Call of Duty: Vanguard reviews are in, and critics are mainly happy about the latest installment. However, some have reservations about the campaign.
Call of Duty: Vanguard has finally arrived in stores, and the reviews are pouring in. Most critics agree that this conventional Call of Duty release doesn’t accomplish anything groundbreaking but gets the basics right. In addition, this year’s sledgehammer Games’ entry in the shooter genre is set in World War 2 rather than the modern settings of more recent releases, in a tribute to the series’ roots.
Following a lengthy beta test earlier this year, Sledgehammer Games has revealed that multiplayer in Call of Duty: Vanguard will be altered in response to user feedback. This includes fixing a variety of issues and flaws and several design decisions that people were unhappy with. The most notable is a change to numerous of the game’s aesthetic aspects, including a remedy for sun glare.
Now that Call of Duty:
- Vanguard is available for purchase.
- Reviews have begun to appear online.
- The consensus is that it is a good game.
While there isn’t much praise for the game, most reviews agree that it features a good Zombies mode and a solid multiplayer experience, especially now that Call of Duty: Vanguard has updated anti-cheat methods. However, the single-player campaign and its inconsistent roster of characters appear to be the focus of much of the criticism. Before the game’s release, here’s a rundown of what critics are saying about Call of Duty: Vanguard:
Daniel Tack – 8/10 – Game Informer
“The campaign in Call of Duty: Vanguard falls short, but multiplayer and Zombies carry the game to a satisfactory conclusion. You can skip this year’s edition if you’re primarily interested in the single-player experience, but if you’re interested in the other modes, Call of Duty remains a great pick for some shooting, looting, and zombie executing.”
Wesley Yin-Poole – Eurogamer
“Call of Duty seems to be in a holding pattern this year. Sledgehammer Games, sandwiched between the massive sub-brands of Modern Warfare and Black Ops, has created some entertaining filler for fans to enjoy. There’s nothing particularly wrong, awful, or off-putting with this return to World War 2, but Vanguard doesn’t stand out.”
Simon Cardy – 7/10 – IGN
“Call of Duty: Vanguard’s single-player campaign is an incredibly cinematic depiction of World War II, with a great cast of characters deployed to varying effects throughout to weave a tale that puts just about enough of a spin on the stories it’s paying homage to. However, aside from a few memorable moments strewn over its brief five hours, it plays it a touch too safe in terms of objective variety to feel like a standout in the franchise.”
Phil Hornshaw – 7/10 – Gamespot
“Vanguard’s ideas don’t always mesh well with the series’ framework, but they do feel like solid contributions to the franchise. That framework is still in place, and the campaign’s good gunplay, fun multiplayer, and innovative moments are all worth finding out. But, at times, combining those two sections reveals the flaws in Call of Duty: Vanguard, weakening both parts of the game rather than driving one to the fore.”
Ian Boudreau – 8/10 – PCGamesN
“Call of Duty: Vanguard is the most fun of the three games in the series (which now share a unified launch screen alongside Warzone). If you’ve already played Modern Warfare or Black Ops – Cold War, there aren’t many surprises to be uncovered, but if I had to choose one of the three, it would certainly be Vanguard.”
The new Zombies mode, as seen above, is one of the more exciting features of Call of Duty: Vanguard. The co-op-based mode, which is in keeping with the game’s premise, takes place in the war-torn spaces of World War 2 and includes a variety of period-appropriate weapons as well as classic favorites. The Zombies mode, also known as Der Anfang, will add new context to the Dark Aether tale.
With reviews in, it appears that Call of Duty: Vanguard is a game intended primarily for franchise enthusiasts, who will be able to overlook the game’s single-player issues and focus entirely on the multiplayer components. Those looking for a deep plot with compelling characters will have to search elsewhere, but the offerings in other areas appear to be just as excellent as ever.
On November 5, 2021, Call of Duty: Vanguard will be released on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S platforms.
Source: Game Informer | Eurogamer | IGN | Gamespot | PCGamesN
