Call of Duty has forgotten what "Black Ops" meant

This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for each Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign, inclusive Call of Duty: Black Ops 7pp.

It was a long time ago Call of Duty campaign was considered by the masses to be really good. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6s campaign was a breath of fresh air after Modern Warfare 3s disastrous story mode, with it featuring some memorable story beats and some fun action scenes. But it couldn't quite capture the magic of the Golden Age Call of Duty promotions like Modern warfare, Black Ops 1and Modern Warfare 2. Unfortunately, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 feels like another Modern Warfare 3-major step back for the franchise.

During the launch weekend, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7The campaign has been heavily criticized online. Many longtime fans have expressed their disappointment with the tonal direction Black Ops 7s campaign, as well as its over-the-top boss fights, its half-baked solo experience, and its unengaging endgame. A general review of most critics is that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 just doesn't feel like one Black Ops campaign, and an important reason for that is that it forgets a central part of Black Ops' identity.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign forgets a crucial part of the Black Ops franchise's identity

(Almost) Every Call of Duty: Black Ops Campaign has a Huge Twist

Call of Duty: Black Ops – Alex Mason was brainwashed by both Dragovich and Reznov, and Reznov died in Vorkuta
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 – Menendez tricks Woods into killing Alex Mason
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 – The player character is dead and has taken over Taylor's mind, and each level is a simulation based on Taylor's memories
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Bell is actually one of Perseus' spies who has been brainwashed into helping the CIA
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Case was the original test subject for a failed super soldier drug known as The Cradle

The only series entry that doesn't have some sort of major twist is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4because it didn't have a traditional campaign.

David Mason in Numbers Station - Black Ops 7 Teaser Trailer

While the very first Call of Duty: Black Ops Packed with exciting set pieces and iconic characters, the campaign is arguably best remembered for its third act twist revealing that player-character Alex Mason had been brainwashed into killing a set of targets, first by Soviet General Dragovich and then by Viktor Reznov. Fixed Black Ops 2the reversal is much more straightforward, Black Ops 3, Black Ops Cold Warand Black Ops 6 all have big reveals that reframe the events of the campaign, usually in a way that bends the player's perception of reality.

The most memorable Call of Duty: Black Ops twists are those that are integral to the game. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a good example of this, with the “Break on Through” mission slowly revealing its mind-bending twist by changing the environment and enemies around the player in real-time as their character's psyche begins to shatter.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign doesn't have a big twist

Instead of delivering a big mind-bending twist in its third act, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 reveals his entire hand in the first 30 minutes. The very first assignment of Black Ops 7The campaign ends with Specter One being exposed to a mysterious red gas that throws them into a joint hallucinatory battle against the undead Black Ops 2 antagonist Raul Menendez.

Before players can even begin to think about what they have just experienced, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 immediately reveals that the hallucinations were caused by the red gas affecting the team's neural links, that Menendez is in fact dead, and that The Guild is behind it all. Any suspense or mystery around Black Ops 7s plot is gone at the start of mission two.

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Campaign Cradle

To make matters worse, there are practically no more twists in the rest of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7s four-hour campaign. The red gas is eventually revealed to be The Cradle from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6s campaign, but that reveal lacks narrative weight and feels like it's simply there to connect the game to last year's entry. Razor also technically betrays Specter One, though his betrayal also lacks weight since he's a new character too Black Ops 7 it has only been seen in one mission before his heel turn.

Razor's heel turn will also be ruined for everyone who was watching Call of Duty: Black Ops 7s multiplayer operators before starting the campaign, as he is in The Guild section.

Despite containing direct recreations of the past Black Ops series quest, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 fails to feel like a true entry in the series, and the lack of any mind-bending plot twists really doesn't help this major disconnect between the new entry and the series' core identity.