Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

 Xbox Series X
User Score
4.4

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 756 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 270 out of 756
  2. Mixed: 71 out of 756
  3. Negative: 415 out of 756
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  1. ScurvyCloth
    Nov 23, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm not sure why this game gets as much hate as it does. I'm going to start with the multiplayer because that's what is getting the most hate. The only complaints I have with multiplayer are the maps and skill-based matchmaking. To start, the maps, to start there are only 8 which doesn't bug me much, but the maps aren't the best designed, but not all the maps are terribly designed and I think some are better than MW 2019. With skill-based matchmaking, it is only sometimes a problem, half the time I get a normal lobby, but the other half the lobby is full of people camping with snipers, but most of the time it's tolerable.
    Now the campaign, the campaign is pretty good, although it is really short and I think it could have been made longer. The story of the campaign is great reminds me of Black Ops 1 and even Biochock a little bit.
    I am not the best person to listen to when talking about the zombies mode, but the little I've played I've had fun with. This zombies its more simple compared to Black Ops 3 and that's really just personal preference whether or not you like that.
    All that really matters is if you have a good time and I defiantly have.    … Expand
  2. ElDavid
    Nov 28, 2020
    5
    Altough the improvents made from MW are wellcome, they are not a lot. The gameplay feels more generic than MW, the mapss are decent but is just not worth it right now, if it is fixed, i will put this into a 6, maybe even a 7.

    But the campaign is not savable, or whatever. The writing is decent, but thats about it, the mission are decent and thats about it, the story is bad, the    Altough the improvents made from MW are wellcome, they are not a lot. The gameplay feels more generic than MW, the mapss are decent but is just not worth it right now, if it is fixed, i will put this into a 6, maybe even a 7.

    But the campaign is not savable, or whatever. The writing is decent, but thats about it, the mission are decent and thats about it, the story is bad, the characters are quite bad. The only good thing about the story is the dialogue options, and the kind of impact you have, but they dont do too much to enchance the story. Compared to the amazing levels and mission in MW is just not even close.

    Zombies, is fine but i dont se myself playing it for hours cause too much **** and the game like crashed like 7or 8 times. Like what the **** also some cutscenes looked weird.

    You would think that after 17 call of duties they would come out ready and with no problems right?
    Well no what are you stupid?
    TRhe MP5 is just broken at this point.

    If you like it thats fine, if you dislike it, thats fine. The game is just fine. But not worth the 60 or even 70 dollars they are charging us.    … Expand
  3. PubbyNuts
    Nov 18, 2020
    6
    The Story Mode: It's a fun ride. The interaction between characters is cool. Decrypting evidence to help you on your next mission is awesome. It's a good story mode. My only problem is that I wanted dismemberment, and the original voice actors.

    The Zombies: There's a lot going on. I love how the map is based off the very first zombies map. Will easily keep me entertained for a long while.    The Story Mode: It's a fun ride. The interaction between characters is cool. Decrypting evidence to help you on your next mission is awesome. It's a good story mode. My only problem is that I wanted dismemberment, and the original voice actors.

    The Zombies: There's a lot going on. I love how the map is based off the very first zombies map. Will easily keep me entertained for a long while. I do appreciate it.

    The Multiplayer: The maps are kinda trash. I'm being completely honest. It just makes me miss the old COD days for their awesome map designs. I do appreciate the fact they made it difficult to camp with well thought out placements. However, camping is no longer a big problem. It's people who run around with the MP5 mindlessly and spawn killing people.

