Treyarch's latest feels like it's only a few quality of life changes away from being the perfect revival of the Black Ops series. It delivers on all three fronts and manages to subtly freshen some of the series' most stale ingredients.
The Division 2 is a substantial evolution on the mechanics of the first game, with a more immersive world to boot. This is an impressively complete game, with heaps to offer players across all of its content prongs and a level of polish that belies the size of the game's open world.
In Blackout, Treyarch has proved the series can still be agile and forward-thinking, while smart changes to Zombies and multiplayer show there's still plenty of life in these old bones.
As a whole package, Call of Duty: WWII has a little something for everyone to enjoy, but that has been the story of this series for a long time. No, this homecoming is far, far better than the sum of its parts, a true return to form in practically every respect. It feels alien to be looking back on a new Call of Duty release as anything other than enjoyable yet unremarkable triple-A fare, but here we are. Call of Duty: WWII delivers on all fronts: compelling and heartfelt in its storytelling; imposing in its sense of scale and spectacle; and unremittingly addictive in its gunplay.
A supercut of FromSoft's very best work, transported to a totally new space. Elden Ring is not only a masterpiece by its developer's lofty standards, but in packing so much density into the Lands Between, it lights the path ahead for open-world games in general.