Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Reviews

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is ranked in the 63rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Nov 13, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War brings the Black Ops subseries back to its roots, delivering an explosive campaign, fast-paced multiplayer, and a compelling Zombies experience.

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Nov 13, 2020

But it’s not the best Call of Duty game I have played, and the specter of returning to Warzone battle royale games looms large over this game. That’s why I rate this game as 4-out-of-5 stars (and yes, I might rate it much closer to 4.5 stars out of 5, as it is a shade better than the Watch Dogs: Legion game I played recently). I don’t think it’s as good as last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which was so disturbing and thoughtful and had an excellent and long single-player campaign.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 24, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War does very more-of-the-same in places — it’s the franchise’s 17th instalment, after all — but when a formula has been so fine-tuned, it’s hard to expect the developers to monkey around with it too much.

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GameMAG
Top Critic
8 / 10
Nov 17, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War lends itself as a bombastic, yet short-lived game. We can only hope that this project will be well-received by Activision higher-ups, and that Raven Software will finally make name for themselves.

Review in Russian | Read full review

Nov 17, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's campaign is tight, slick, and lots of fun, it almost avoids getting totally bogged down with militaristic mumbo jumbo, thanks to a barmy plot, and fun, albeit cliched characters, and most importantly, genuinely creative and impressive gameplay mechanics, that don't involve shooting. Sure it's as short as ever, but given it's one part of the package that includes zombies and multiplayer, it's easily the best Call of Duty story for many years, and perhaps one of the best shoot-em-up campaigns, too.

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Chris Wray
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Nov 18, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is as close to true call of Duty as you're likely to find in recent years, for better or for worse. The campaign does branch out a little, offering you side-missions that are unlocked through evidence gathering, which is fun. It's also engaging, featuring a good number of entertaining set pieces. However, it's also insane and has way too many throwaway 'features'. Multiplayer, and the zombie mode, are both very enjoyable to play and multiplayer has been made more engaging for those who used to struggle to get massive kill streaks. However, there's no doubt that the multiplayer is seriously lacking in maps. Also, the game needs some technical polish. Still, all in all, this is still a strong FPS and one that will keep fans coming back for more.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 23, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War takes you back to the past, not only in setting and theme, but in its gameplay style and more. It all feels so classic. Between multiplayer, Zombies, and the return of a proper (and surprisingly less-linear) campaign, there is plenty of value for the soldier in all of us.

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Ken McKown
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Dec 10, 2020

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War continues the trend of adding a ton of bang for your buck. While I don’t participate in some of the modes there is still enough here to keep me interested enough to make it worth my time and money. The campaign is the best I have played in a while. The multiplayer suite has something for everyone, and the zombies mode continues to be a nice diversion. There is something for just about everyone here, and it is a nice showpiece for these new consoles to boot. The series shows no signs of slowing down, and as long as the quality continues to trend upward I am perfectly fine with that.

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GameCrate
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War brings the series back to the start in a much-needed way. Treyarch proves yet again that it is the king of multiplayer, providing exceptional, genre-defining gameplay along with a decent mix of new maps and modes that help with the lack of Zombies content. And Raven Software takes the single player campaign in a different direction that stumbles a bit in execution but lays the foundation for games to come.

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Nov 16, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a solid entry in the blockbuster franchise that looks stunning on next-gen consoles. While its campaign fails to deliver on its potential, it still takes you on a thrilling tale of explosive espionage as you uncover the true identity of Perseus. Combine this with an old-school multiplayer component and expanded Zombies mode and you’ve got a shooter experience I can easily recommend.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 14, 2020

Although the campaign is only a small slice of the larger package in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, it's great that it counters its 'blink and you'll miss it' length with a bit of replay value and some memorable missions you're bound to want to play again. Raven Software's more subtle approach to Cold War espionage feels like viewing Call of Duty through a new, exciting lens.

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4 / 5.0
Nov 12, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops lost its way post-Black Ops III. While Black Ops III and 4 were fun in their own ways, they were also a massive departure from the core Black Ops experience.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2020

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War brings Treyarch's winning formula back with a few stumbles in content, but manages to deliver on a bombastic story, refined multiplayer and vintage zombies with tons of neon glow.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 23, 2020

Black Ops is back and darker than ever. With a rich story and plenty of super-spy moments, this game keeps you gripping down on your controller. Always going to be compared to past titles, this iteration stands up to the challenge and delivers a whole new experience on what a Call of Duty title should be.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 26, 2022

With the Black Ops Cold War Campaign having multiple endings and Zombies / Multiplayer requiring you to grind a lot, you will definitely get your money’s worth. We do recommend that you wait until the game is patched a bit more before you buy it. The game has the potential to be a top Treyarch title but it’s just not there yet. Maybe by the time the first DLC releases, the game will be worth its price.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2020

Story missions disappointed, but the content is big and diverse enough to satisfy. Overall, this is a good game that captured the setting and the tension between the two powerful countries in early 80s very well.

Review in Arabic | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Nov 18, 2020

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is not the best installment in these massive beloved series (as one of the best FPS games in History), but still it can be easily considered a must-buy for series fans and FPS lovers, with its entertaining campaign, amazing zombie mode and fun multiplayer. Still, developers have some unbalanced weapons and technical issues to take care of. In the end Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is a worthy game to play for evertine.

Review in Persian | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Nov 19, 2020

There’s nothing revolutionary in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Nothing that screams “this is a must-buy”. But once again it’s a solid all-round package that has a little something for everybody – providing they like shooting in first-person. Its campaign is a nice little diversion with some exciting set-pieces and moments of thrilling stealth, while Zombies provides some solid fun when getting together with friends. And then there’s Multiplayer, which some will prefer over Modern Warfare‘s offerings and others will be less impressed with. Each element is far from extraordinary, but when all put together, it’s not a bad deal at all.

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GameSkinny
JosephYaden
Top Critic
Nov 20, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is full of content that series fans will enjoy and offers a few unexpected surprises along the way.

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80 / 100
Nov 25, 2020

Although short on content, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a dependable entry in the franchise with fast action and a variety of solid modes. The great zombies level and the nostalgic campaign are definitely the highlight, and the competitive multiplayer should become strong once it gets more maps and tweaks.

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