    It just doesn't feel like a $65 game, but since the DLC is free, I'm going to up the score.    … Expand
  4. Peppersoldier
    Dec 1, 2020
    6
    I still can’t decide if this game was just overhyped along with having high expectations or just a bad game. The campaign is the best feature in this game but zombies in multiplayer is the downfall. Zombies just gets old and repetitive and doesn’t feel the same. Yet again, SBM (skill-based matchmaking) is a thing and the graphics and movement of the player have downgraded tremendously fromI still can’t decide if this game was just overhyped along with having high expectations or just a bad game. The campaign is the best feature in this game but zombies in multiplayer is the downfall. Zombies just gets old and repetitive and doesn’t feel the same. Yet again, SBM (skill-based matchmaking) is a thing and the graphics and movement of the player have downgraded tremendously from MW 2019.… Expand
  5. Quinxgoat
    Dec 23, 2020
    7
    Is not a bad game, they added some thing that makes it more interesting like decision making about a few thing. It could have better graphics to the old consoles like MW. But still is a good game of the franchise.
  6. SuperkenGaming
    Feb 1, 2021
    7
    Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
    Waiting for the rest to be patched in.
    Cold War is probably th wmost lack luster call of duty game ive ever played. First. The campaign isn’t even on the disk. What is this thing even installing? Because after you go to play the campaign its like, nah you gotta download it, heres part one… that’s right part one… youll play a mission in this joke of a    Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
    Waiting for the rest to be patched in.
    Cold War is probably th wmost lack luster call of duty game ive ever played.
    First. The campaign isn’t even on the disk.
    What is this thing even installing? Because after you go to play the campaign its like, nah you gotta download it, heres part one… that’s right part one… youll play a mission in this joke of a campaign and then its like oh you nee to download part 2 now, heres another 26gb patch ontope of the 20 you just downloaded, but it doesn’t stope there, theres another 20 gb part 3.. .thats right.. nearly 70 GB patched in for not even 4 hour long campaign. That they couldn’t just put on the disc… downloading multiplayer and zombies makes sense because its primarily online.. but a 4 hour long campaign, it’s a joke…
    I for one do understand why so many people love call of duty, its multiplayer, and thankfully its just as fun here as its ever been with all of its modes outside of team deathmatch.. that’s usually my favorite mode, but I just wasn’t feeling the maps this year in deathmatch, but I had an absolute blast anyway for hours playing that ultra addicting, spawn shoot die gameplay, and its been a hwile since ive played a call of duty game.. since ww2.. so im not sure if these things are new but I am loving the instant respawns here on the next gen.. and I also appreciate that camping snipers have a little reflection to give away their location.. ive never been a fan of zombies mode, its obviously here.. I cant fairly critique it as it just isn’t my thing… but the main reason I play a call of duty game, at least in my currently life where I don’t have the time to sink days into multiplayer is the campaign.. but thankfully I do have the fun and addictive multiplayer to play through while it takes more hours to download than it does to actually play…
    Here you play as yourself, during the cold war, and the campaign actually started with tons of promise.. I wouldn’t mind if every year we got a well told 3-4 hour long story full of amazing set pieces and a mind blowing experience to compliment the fun multiplayer, and this campaign had its moments, it felt like an interactive movie with great moments and missions, some of the best stealth missions ive ever experienced in a first person shooter, but halfway through the campaign just falls apart, it becomes generic first person shooter level design and story telling, theres even a section of the game here youre redoing the same thing like 5 times in a row… that’s how much you can tell the creative juices have evaporated after an impressive start.. I didn’t want to stop playing, but I had to to let part 2 download… such a let down…
    Call of Duty is what it is…
    You know what youre going to get every year…
    it never changes outside of the setting..and this is where the let down comes into play
    Im personaly okay with a little 4 hour journey each year, but please put a little more effort and see that effort through, especially if again,, its only going to be 4 hours… it better be solid.
    But at least you have some new maps to play with.
    I give Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
    a 7/10    … Expand
  7. DausenMoore
    Jan 30, 2023
    5
    Imagine Modern Warfare with a slightly longer TTK, no opening doors, no mounting, and less auto-aim. That's basically Cold War multiplayer. It's not bad, but I was bored INSTANTLY because it felt so familiar. I know COD games never change much but Cold War literally feels like DLC. I didn't get that initial fun feeling of playing a new game which I usually do, even with bad CoD games. ItImagine Modern Warfare with a slightly longer TTK, no opening doors, no mounting, and less auto-aim. That's basically Cold War multiplayer. It's not bad, but I was bored INSTANTLY because it felt so familiar. I know COD games never change much but Cold War literally feels like DLC. I didn't get that initial fun feeling of playing a new game which I usually do, even with bad CoD games. It also only has 8 core maps which in unacceptable.… Expand
  8. DarCbrGr
    Jun 26, 2021
    5
    After the success of the Modern Warfare reboot, Treyarch took COD back on the roue of mediocrity. The campaign is interesting, but the multiplayer and zombies are very lackluster here. At least Warzone is still a thing.
  9. JGids
    Apr 26, 2021
    6
    Campaign: Decent, yet not as good as Modern Warfare (2019)’s campaign in my opinion. The backdrop of the 80’s and USSR/Cold War aesthetic is pretty cool, but other than that not extremely memorable.

