Compared to last year’s lacking effort, this campaign is refreshingly fun. There are more stealth elements, which can be hit or miss with AI awareness, but certainly mixes up gameplay. For instance, one standout mission in Avalon, France, tasks you with scaling a clock tower, offering the choice to remain undetected or engage enemies head-on. Another has you infiltrating a gala hosted by Bill Clinton, with three distinct methods to achieve your objective, adding a sense of creativity and genuine variety not often seen in recent Call of Duty campaigns.

The clever presentation is a big highlight of the campaign. The Rook hideout serves as a mission hub, a free-roam space with characters to chat with, secrets to uncover, and intel to gather, even if the story itself isn’t that gripping. Selecting an assignment from the team board, a large map cluttered with spy stuff and profiles of targets, rather than a bland menu to interact with is an intuitive way to present the mission select screen. During particular missions, I love how you might receive a dossier that gives more context about the targets or use a modified spy camera to take a retina scan. It resonates passion for the theme and the extra creativity goes a long way in immersing into the experience, even if the overall narrative doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Despite its predictable plot that feels way too complicated for its own good, the story is a blockbuster experience that delivers. Sure, it’s exactly what you expect from a Call of Duty spy thriller campaign—but it is strengthened by the evolved movement system and tighter gameplay of Black Ops 6.

At launch, Black Ops 6 features 16 maps, primarily designed for 6v6 gameplay. Each map stands out visually, offering smooth layouts that encourage fast movement, multiple vantage points, and varied combat areas. The omnimovement system makes navigating these environments intuitive, whether sliding into cover or diving to avoid gunfire, the maps feel purpose-built for this new style of play. Still, spawn points remain problematic. Depending on the map and mode, players can find themselves eliminated within seconds of spawning, often caught in frustrating cycles of death. In one match of 6v6 domination on Stakeout, it felt like I was trapped in one of the nine circles of hell. There’s a clear need for fine-tuning, particularly regarding map selections for each mode and improvements to the spawn system.

Despite the innovative movement mechanics, the core gunplay remains familiar. Weapons feel powerful and satisfying, though the limited selection, particularly among sidearms, is underwhelming. The progression system is smoother than in previous Call of Duty titles, with shared levelling across all modes—including  Zombies—reducing the time it takes to unlock weapons and equipment. Unlocking new operators, perks, and attachments feels rewarding, but the smaller weapon roster is a noticeable drawback, especially compared to other entries in the series.

With the post-mortem death chat, players can hear the reactions of those they just eliminated, offering a mix of hilarious and furious responses that add to the competitive spirit. Sneaking up on an enemy and locking them in a body shield is the best way to tease random people. The mechanic allows players to speak to each other while in the body shield, leading to hilarious clips online. While this can sometimes spark rude behaviour typical of the Call of Duty community, the funny moments are a highlight. Plus, players can easily mute or turn off voice chat whenever they want. Black Ops 6 encourages the dying public voice chat feature in smart ways, through both multiplayer and cooperative play in the Zombies mode.

The maps themselves are designed to be interesting without being too large or confusing. Liberty Falls has open areas and zip lines that make traversal a blast, while the familiar structure of opening doors with Essence keeps things engaging. Terminus is bigger, with more verticality and moving platforms but does a superb job in creating a layout that is slip, slide, and dive friendly with omnimovement.

Upgrade and currency systems add depth without overwhelming players. Essence, earned quickly by taking down zombies, fuels nearly everything, from unlocking doors and summoning Tactical Rafts to upgrading weapons through the Pack-a-Punch Machine. On top of that, Salvage, collected from fallen enemies, is used for tactical upgrades and equipment crafting. It’s simpler than in previous entries now that only one type of Salvage is needed, and it’s unique to each player so no one has to worry about teammates picking up their hard-earned resources. Exfil mechanics are back, offering a chance to escape the island by securing a landing site, adding an out to the sometimes endless games of zombies.

While the dialogue can be hit or miss, sometimes bordering on cringe, the core gameplay shines. The challenge of tackling the Main Quest alongside the anarchy of surviving waves of zombies keeps you hooked. However, team coordination is essential. You’ll need a solid group to fully enjoy the experience, as matchmaking can lead to some frustrating moments.

Black Ops 6 Zombies is a return to form. It’s an engaging, modern twist on the classic formula and leagues ahead of last year’s offering. If you loved the madness and camaraderie of the early Black Ops Zombies, you’ll find a lot to enjoy here. Whether you’re running rounds with friends or going for those Easter Eggs, this mode is a blast.

That said, there are a few technical hiccups worth mentioning. In Kill Confirmed some tags can’t be collected and bodies clipping through the environment. While performance on the PlayStation 5 is generally solid, occasional visual glitches like pop-in textures and shadow issues do pop up from time to time. Thankfully, these issues are rare enough that they don’t interrupt the gameplay experience.

I will also note, the unified launcher is still a cumbersome issue for switching between titles. While Season 1 multiplayer hasn’t begun, the largest tile on the home screen is a promotion of the Vault Edition including a battle pass. On the brighter side, these blatant adverts are no longer infiltrating post-match reports and it does feel less intrusive than before. Still, the user interface needs work.

The audio design complements the visuals beautifully, especially in single-player modes where everything feels polished. However, when you jump into multiplayer, the audio mix is a little messy. It can get muddled, making it hard to pinpoint specific sounds, depending on the audio setup. This lack of clarity can affect gameplay, as being able to hear enemy movements or other important audio cues is crucial for staying competitive.