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The eighteenth game in the famous shooter franchise, Call of Duty: Vanguard takes soldiers back to a fresh take on World War 2. Sledgehammer Games introduces a new story of war and hardship, minor changes to the signature multiplayer, and the evolution of the Zombies experience. Year after year, Call of Duty continues to be a polished experience and Vanguard is, simply, a fresh coat of wax.

Unlike Battlefield 2042’s decision to remove the campaign from the game, Call of Duty: Vanguard delivers a fresh perspective on the end of World War II.

Told in a non-linear format, the single-player follows a group of soldiers from The Allied Forces who form the first special operations task force called Vanguard. Their objective is to recover intel on the mysterious Project Phoenix and its connections with Nazi Germany.

As you’d expect, the opening mission is action-packed. The crew hijacks a train in Hamburg, Germany, the heart of the Project Phoenix operation. Most of the narrative is weaves in and out of each Vanguard member’s triumphs and tragedies that lead them to join the special force. Set across the Eastern and Western Fronts of Europe, the Pacific, and North Africa, the tempo is always high with exciting set pieces and detailed locations for every mission.

The flagship multiplayer returns with 16 core maps and four featured within the new Champion Hill mode. Built in the same engine as 2019’s Modern Warfare remake, the gameplay, systems, and progression are essentially the same but with WW2 weapons. As a result, multiplayer is faster than the single-player counterpart, with an even more awkward dissonance between the setting and the mechanics… although it still is Call of Duty and very enthralling.

For the first time in the franchise, Combat Pacing allows players to control the intensity and density of their multiplayer experience. Tactical, Assault, and Blitz are three predefined filters that specify whether you’ll play 48-player Blitz battles of Domination or more strategic 6v6 Tactical games of Search and Destroy.

Verticality of the regal Hotel Royal is key to victory, whereas control over the long ranges and the dojo in Castle reigns supreme. Unlike a few recent entries, it’s promising to see the maps stick with the three-lane structure while being creative in execution. There may be some new fan favourites in this year’s selection.

For comparison, Vanguard’s multiplayer is better than 2017’s Call of Duty WWII. Despite the ongoing balancing issues, Sledgehammer Games improves its formula and delivers a multiplayer experience that caters to casual and competitive players. It may not be enough to set itself on the FPS podium, but it will always be a decent time.

Specialists in the occult and undead, Treyarch lend a hand to Sledgehammer Games to develop Vanguard’s Zombies mode. Acting as a prologue to the Dark Aether story of Black Ops Cold War’s tale, Der Anfang mixes a few new ingredients into the formula and strips back a lot of the familiar spice.

Pack-A-Punch, perks, and the mystery box make an expected return, along with Essence and Salvage as currencies and the Dark Aether-powered field upgrades. Survivors will need to rack up the points to purchase new weapons, upgrade their perks and weapons multiple times, and collect equipment improvements to outlive the undead invasion.

However, the most noteworthy change is how the game mode itself plays. Dishevelled Stalingrad serves as the hub world to a handful of other stages where players complete objectives to advance. Instead of killing a set number of zombies to move to the next round, the task-oriented gameplay from Cold War’s Outbreak and Onslaught modes are incorporated. While curious, it rids all fun.