Call of Duty continues the story of “Black Ops” whilst offering the first glimpse at what next-gen is capable of. How well does it take us back into the ’80s? And are you ready for a different Call of Duty?
The series has always been about big firefights and linear level design and story progression. Nothing bad at all but the formula had gone quite stale over the years. Multiplayer was the main selling point of the series and the main campaign was a quick rollercoaster ride with guns blazing featuring a strong cast that fans started to like towards later entries in the series.

If you’re looking for this same feel as before the game will disappoint you… But if you’re looking for the freshest take on the series you’ll feel right at home! The campaign starts off with impressive cinematics and a strong cast of voice actors bringing the campaign to life. And it nicely transitions into the gameplay that doesn’t look bad at all! It all starts in Amsterdam at night and you’re dropped into a bar that looks like it really was there in the 80’s! The people having drinks and the radio and TV were portraying this era in the most authentic way. This game’s setting is the most realistic depiction of an era to date! The music, the clothing style, the posters and even stickers are authentic in every way! Since I understand dutch I was able to follow all of the conversations at the bar. This is where the 3D audio and all the new audio tech from Sony and the game’s devs come to a perfect marriage. I’ll talk more about the sound later as it deserves its own paragraph.

“The cutscenes are a culmination of 80’s music, styling and humor.”

“This game’s setting is the most realistic depiction of an era to date! The music, the clothing style, the posters and even stickers are authentic in every way!”

Another thing I noticed at the bar was the realistic lighting at night coming from the many neons, car lights, or just ambient light sources. This is a constant throughout the entire game where shadows breaking the light on a wall are indicators that guards are on the lookout or even shining their torches through the blinds of an office to find you. The visual fidelity is absolutely bonkers when you find out that you can read every single sticker in a bathroom stall or every single word in a newspaper lying on the floor. And the game’s story adds to your paranoia to read them all for clues! I sometimes stopped shooting at enemies to have a detailed look at the photorealistic textures of a random brick wall, an ornamented Russian USSR vase, or even the chipped paint on a ceiling. Maybe it’s because this game felt like my first step into the new generation of console graphics. I turned off the motion blur at one point to see if I could find hidden flaws in fast-paced action but I saw nothing displeasing to my eyes even during the most intense firefights.

“NPCs having authentic dialogue adds a flair of a living and breathing world around you when you eavesdrop on them.”

“I sometimes stopped shooting at enemies to have a detailed look at the photorealistic textures of a random brick wall, an ornamented Russian USSR vase or even the chipped paint on a ceiling.”

Now let’s talk about sound! Be sure to calibrate the PS5’s sound profile that fits your headset best and use this HRTF 3D extravaganza to your advantage. Your own tailored sound experience will drop you right into the action and it’s not just about listening to people talk about their lives in the ’80s, it’s all about the combat sound. The game prioritizes sounds that matter to what you’re doing so ambient sounds in a calm scene will be boosted to give you a real sense of realism but when the Cold War gets hot around you you’ll only hear the war sounds that you need to pinpoint enemies around and even above or below you! Different spaces feel larger or smaller thanks to the sounds that will filter differently according to the space you’re in. It’s easier to find out where a squad of enemies is exactly around a corner or in a large hall. Let’s not forget about the brilliant voice acting that supplements the detailed faces of all the characters and even random enemies on your path. An honorable mention goes to the score of the game that comprises of music straight from your uncle’s mixtape in his 80’s Peugeot as well as the orchestrated piano chimes that add that extra suspense when breaking into a Russian government building. Add the DualSense controllers to this mix of graphics and sound and you’ll feel like pulling the heavy trigger of a cold steel rifle. Especially when firing a handgun you’ll feel the added weight of the triggers in every shot you fire.

“They managed to pull a ‘Nam scene **without** Fortunate Son!”

