Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 review – hallucinogenic romp through dystopia is stupidly pleasurable

<p><strong>Activision; PlayStation 4/5, Xbox, PC<br></strong>With a deafening onslaught of massive shootout set-pieces in exotic locations, an evolving campaign mode and excellent multiplayer offerings, this maximalist instalment of crazed carnage is a hoot</p><p>It seems like an anachronism now, in this age of live service “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/2023/aug/30/gamescom-report-can-the-forever-game-endure">forever games</a>”, that the annual release of a new Call of Duty title is still considered a major event. But here is Black Ops 7, a year after its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/oct/29/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-review">direct predecessor</a>, and another breathless bombard of military shooting action. This time it is set in a dystopian 2035 where a global arms manufacturer named the Guild claims to be the only answer to an apocalyptic new terrorist threat – but are things as clearcut as they seem?</p><p>The answer, of course, is a loudly yelled “noooo!” Black Ops is the paranoid, conspiracy-obsessed cousin to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/2023/nov/14/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-iii-review-exhilarating-game-engineering-rescues-a-tired-format">Modern Warfare</a> strand of Call of Duty games, a series inspired by 70s thrillers such as The Parallax View and The China Syndrome, and infused with ’Nam era concerns about rogue CIA agents and bizarre psy-ops. The campaign mode, which represents just a quarter of the offering this year, is a hallucinogenic romp through socio-political talking points such as psychopathic corporations, hybrid warfare, robotics and tech oligarchies. The result is a deafening onslaught of massive shootout set-pieces in exotic locations, as the four lead characters – members of a supercharged spec-ops outfit – are exposed to a psychotropic drug that makes them relive their worst nig