    Multiplayer: Private matches with friends are fun, however online is a completely different story. SBMM is absolutely terrible and cranked up to 11 in this game. Everyone’s KD will be pretty    Campaign: Decent, yet not as good as Modern Warfare (2019)’s campaign in my opinion. The backdrop of the 80’s and USSR/Cold War aesthetic is pretty cool, but other than that not extremely memorable.

    Multiplayer: Private matches with friends are fun, however online is a completely different story. SBMM is absolutely terrible and cranked up to 11 in this game. Everyone’s KD will be pretty much 1.00 as the game tries tirelessly to make nearly every match absolutely awful as you play against the sweatiest COD players imaginable due to SBMM. One of my least favorite COD multiplayers not counting the Exo Cod’s. Zombies: Very enjoyable with friends. One thing that does surprise me with every new Cod entry with Zombies is the laughable launch map selection. 1 map... seriously? Cold War launched with pretty much the least amount of content in COD history.    … Expand
  10. vaulttec
    Jan 1, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is one step forward, and two steps back.

    Campaign:
    I thought that the Campaign was awesome! As a sequel to Black Ops, the interesting Black Ops Characters are back, with a newcomer.
    The Campaign is different this time, since it has choices, and multiple endings to it.
    You and your team hunt down Perseus, to stop Operation Greenlight. Every Mission was good, except the one where you had to rinse and repeat to find out where Perseus is.
    The ending was awesome! I went for the good ending where Solovetsky got bombed, but there is an ending where you kill your team.
    In Overall, it is a pretty good, yet short campaign.
    The Motto ,,Everything you know is a lie" is here, and a lie was that Bell was in the Vietnam War, which was pretty unexpected for me.
    In Overall, the campaign is an 8/10 for me and slightly better than MW2019's.

    Zombies:
    Zombies is fun. It always has been. Yet in Black Ops Cold War, it is fun, but really really repetitive.
    Only One Map, ugh.
    In Overall, its fun, and gets repetitive over time, but worth it with friends. 7/10