Now, this is a part where I’ll elaborate on the fact that this isn’t a Call of Duty game but a very good Cold War shooter! It’s a bold move to change the formula in an established series like COD and I understand how some fans feel like the campaign has changed into something else… But if you ask me, it changed into something better. It borrows elements from RPG’s like dialogue options that change the outcome of the game and also choices to kill or save some characters. It’s a game of spies and agents and you’re in the middle of it. Some choices are timed and will make you sweat and think fast before freaking out and clicking the first thing that pops into your head. The game messes with your head the more you advance and you’ll be looking for clues on bathroom stall walls and even on propaganda posters in a subway or a random clock in an office. Some missions will have you walk around and doing main or optional tasks that don’t even involve shooting a gun. There is a great amount of stealth and hacking, picking locks, taking out guards and hiding bodies. At some point, I felt like playing a first-person Hitman game and that’s not a bad thing, those are critically acclaimed stealth assassin games! The Cold War after all wasn’t about explosions and urban firefights. It was about double-crossing, spying and always being at least 3 steps ahead of the opponent, whatever the cost. Of course, some missions will have you guns blazing like the good old COD formula dictates but this new entry is a bold move and a needed change for the series. A fresh new take on what Call of Duty campaigns can be. You’re operating from the safe house with your crew including familiar faces and if you collect and review the correct evidence you’ll have a better chance at controlling the situation in the endgame.

“It still has some amount of rollercoaster Hollywood action but it’s dosed in a better way!”

“The game messes with your head the more you advance and you’ll be looking for clues on bathroom stall walls and even on propaganda posters in a subway or on the side bezels of a random clock in an office.”

The multiplayer is solid and offers great new modes I discussed in the Beta previews but the most dynamic game mode is Fireteam – Dirty Bomb. It forces you to complete objectives by collecting radioactive materials so you can detonate a small dirty bomb to render the area toxic. It forces you to move away soon after and find a new bomb to detonate while other teams will try to kill you so they can light the fuse. It’s a large-scale combat area that has different firefights developing over the entirety of the map so everywhere you go there’s something going on. It changes the typical formula of large scale maps where eventually everyone fights along the same line. As the toxic clouds move with the wind you’ll have to find other paths to go to the next objective in this great multiplayer mode! Another mode that looks more basic but involves quite some tactical thinking is the VIP escort. I loved to play this during the Beta weekends and it is a fun and quick game you can launch if you’re in for 5 minutes of fun or even if you want to chain a couple of VIP matches during an hour. Protect or kill the VIP! I suggest getting a good team to have real fun and to communicate with each other. Again the DualSense controller with the built-in mic comes to good use here as you’ll always be able to communicate even with people lacking a headset. A bold move by Sony that shows its merit in this multiplayer mode.

And let’s not forget that Zombies is back! The arcade feel is still here but that’s how it’s supposed to feel! The amazing graphics and the 3D sound make this a thrilling experience that’ll have you jump once or twice when hearing the breathing and cries of the undead right behind you. Especially in bunkers the reverb of the sound feels amazingly accurate and helped me fighting off the horde of the undead!

Is the game perfect? No, there were times where AI on stealth missions felt a bit clunky (some guards should’ve noticed me but did not) and the multiplayer feels like it’s built on the old Black Ops rather than evolving on the feeling of Warzone.

“The game will offer you plenty of opportunities to complete a mission and I found out you can combine multiple options to create a flawless stealth mission. or you can just try to go guns blazing if you really want to. but then you’ll miss evidence needed to have the most fulfilling endgame.”

“I had my own girlfriend translating all the Russian to see how far the devs went and believe me, every single word on the smallest board or Post-it is authentic and unique! What attention to detail!”

“From your safe house, you’ll start missions, review evidence, and have awkward conversations with the rest of your crew.”

Overall all I can say is that Cold War doesn’t feel like a classic Call of Duty but that doesn’t need to be a bad thing. It’s a strong espionage thriller with the COD sauce all over it yet it is so different at the same time. I wouldn’t mind seeing more titles like these in the future developing a whole new genre of games in the COD universe. Now don’t let the game mess with your head, you have a job to do! Saving the ’80s!