Black Ops 7 sets record for lowest user-rated Call of Duty game
▼ Summary
– Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 received an ‘Overwhelming Dislike’ on Metacritic, making it the most unpopular game in the franchise by user score.
– The game has a Metacritic user score of 1.7, with 85% of reviews being negative, while critic reviews are more favorable with an aggregated score of 84 on PC.
– Common player complaints include the campaign’s inability to be paused or manually saved and the use of generative AI for in-game calling cards.
– Players criticize the game for straying from the series’ identity and reversing improvements made in Black Ops 6, prioritizing profit over passion.
– Despite mixed feedback, some reviews are positive, and Eurogamer’s review awarded it 3/5 stars but expressed concerns about the series’ future direction.
The launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has been met with an unprecedented wave of player disapproval, earning the lowest user-rated score in the franchise’s history on Metacritic. Over its opening weekend, the title received an ‘Overwhelming Dislike’ rating from players, with hundreds of negative reviews pushing its user score down to just 1.7. A staggering 85 percent of user ratings were negative, setting a new low for the series despite a respectable 84 aggregate score from professional critics on PC.
On Steam, the reception has been only slightly better, with a ‘Mixed’ rating where just 42 percent of players gave the game a positive review. It’s worth noting that Steam represents only one portion of the PC player base, excluding those using the Xbox PC app or playing on consoles. Still, the volume of complaints is hard to ignore. Many players feel the franchise has lost its identity, describing the game as “out of touch,” “disappointing,” and accusing it of relying on “ai slop.” Others called it “another under-baked title delivered on false promises and blatant lies.”
While a handful of perfect 10/10 scores appear on Metacritic, the majority of negative feedback focuses on specific issues. Players report being unable to pause or manually save progress in the campaign mode, and many have criticized the publisher for using generative AI to create certain in-game calling cards. These concerns came to light shortly after the game’s November 14th release.
One player expressed a sentiment echoed by many, writing, “Black Ops 6 wasn’t perfect but it felt like COD was back again. Zombies were great, the campaign was okay and the multiplayer felt like it used to. For the first time in 10 years, I believed that Call of Duty was on the right track again. That is until they announced Black Ops 7. Every single thing that the community has been super vocal about hating, they decided to bring to Black Ops 7. Everything that we said we loved about Black Ops 6 and OG Call of Duty, they took away. Now all that’s left is a steaming pile of dog crap where a once great first person shooter empire lived. I hope this is a wake-up call, and the company decides to revert 100% back to the way that Call of Duty is supposed to be. This is what happens when you continue to put profit over passion.”
Activision has openly acknowledged the use of AI in developing Black Ops 7 on its Steam store page, but player backlash has been especially strong regarding AI-generated content. As reported earlier, calling cards linked to the ‘Jack of All Trades’ campaign challenges and two specific cards from the ‘Embrace the Nightmare’ endgame challenges drew attention for their resemblance to AI-generated Studio Ghibli-style images that have circulated online in recent months.
In its own review, Eurogamer awarded the title three out of five stars, noting, “If you can accept Black Ops 7’s fundamental changes to the formula on their own terms, you’ll have a good trip, despite the psychochemicals coursing through your veins. I’m just not convinced those changes bode well for the health of the series.”
(Source: Eurogamer)
