Well, folks, it’s that time of year again. The nights are getting colder, the leaves are falling, and the plague of pumpkin spice spreads unchecked across the land. To most, these are simple signs of fall, but to gamers, they’re yearly omens that herald the arrival of a new Call of Duty. This year’s entry, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, launches November 7th. In the convoluted timeline of the sub-series, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will be a direct sequel to 2012’s near-future classic, Black Ops 2, not last year’s 90s-themed Black Ops 6.
Last week, players who preordered Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 were granted access to a closed beta, offering an early look at how the near-future shooter is shaping up. After spending most of the weekend jumping and sliding through its new maps, I’ve got some thoughts. In short, if you liked last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, you’re going to enjoy Black Ops 7. If you were hoping for the more grounded, tactical gameplay of the Modern Warfare series, you’re probably going to hate it.
Black Ops has always had a more arcade-like feel to its multiplayer than other Call of Duty titles, but when Treyarch added the omnimovement system last year, it cranked that vibe up to 11. The system allows players to blend movements, such as jumping and sliding, into dynamic combat maneuvers. It wasn’t an instant hit — more cautious players hated the faster tempo and sensitive controls. But within days, lobbies were full of operators swan-diving in every direction, gunning down enemies while indulging in the miracle of flight. Like every major change to the Call of Duty formula, it just took some getting used to.
“If you liked last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, you’re going to enjoy Black Ops 7.”
Those who love it, love it, but it’s not for everyone. Even a year in, you can still hear Modern Warfare fans lamenting over the comms in Warzone, cursing as they accidentally self-defenestrate while trying to strafe. They’re going to hate Black Ops 7.
This year, omnimovement is back, now with wall-running capabilities. Overall, movement and speed feel familiar, but slightly faster and far more precise in Black Ops 7. Wall-running adds verticality, making it effortless to traverse different levels of each map. Wall running and wall jumps are snappy and responsive, letting CQB builds close the distance on snipers in a heartbeat. It’s not as free as the exo-suit system from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, but it’s a step in the right direction and gets us a hair closer to the glorious parkour of Titanfall.
The mobility and speed pair well with the new maps, all of which encourage constant movement. The Black Ops 7 beta featured five maps, each relatively small compared to last year’s battlefields, with the largest, Imprint, feeling closer to a mid-sized map from previous years. Each one is packed with shortcuts and workarounds that make even the cheekiest camping spots vulnerable from multiple angles. We don’t know much about this year’s campaign yet, but judging by these layouts, it feels like the two sides are waging a war on campers.
One gameplay change that has received exactly zero love is the removal of manipulatable doors. I hate this change too. Instead of doors that players can breach, kick open, peek through, or close, every door is now proximity-based. It removes the player’s ability to control a threshold tactically. Since the 2019 remake of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, doors have been a key tool for managing the battlespace. From a cracked door, a player could pick apart an adjoining section of the map one slice at a time. The humble door quite literally changed the game. The return to automatic doors breaks the map into a series of small arenas rather than one cohesive battlefield. It maintains a fast pace and discourages door campers, but it also makes each map feel flatter and less tactically interesting.
Gunplay was limited to a handful of weapons and gadgets, but overall, it felt solid. The near-future setting keeps the arsenal mostly grounded, with the more futuristic tech reserved for killstreaks. Standouts include the Gravemarker rifle, which can locate and engage enemies through cover, and the D.A.W.G., an autonomous hound that roams the map gleefully (and loudly) obliterating opponents. Pistols are viable as primaries now, packing serious stopping power at range, but most builds will still focus on one of the ARs. The beta included three SMGs, all with insanely high rates of fire but relatively low power and unwieldy recoil, making them best suited for slide attacks at very close range.
Some balancing is undoubtedly on the way, but the added lag time on heavy weapons hasn’t been popular. Certain sniper rifles and shotguns now have a brief input delay or “charge time” before firing, making them effective only when flanking or catching an enemy off guard. It’s an interesting idea in theory, but in practice, it makes shotguns miserable to use and sniper rifles more of a liability than they’re worth. It might feel better with a spooling-up animation or audio cue similar to the R8 Revolver in Counter-Strike 2. Still, some weapons currently feel sticky and unpredictable.
“Black Ops 7 is going to be fine, but it will take more than balancing and double jumps to genuinely excite people about Black Ops 8.”
Finally, the Black Ops 7 beta unlocked the first level of the zombies mode, pitting solo players or squads of four against 50 waves of the undead. It seemed fine, but it lacked the character of older Black Ops zombie modes. No Nazi zombies, ex-presidents, or Danny Trejos to jeuje things up — just a generic farm estate with four unlockable buildings. Players must survive waves of zombie rednecks, demons, and eventually a zombie bear. The usual mad-science super weapons, performance-enhancing sodas, and supernatural bubblegum appear, but something is missing. The gameplay is tight, yet the waves come and go without leaving a lasting impression. Here’s hoping the final build works in a little more camp.
The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 closed beta ran from October 2nd to October 5th and is now entering open beta, which continues until October 8th. It’s shaping up to be a so-so entry in a series that, by any measure, is still pretty good. Without a doubt, the game will be mechanically solid and technically sharp, but it will also be painfully familiar. The new gameplay revisits well-trodden territory, and as they say — and as in-game chats make clear — familiarity breeds contempt. Black Ops 7 is going to be fine, but it will take more than balancing and double jumps to genuinely excite people about Black Ops 8.
