Call of Duty: Vanguard Reviews
A reliable entry full of variety and worthwhile content, that simultaneously leaves an aroma of staleness that is beginning to taint the whole Call Of Duty franchise.
An unremarkable FPS story set in World War 2. Has moments of spectacle and is largely quite fun, but feels like you're a gun on-rails, hardly a war hero.
Despite an immense amount of content, Call of Duty: Vanguard feels a bit like a step back for the franchise: a couple of guns need to find a better balance with the upcoming updates and the campaign is fascinating but extremely short and unripe. The game is genuinely fun, of course, but it's not the best Call of Duty to date.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Vanguard tries to satisfy all tastes with the usual individual, collective and collaborative content in each version with very limited changes.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
You can sum up the experience with Call of Duty Vanguard in one word: Mixed. Some campaign highlights are turned down by regularly freezes in all modes, a chaotic multiplayer and one of the most generic zombie modes in years.
Review in German | Read full review
Vanguard does not provide significant news, but Sledgehammer has managed to create a solid delivery that manages to capture the best of the essence of the Call of Duty of recent years. The fun provided by the excellent design of its multiplayer mode shows that the formula is still fully valid. In the must there is a campaign mode that, although fun and spectacular, is too short, as well as a zombies mode that is not up to expectations.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It’s a great shooter game, CoD always is, but its not the best in the series and the overly used WW2 backdrop is wearing thin.
In the end Call of Duty: Vanguard offers a familiar outing but with some new wrinkles, an engaging story, and plenty of multiplayer maps which should keep fans of the franchise playing steadily right up to the release of the next game.
Call of Duty: Vanguard, while another solid offering, doesn’t do enough to stand out and make it another must-buy compared to previous years. This has become increasingly important because of the fact that there are a couple of huge FPS games that will be releasing in the next few weeks that will surely give players something to think about. Call of Duty: Vanguard sticking to a safe outing might have been to its detriment for this year, just when it needed to shine the most.
CoD's multiplayer is as dependable as ever, but Vanguard's campaign and Zombies mode fail to capitalise on what could be interesting ideas.
For the second year in a row, you can sense that the game was developed in a hurry, the menus copied from Modern Warfare and technical issues, the assignment of the Treyarch studio to develop zombies and its incomplete release, and the lack of different designs that distinguish each team from the other, are all indications that the game did not take enough time for development. Of course, the foundation of the series is always fun, the technical issues will be fixed with time, and it will be a good game until the next release. But the standard has become thinner than a mere "enjoyable foundation" and expected.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Offering a trilogy of solid content offerings with campaign, multiplayer and zombies, Vanguard is a valiant attempt from Sledgehammer which maybe plays it a little too safe in the end. Despite the messy, disjointed design choices for online, Vanguard still proves to be a satisfying experience. It may not lead the line of CoD entries as its name suggests, but it nestles nicely in the middle of the pack.
Vanguard, then, feels more like a tasting menu than a balanced meal. You get to sneak through ducts, scramble up walls in a decrepit department store, commandeer a dive bomber, and wield a flamethrower in order to clear out some anti-aircraft bunkers. It’s high-quality stuff, but it’s unlikely that it’ll all be to any one player’s satisfaction, and there’s no option to skip through chapters of the campaign or to get more time as Lady Nightingale. But in fairness, that’s what the very customizable multiplayer modes and offerings are for.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is another part of a long-term series, which does not surprise at any point. Fans will have a lot of fun, but some could count on something else.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Call of Duty Vanguard is a solid package featuring an enjoyable campaign experience, fast paced expansive multiplayer and a rather drab zombies mode that actually lessens the overall value.
Whilst Call of Duty Vanguard does not innovate much to push the boundaries of the franchise further, The WWII shooter does deliver a compelling experience. The short, but action-packed singleplayer offers a nice introduction, although it could be a bit more coherent. The zombies' mode offers some new elements, while still feeling trusted. But by far the biggest reason to like Vanguard is multiplayer. With a nice selection of maps, plenty of modes, and some tweaks to the known formula, it truly delivers.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Call of Duty: Vanguard is mostly more of the same, for better or worse. Sledgehammer Games has brought fresh ideas to a formula that desperately needs a shake-up, but the execution only leaves us desiring more. The inevitable Call of Duty: Vanguard 2 may further explore the designs seen in their infancy. And we sure hope it does because Vanguard could signal a notable change in the future. But for now, we have a relatively amusing installment that ticks the required boxes and little else for the annual series.
CoD Vanguard is a solid shooter in all respects, but it doesn't make anything special.
Review in German | Read full review
There’s no denying that multiplayer is by far the biggest selling point for Call of Duty and the mode that makes Activision the most money through both sales and microtransactions - heck, Black Ops 4 launched without any single player offering whatsoever - but this showing is poor from Vanguard. It’s fun enough at surface level, but it fails to provide a captivating narrative or any stand-out moments that could attempt to elevate it as one of the greats. It’s also shockingly short with zero replay value, which means the Vanguard campaign only helps to stagnate the Call of Duty franchise. With that in mind, if we are to get Call of Duty Vanguard 2 a few years down the line, this has laid a solid foundation to build upon.
Call of Duty Vanguard is an exemplary multiplayer masterclass that bathes in chaos, creativity, and tactical prowess. It has all the making of a truly great esports title, backing the CDL and the competitive community, which will likely create a hugely entertaining season of gameplay emulated in the upcoming ranked playlists by their fans and aspiring talents – the omission of which is unforgiveable from an esports perspective. Whilst the foundations have been laid though, it comes as a year too soon for a full pathway between casual and competitive, although it’s the perfect stepping stone to be built upon. For a title with miniscule hope, Call of Duty Vanguard could go down as the game that revived esports, soon to be a game that we reflect upon as one of the greats.