    Multiplayer:
    Well, this is a HUGE Step Back from MW2019. Crap Movement, No Balancing, Maps unplayable, 8 Maps.
    If you are from MW2019, you will be disappointed. So was I.
    MW2019 had great Multiplayer, yet here it is a huge step back in every way.
    SBMM is with no doubt, bad, and Activision isn't removing it, which is beyond me.
    But there is fun here too, since there are games where you will be sweating and being warmed up and having fun. But those are only if you are high rank Prestige and Prestige, is a huge grind.
    Thankfully, with Season 1 they more or less balanced it and I hope the issues get fixed and it will not be such a magnificent step back. 6/10    … Expand
  11. Bad_Reviewer
    Jan 7, 2022
    5
    This game has a solid story and zombies, but the multiplayer is kind of a mess. The bugs from the launch still haunt me to this day.
  12. StepSisteR
    Dec 2, 2020
    5
    Its nice a lot But i Cant Play with SBMM on, cant they Make an on/Off lever for ist in Game
  13. wshym
    Dec 12, 2020
    6
    I'm tired of people acting like it's **** when all they do is play Multiplayer. That's 1/3 of the game sure, but there's still the campaign and the zombies which get slept on. The multiplayer is basically ironed out Modern Warfare which sucks for people who bought modern warfare but if you didn't, it's still decent. Zombies is the best game mode and even though all you have is DieI'm tired of people acting like it's **** when all they do is play Multiplayer. That's 1/3 of the game sure, but there's still the campaign and the zombies which get slept on. The multiplayer is basically ironed out Modern Warfare which sucks for people who bought modern warfare but if you didn't, it's still decent. Zombies is the best game mode and even though all you have is Die Maschine, it's got such a good map that you'll still be playing it over and over. The campaign is one of the best and finally goes back to the original Black Ops story. If you just bought the game for multiplayer, no wonder it sucks. Maybe actually try the other stuff this game offers before you **** about it. But, there's still a lot of bugs to fix thanks to Sledgehammer/Raven Software's incompetence, so when that gets fixed I'll change my review.… Expand
  14. FrostBite704
    Dec 14, 2020
    6
    Game was unfinished and with a pandemic it is understandable it was buggy, but i found joy in the campaign and zombies mode. Problems arise as you look at map selection there are less maps then some of the older installments in the black ops series. Majority of those maps underperform and fall into having to much open space and no three lane maps. Time to kill feels really slow and withGame was unfinished and with a pandemic it is understandable it was buggy, but i found joy in the campaign and zombies mode. Problems arise as you look at map selection there are less maps then some of the older installments in the black ops series. Majority of those maps underperform and fall into having to much open space and no three lane maps. Time to kill feels really slow and with sbmm i feel i can never have multiply good games.… Expand
  15. Grantishere1
    Dec 27, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is the definition of a mediocre game. The campaign was alright, nothing groundbreaking but interesting nonetheless. With a story that keeps you interested. Now we get to the meat of the game, the multiplayer! First things first for the first month it felt bare and boring but with the beginning of season 1 it finally feels like a “full game”. However it does lack a lot of map variety and the sbmm has many flaws. The zombies is the best overall part of this game but with only one map it falls short.… Expand
  16. micirci
    Dec 29, 2020
    5
    all cod games are same ,we are bored,multiplayer game not innovative,bf game so far ahead now
  17. BigBallsRip
    Mar 6, 2021
    7
    I've sucked some terrible Cod dick over the years. But this dick cold war, its nice easy to handle not to thick but not to thin. season 2 has detho helped the game along. Its **** Virginia spunk we have to wait so long for the game to finally start to tea up, give us some content to play with. the days of Cod being BIGGIST BOLLOCKS ever are long gone. Nazi Zombies the multiplier are goodI've sucked some terrible Cod dick over the years. But this dick cold war, its nice easy to handle not to thick but not to thin. season 2 has detho helped the game along. Its **** Virginia spunk we have to wait so long for the game to finally start to tea up, give us some content to play with. the days of Cod being BIGGIST BOLLOCKS ever are long gone. Nazi Zombies the multiplier are good if you like Bo1 i think your have some fun here, The game **** sucked like my mums for my lunch money on lunch. but its getting there SUCK OFF… Expand
  18. ATH__
    Nov 4, 2022
    7
    Firstly, 136GB on both the new Xbox Series Consoles and 133 on PS5 is quite large for a single game, which is just over 25% of a 500GB hard drive, graphics wise is quite underwhelming at least compared to modern warfare, and only a handful of weapons are viable, hopefully some tweaks can be made to balance the guns and make it more playable
  19. Outlawdipper49
    Jun 22, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Best game ever has a few problems with lag and connection problems but camping if you know your away around it is easy to avoid just get all team mates to gang up on the camper like black ops 2 easy… Expand
  20. Playin
    Aug 4, 2021
    5
    This same as other cod games there barely anything new. Story is fine but multiplayer is the same.
  21. Slaine13
    Sep 12, 2021
    5
    Je viens de finir Call of Duty Cold War sur Series X. Je n’ai pas testé le mode online, uniquement le solo, donc mon avis n’est forcément pas représentatif du jeu complet, surtout si de votre côté le mode online est important.

    Bon, soyons clair, pour les joueurs solos, ceux qui l’ont acheté plein pot (surtout la version next gen qui coûte 10 euros de plus pour avoir une meilleure    Je viens de finir Call of Duty Cold War sur Series X. Je n’ai pas testé le mode online, uniquement le solo, donc mon avis n’est forcément pas représentatif du jeu complet, surtout si de votre côté le mode online est important.

