGD | Ken McKown | 8 / 10 | 12-10-2020 | Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War continues the trend of adding a ton of bang for your buck. While I don’t participate in some of the modes there is still enough here to keep me interested enough to make it worth my time and money. The campaign is the best I have played in a while. The multiplayer suite has something for everyone, and the zombies mode continues to be a nice diversion. There is something for just about everyone here, and it is a nice showpiece for these new consoles to boot. The series shows no signs of slowing down, and as long as the quality continues to trend upward I am perfectly fine with that. | Read review |
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Credits
CREDITS
DIRECTOR(S):
Corky Lehmkuhl, Dan Vondrak
PRODUCER(S):
Daniel Donaho
DESIGNER(S):
David Vonderhaar
PROGRAMMER(S):
Matt Kimberling
ARTIST(S):
Bruce Hall, Shaun Bell, Joe Koberstein
WRITER(S):
Craig Houston, David S. Goyer, Brent Friedman, Murray Kraft
COMPOSER(S):
Jack Wall
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