Call of Duty®: WWII

[h1]Call of Duty: WWII – The Last Call of Duty I Actually Loved[/h1] I've played a lot of Call of Duty. But if someone asked me which of the more modern CoD games I would happily go back to and play for hours with friends? [b]This one.[/b] Call of Duty: WWII is probably my favorite “modern” Call of Duty. Not because it's perfect. Not because it's the most realistic WWII game ever made. But because it somehow found a balance that Call of Duty later completely lost. It was fun. It was fast. It had progression that actually felt rewarding. And most importantly: [b]I had an absolute ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ blast playing it with friends.[/b] [h2]This was peak “one more game” CoD[/h2] I remember spending hours playing this game with friends and trying way harder than any reasonable person should in a Call of Duty match. Unlocking weapons. Leveling divisions. Trying different loadouts. Grinding weapon challenges. Getting better. Then immediately playing another match because somebody had to prove that the previous loss was obviously a fluke. The progression was one of my favorite parts. You had things to unlock, but it never felt like the game was holding the entire experience hostage behind an industrial-sized grind. You played. You unlocked things. You experimented. You improved. [b]And you actually felt like you were progressing.[/b] That's a surprisingly rare feeling in modern live-service games. [h2]The WWII setting actually matters[/h2] What I loved about WWII was how much the theme carried through the multiplayer. The uniforms. The weapons. The divisions. The maps. The equipment. Everything looked and felt like it belonged to the same war. The five original divisions — Infantry, Airborne, Armored, Mountain and Expeditionary — weren't just cosmetic labels either; they shaped your weapons and abilities and gave your multiplayer career some identity. And yes, I absolutely loved dressing the soldier up. The uniforms were thematic. They looked like WWII uniforms. You could actually create a soldier who looked like he belonged on the battlefield instead of a walking advertisement for a future energy drink. [b]Imagine that. A Call of Duty character wearing a military uniform in a WWII game.[/b] Revolutionary technology. [h2]And then there was War Mode[/h2] This is probably the multiplayer feature I remember most fondly. War Mode wasn't just another team deathmatch with a WWII skin. It was objective-based, narrative-driven multiplayer where Allied and Axis forces fought over a series of objectives. And playing the Axis side? [b]♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ fantastic.[/b] There was something incredibly satisfying about defending a position while the Allied team slowly pushed forward. The battlefield gets louder. Explosions everywhere. People screaming. Someone desperately trying to hold an objective. Someone else flanking. And suddenly your entire team is fighting over one tiny piece of the map like the fate of Europe depends on it. Then the enemy breaks through. Everyone panics. Someone screams: [i]“HOLD THE LINE!”[/i] You don't. Obviously. The line collapses in approximately fourteen seconds. [b]Historically accurate.[/b] [h2]The loot system was actually fun[/h2] Yes, WWII had Supply Drops. Yes, Call of Duty discovered the magical concept of selling pixels. But compared with what modern games eventually became, I remember WWII's system much more fondly. Supply Drops were primarily about cosmetic items, weapon variants and customization, while weapons and progression could still be earned through normal play, Orders, Contracts and collections. And for me, the important part was that the progression didn't feel completely hostile. You could play because you wanted something. You could grind because you actually enjoyed the grind. You could unlock weapons. Complete challenges. Prestige divisions. Collect uniforms. And slowly build your soldier. [b]It felt like playing a game instead of operating a casino.[/b] [h2]The campaign wasn't bad either[/h2] The campaign follows Ronald “Red” Daniels through the European theatre, starting with D-Day and continuing through the liberation of Europe. It isn't the most revolutionary Call of Duty campaign ever made. But it does what I want a WWII CoD campaign to do. It gives you big battles. Memorable set pieces. A squad you actually get to know. And that classic Call of Duty feeling of being thrown into increasingly ridiculous situations while somehow surviving everything. The multiplayer is still the part I remember most, though. Because that's where the memories are. [h2]This is where the nostalgia hits hard[/h2] I remember the hours with friends. The tryharding. The stupid arguments. The victories that felt like we had just conquered Germany. The defeats that were obviously caused by someone else. The weapon unlocks. The challenges. The uniforms. The War Mode matches. And especially playing Axis. There was something about that game that made simply unlocking another weapon or division feel genuinely satisfying. You weren't necessarily chasing some enormous reward. You were just building your soldier. [b]And then you played another match.[/b] That's the part I miss. Modern Call of Duty keeps adding systems, currencies, cosmetics and progression mechanics. WWII somehow felt simpler. Not perfect. Just simpler. [h3]👍 Pros[/h3] [list] [*]Fantastic WWII atmosphere [*]Excellent multiplayer with friends [*]War Mode is still one of the best CoD multiplayer ideas [*]Playing Axis is genuinely fun [*]Thematic uniforms and equipment [*]Great weapon selection [*]Progression feels rewarding [*]Weapon unlocks and challenges are addictive [*]Divisions give multiplayer some identity [*]Campaign is enjoyable [*]Perfect balance between arcade CoD and WWII atmosphere [/list] [h3]👎 Cons[/h3] [list] [*]Still very much an arcade shooter [*]Some maps can become chaotic [*]Supply Drops were never a particularly great idea [*]The campaign is fairly conventional [*]Some multiplayer mechanics haven't aged perfectly [*]The game can make you dangerously competitive with your friends [/list] [h2]Verdict[/h2] Call of Duty: WWII is probably the last modern CoD I genuinely fell in love with. I spent hours playing it with friends. I tryharded like an absolute maniac. I unlocked weapons. I leveled divisions. I collected uniforms. I played War Mode. And yes, I spent way too much time playing Axis. But I never felt like the game was fighting me. The progression was rewarding. The grind had a purpose. The equipment felt thematic. The multiplayer was fast and fun. And when you had a good group of friends, it was an absolute masterclass in stupid amounts of fun. That's what I miss about it. Not some perfect historical simulation. Not realism. [b]Just a really ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ good Call of Duty set in World War II.[/b] You load into a War Mode match. You pick Axis. You grab your rifle. Your friends join the squad. The enemy starts pushing. Someone starts screaming. Artillery hits. The objective starts falling. You have thirty seconds to hold the line. Everyone suddenly becomes the greatest military commander in human history. You lose. [i]“Again.”[/i] You queue again. And that's Call of Duty: WWII. ⭐ [b]10/10 — The last CoD that made me want to grind because I was having fun, not because the game told me to.[/b]