    Bon, soyons clair, pour les joueurs solos, ceux qui l’ont acheté plein pot (surtout la version next gen qui coûte 10 euros de plus pour avoir une meilleure résolution et le ray tracing), se sont fait escroquer…

    Ce que j’ai apprécié:

    fin multiples en fonction de quelques choix dans le jeu et décisions de dialogues. Ca c’est une bonne surprise
    des missions qui sortent du call of standard (infiltration avec objectifs à atteindre par plusieurs moyens)
    le niveau du QG du KGB est plutôt beau, seul niveau à utiliser le ray tracing à fond d’ailleurs (et le niveau le plus marrant)
    spatialisation du son très bonne. Ca pète de tous les côtés, sympa.
    des missions annexes débloquables uniquement si on trouve des indices dans les missions principales et si on résout des énigmes intéressantes
    de vieux jeux d’arcade d’activision cachés dans le jeu

    ce que je n’ai pas aimé:

    ultra court, surtout si on se contente des missions principales (il doit y en avoir 4-5 à tout cassé)
    les persos principaux sont plutôt pas trop mal fait, par contre tous les PNJ et autres joueurs sont d’une autre époque.
    l’IA totalement loupé
    la mise en scène à la rue et sans âme
    Des niveaux allant du « joli » au franchement très médiocres
    vu et archi revu dans ces niveaux principaux. On n’est jamais surpris et on ne s’amuse pas vraiment.

    En faite le jeu apporte quelques nouveautés sympa avec ces choix multiples, ces énigmes à résoudre pour les missions annexes, mais c’est totalement sous exploité. C’est vraiment dommage parce que ça aurait donné de la consistance au jeu. Tout le reste est vu, archi vu, pas intéressant du tout et techniquement très moyen.

    Après, ça reste un jeu qui se savoure très certainement en multi donc le solo n’est qu’une excuse, mais bon…    … Expand
  22. Max16744
    Feb 25, 2022
    7
    At launch, the game was really bad, with bad balancing, mediocre matchmaking, etc.
    But now one year later the game is solid. Especially when considering the newest CoD.
    The gameplay is satisfying, graphics and sounds are a lot better than in Vanguard. And overall you can have some fun.
  23. sepigaming
    Mar 10, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The multiplayer was awful The story section was short and boring Graphics in The cinematic mode was good And in a fairly good game
    It was one of the most confusing and insane stages    … Expand
  24. babangida27
    Apr 30, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Se preocuparon mucho por la calidad de gráficos,me parece que en cada misión todo es con mucho afán, luego muto con cosas que quitan realidad (soñar con Zombies) y una historia que muchas veces no entiendes con facilidad quien eres. No se si fue afán de entregar el juego pero se brincaron cositas que en la historias nos gusta hacer.… Expand
  25. Sab1nX
    Aug 27, 2022
    6
    Great Campaign, but too short. Great zombies, but not a lot of replayability. Horrendous multiplayer...
  26. doreka
    Nov 14, 2022
    5
    Went through the company in 5 hours. One time will be fine. But the game is expensive, I did not play online.
  27. Phytom
    Jan 22, 2023
    7
    Best CoD Campaign they ever made, but it was way too short. Multiplayer is like Black Ops 4, Zombies is decent.

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best Xbox Series X Game of 2020
2
#2 Most Discussed Xbox Series X Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. WellPlayed
    Feb 11, 2021
    70
    The beating heart of the Call of Duty experience in terms of multiplayer feels like a solid return to the classic formula, but abundant technical issues make this a worrying stumble into a new generation.
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  2. Game Over Online
    Dec 1, 2020
    70
    Overall, despite some performance issues, I rather enjoyed the mercenaries, spies and private eyes campaign that is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. I’d like to see the development team get a chance to really flesh out a longer campaign in this style, but you know…the call of duty.
    Read full review
  3. M3
    Nov 30, 2020
    60
    With an entertaining campaign, great online opportunities and panic-stricken zombie slaughter, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is an impressive package. Still, we can not help but feel disappointed. The best parts of the campaign could have been developed much more and the online modes feel well stripped down. Cold War still impresses, but with more development time, it could have been so much more than "this year's Call of Duty game".
    Read full review
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