Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 review in progress - the CoD that we need

There's a lot of pressure on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to do well - not just because of the release of Battlefield 6 but also with the feeling among some players that Black Ops 6 started to feel like Fortnite with its skins and approach.

Black Ops 6 started off so strongly - I was a huge fan when it released but admittedly I dropped off as the months went by.

EA has successfully revived its Battlefield franchise by going back to the series' roots and while Black Ops 7 does not go back to the origins of Call of Duty, it does feel a lot more like it did when Black Ops 6 launched with key progression and improvements - and that's a very good thing.

I've played Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on a base PS5. To note, this will not be a full review at the time of writing as I have not managed to complete the campaign, put the time into multiplayer to comprehensively cover it or play on Zombies as codes arrived around 48 hours before the embargo lifting and servers have not yet opened publicly.

David Mason leads the JSOC team once more in Black Ops 7 / Treyarch, Activision

What is the campaign like in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 ? (Spoiler-free)

At the time of writing, I have only played the opening couple of campaign missions - but I have played quite a few rounds of Endgame.

Campaign works very differently this time as your progress is tied to global progression, meaning you can gain XP and weapon XP by playing through campaign missions as if you were playing multiplayer or Zombies.

It's a co-op campaign, meaning you can play with up to four others to fill the squad or you can still play solo if you'd prefer.

Black Ops 7 is set in 2035 and sees the return of infamous villain Raul Menendez and players will take him on as well as The Guild which is a global tech giant born out of Menendez's chaos and his populist movement. David Mason returns as the main character, leading JSOC and the investigation into The Guild.

As it's a Black Ops game, expect mind bending missions and different enemy types, including opposition soldiers, mech and zombies, as you fight your way to complete different objectives.

The game is set in Avalon where The Guild is based as well as Alaska, Nicaragua, Tokyo and more.

Endgame is the big new addition here and it acts as a PvE (player versus environment) extraction shooter. You can play solo or team up with others to complete objectives which earns rewards such as levelling up characters and gaining better equipment.

These objectives include finding and taking out heavy enemies, fighting through outposts or taking down drones which all yield rewards such as better equipment. Each character you play with has a combat level and every time you level up, you can choose a different skill track or enhance it, such as better health regeneration or higher penetration of bullets with certain guns for example.

Each game has a 50 minute timer across a sprawling Avalon map where there are four different zones which increase in difficulty. You start at the bottom and have to work your way up to become strong enough to tackle new objectives in each zone and have to extract within the time limit.

Your progress is carried over after every match you complete - but only if you can successfully exfil. If you die, you will lose progress from that session however you will still get XP and weapon XP.

This gives that feeling of how much will you risk to get better rewards and to complete more objectives? You start with one self-revive but after that, unless you come across another one or your squad can't revive you, that's it.

On my very first run, I got into a groove with everything but accidentally entered a higher levelled area about 30 minutes in and got taken out. I lost everything. That gave me a wake up call and caused be to be much more considerate when playing through my next runs.

The map is great and varied in its locations but some of the early missions can feel a little repetitive. It's much better to play if you're in a squad and it's clearly been designed for that.

There is a third-person mode players can play here but it feels like a bit of an afterthought. Guns appear and disappear from your back without any animation, they end up in your hand or teleport to your back. Movement can look and feel a little floaty too.

Multiplayer in Black Ops 7 feels like what you come to expect from a Call of Duty game / Treyarch, Activision

What is multiplayer like in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7?

I've played for a couple of hours against others who have also had early access codes so I'm not able to comment at present on what the open matchmaking approach is like in the full release.

From my time with it so far, multiplayer is what you'd come to expect from Call of Duty really - fast paced and frantic on the whole offering the ability to create unforgettable individual moments.

The ability to double jump adds an interesting element as it's easier to flank enemies and get around than ever before, opening up so many different fun avenues to try and explore.

Assault rifles and SMGs still feel king through the majority of modes with marksman rifles holding their own too if you level up the right one.

When choosing perks, whereas previously you had to choose three perks from the same combat specialty category, this time you can pick three from across two different ones for hybrid roles, offering more strength in flexibility.

Of the maps I've played so far, Den is a standout as it has a mix of close quarters combat and more open areas that are primed for longer range attacks.

Of the returning I've played, it's amazing to have Express back - yes the Black Ops 2 map already been remastered in Black Ops: Cold War but it's just so fun, especially with the new double jump that lets you get up and over trains and structures much more easily.

I managed to play a couple of games in 20v20 Skirmish too, where two teams battle it out on larger maps to complete objectives such as holding areas or hacking.

You don't instantly respawn in this mode; there is an eight second timer, making your actions and approach key. There's again a mix of close quarter combat when holding down objectives in buildings or smaller areas but you have to cross open areas to get to them, making you vulnerable to snipers or marksman rifles.

I need to play more of this mode to form more of a stronger opinion on it because while I've enjoyed it so far, I want to see if there's enough on offer here to keep me coming back for more. I've also only played on Tide and not Edge.

Zombies takes place in the Dark Aether in Black Ops 7 / Treyarch, Activision

What is Zombies like in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7?

I have not had the chance to play Zombies with others at the time of writing and am not able to offer an opinion on it at this time.

I can say the same crew from Black Ops 6 returns but they collide with alternate versions of the original heroes. The story is set entirely in the Dark Aether.

There are new expansive regions to explore, survival maps that test endurances, modes for newcomers and a new Cursed mode which introduces classic Zombies elements and challenges.

Round-based Zombies has the biggest map to date, survival returns and cursed is more focused on veteran players where Relics dial up the challenge.

Dead Ops Arcade returns too.

What is the verdict on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7?

While I cannot yet give a full verdict on Black Ops 7, my initial experience has been positive and encouraging after how I was feeling going into it.

I'm glad Treyarch has decided to get rid of some of the abhorrent skins that were more frequently creeping into Black Ops 6 and for reversing Call of Duty from the Fortnite direction.

Co-op campaign seems to offer a different approach and I'm looking forward to sinking more hours into it and Endgame, the PvE extraction section.

Multiplayer core modes feel like what you'd come to expect from Call of Duty, which is a good thing, although I need to put more time into new modes like Skirmish to see if they're strong enough to keep me coming back away from them.

I haven't had the chance to check out Zombies yet.

My initial feeling is that it's encouraging to see Treyarch take Black Ops 7 in this direction after where we were at with Black Ops 6. It's the Call of Duty that we need right now.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 'Endgame' has gamers asking 'is ARC Raiders in danger?'
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 devs reveal key Japan maps details - including cat cafe and karaoke bar

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.