I have not played the campaign at least yet, so I can't say anything about it. I wanted good Zombies mode, and this has delivered to me more than I even expected.
I have been playing this franchise since World at War, through the original Black Ops trilogy. I’ve spent countless hours in them, almost exclusively as a solo Zombies player. And I know what they felt like, and how they feel now. And I know when a game, or at least a part of a game (Zombies), is getting unfairly thrown away, while it deserves much more than that.
I didn’t buy Black Ops 6. I watched the footage, I saw the theme, I read the endless complaints, and I looked at the eye-watering price tag. It didn’t work for me; it felt like more of the same, and I didn't want to waste time, and specially money.
When I saw Black Ops 7 a couple of weeks ago, I was, nervous about it. I saw the negative sentiment online, the same... well, even worse, doom-and-gloom, and I was fully prepared for it to be a disappointment. But I did something rare, I even said to myself as a joke, how am I going to sleep tonight committing such an atrocity: I ignored the internet, trusted my own judgment that when I saw the game, I thought it looks amazing, and when my bf offered to get it for me, I said, worse case we refund it, Yes. Let's try it.
I am so glad, that I did.
Why the “Mostly Negative” is not fair to the Zombies mode:
The game isn’t perfect, but it is way ahead of the recent entries, that people seem to have tolerated much more than this one.
As someone who has played solo Zombies since the beginning, this really is the most satisfying experience I have had in years. It manages to capture that classic feel without being obtuse for the sake of it. It’s polished, it’s satisfying, and it respects my feelings and my time.
There is some really nice crispness... The movement, the gunplay and the way the weapons handle; it feels properly tuned. It doesn't feel like a sloppy re-skin or asset flip. It feels like a project that was carefully refined.
This game has a lot of my most favourite mechanics, while not forcing to me things I may not like. I may have not played the recent CoD games before BO7, but I went and looked them up, to see how the mechanics worked in Zombies in them, and how it evolved to how it is now in BO7, so I can compare to this one, and even see if they would be enjoyable to go back and play for myself, and I feel like this, might actually be the peak point, and the best sweet spot, at least for someone like myself.
I will list some of the technical reasons it's such a nice and complete game, but there is just more overall, that you may like in it, if you tried it too:
🟑 Such nice Movement, omni directional, and compared to last titles, it has no mandatory tac-sprint, and both slide and dolphin dive are present, not just one of them. The movement is smooth without feeling like you’re carrying a bag of rocks.
🟑 Weapon kits are back from BO3, so no more dealing with un-removable unwanted attachments, the weapons you get in the map will be your own custom made ones with the scope and attachment that you enjoy. For wall weapons you can buy ammo from walls at reduced price. And melee-ing the mystery box to make it spit it on the ground, to share weapons with a squad member is so fun.
🟑 The augment system offers actual choice, and risk/reward decisions rather than just making you OP after a linear non choice based grind like it apparently was like in Cold War. It’s actually fun to make choices and try different things.
🟑 In this one, you can save your progress mid-run.
🟑 There is good dedicated servers, and no more host ended game because internet.
🟑 No more paid map packs. Everyone gets everything. You can play all of them with any friend and don't need to feel sad because you might buy it but they wont.
🟑 Even in co-op you can server pause for up to 15 minutes, which can really come in handy.
🟑 I won't have to be worrying about taking my teammates loot like in the previous recent titles that I had skipped, the salvage is separate for everyone which is nice.
🟑 There is huge HUD freedom. In this one you can ditch the clutter you don't want. Use the classic theme with the old layout which feels like BO3. Make it different and exciting. Or anything you want. And resizing/toggling elements makes the game look clean and as easy on eyes as you need it.
🟑 The Cursed Mode: This, is the holy grail. It brings back the classic point system, removes bringing your weapon loadouts so you start with pistol like old times, and forces you to start with nothing. It just, feels like the old times cod games, but more modern. Very well made and well polished. And there are relics for cursed runs you can get and add to runs for increased difficulty, which can give upsides too, like if you up the difficulty enough, you get a 4th pack a punch available, etc.
🟑 In this one, things fit in, more than the last titles. Ammo boxes actually look like they belong to zombies. Plus, the classic Pack a Punch machine (with original jingle!) is back
🟑 Perk Machines: They are all super cute, and they each have a ton of personality to them
🟑 In this one, the zombies crew is back, actual zombies mode characters with lots of dialogue.
🟑 The zombies in this one are one of the most varied and well-designed zombie models ever. And the unique death animations for every type of enemy is really nice too (When you're the last alive and you die, zombies might eat you or bosses might do things to you).
🟑 The Easter Eggs are very fun, yet very challenging. The focus is on puzzles and distinct, challenging quests, not a simple do the wonder weapon quest and win like it apparently was in some previous titles.
🟑 Very creative map design, the time travel in Nuke Town or driving vehicles, the maps are original, varied, and each very fun to explore.
🟑 There really is, just a lot of content in this game. Maps, packed with a lot of stuff, lots of weapons, equipment, ability, etc, and even rewards to unlock, it just feels really full and complete.
If you’ve been cynical about modern COD, I hear you. But BO7 Zombies, really is good. It respects your time, it respects the history of the mode, and it gives you the tools to play exactly how you want. It’s a massive step in the right direction.
I know the Steam page says Mostly Negative. But trust me that a negative score doesn’t mean every single mode and aspect in a game is bad; it mostly means it had a part, and maybe even a main part, that was not made how the majority of fans liked or expected. The reviews are the result of a massive wave of frustration, franchise fatigue, bandwagon, and, yes, genuine disappointment; from another part of the game; not a calm and fair evaluation of every mode the game has to offer.
Black Ops 7 deserves a fair judgment. When I play the Zombies, I feel the love that was put into it. It brings tears in my eye when I think about all of this, getting forever ignored by so many people that would love and appreciate it, like me, but they don't get to try it because of the general consensus and the reviews.
But yes, this game's Zombies mode is far from the worst in the series; in my opinion, it’s one of the very best. Don’t let the review score misguide you to missing out on such a fantastic experience. You should play it, and if you have valid critiques, you should make them; but don't just judge blindly because of the general reputation. And if one part of the game disappoints you, then also think of the nice and satisfying, cute and beautiful, other part of the game (Zombies) that you would be driving to the ground alongside it when you bash the game fully and so harshly.
Sorry for such a long text, I just wanted give this game that i love so much a chance to be seen and appreciated.
