Black Ops 7 feels like two Call of Duty games welded together. On one side, you have a confident, near-future multiplayer suite with sharp map flow, satisfying movement options, and that familiar “one more match” momentum. On the other, a co-op-first campaign that swings for something stranger and bigger, but lands with a thud far too often, partly because of the structural restrictions it places on the player.
If you mainly buy Call of Duty for competitive play and Zombies, Black Ops 7 is easy to recommend on PS5. If you treat the campaign as the main event, it is a much harder sell. Here’s the upshot, the best parts are genuinely excellent, but the whole package feels less coherent than it should.
Game Snapshot
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: 14 November 2025
Platforms: PS5, PS4 (also PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
Price: £69.99/$69.99
Rating: PEGI 18
Genre: First-person shooter (campaign, multiplayer, co-op Zombies)
Length: 5-6 hours (main story) and 7-10+ hours (story + side content)
Install Size: ~100 GB (base preload on PlayStation, plus optional packs)
Presentation and World Design
The near-future 2035 framing gives Black Ops 7 a clean visual identity, with sleek kit, neon cityscapes, and a slightly heightened tech-noir tone that nods back to Black Ops 2 without being stuck in nostalgia. The campaign’s globe-hopping ambition reads well on paper, but in practice it can feel like you are being hurried from set-piece to set-piece, which makes the worldbuilding feel thinner than the location list suggests.
Multiplayer is where the presentation clicks. Maps are legible, sightlines feel considered, and the overall readability supports faster movement without turning every match into visual noise. That clarity matters on PS5, where quick target acquisition and rapid re-engagement are the difference between a fair death and a frustrating one.
One caveat is the wider “Call of Duty HQ” ecosystem. The menus, store surfacing, and seasonal framing still push hard for engagement loops, and the conversation around cosmetic direction and AI-assisted assets has been loud enough to distract from the craft elsewhere. Even if you do not care about discourse, it can make the package feel a bit less premium than the gunplay deserves.
Gameplay and Combat
At its best, Black Ops 7 is a reminder of how good Call of Duty feels when fundamentals are tuned. Weapons snap, recoil is readable, and the pace sits in that sweet spot where aggression is rewarded but positioning still matters. The core multiplayer package is also consistently stronger than the campaign pillar, which tracks with how reliably the moment-to-moment play holds up.
Multiplayer loop
You are getting a hefty launch suite, including 16 new 6v6 maps and two 20v20 maps, plus the expected cadence of playlists and seasonal drops. The result is variety that is immediately useful, not just a bullet point, because it spreads the playerbase across different rhythms, from tighter lanes to larger-scale chaos.
Campaign and Endgame structure
The campaign is built around co-op play (with an “Endgame” mode as a replayable extension), but the design decisions are polarising. Always-online requirements, an inability to pause, and a structure that can force you to redo long stretches if you fail or step away, all make it less welcoming as a solo story experience. When it works, it can be enjoyably bonkers, but it is also the mode most likely to make you ask, “Why is this so inflexible?”
Zombies remains the dependable third pillar. It is tuned for repeat runs and co-ordination, and it continues to be the best “mates on headsets” value in the box, even if newcomers may find the systems stack a bit steep at first.
Story and Characters
Set in 2035, Black Ops 7 follows David Mason and a JSOC unit investigating the apparent return of Raul Menendez, with a global tech giant, The Guild, tangled up in the wider conflict. It is a knowingly heightened premise, and the game leans into psychological warfare and reality-bending ideas that fit the Black Ops brand’s love of paranoia.
The problem is not the pitch, it is the delivery. The co-op-first structure makes the narrative feel chopped into missions-as-modules, and the result can come across as inconsistent, overly silly, or simply undercooked compared to the strongest recent Call of Duty campaigns. There are flashes of fun and spectacle, but the throughline rarely lands with the impact the set-up is reaching for.
If you want a spoiler-free expectation setter, treat the campaign as an odd side dish this year. The character beats are there, but the mode’s constraints and tonal whiplash make it hard for the story to breathe.
Value and Longevity
On PS5, value depends almost entirely on what you play Call of Duty for. The main story is short (around 5–6 hours for most players), though hunting intel and pushing towards a more complete run can stretch it further.
The real longevity is multiplayer, Zombies, and the seasonal model. If you are the sort of player who drops in weekly, chases unlocks, and treats new maps as the main course, Black Ops 7 justifies its £69.99/$69.99 entry ticket far more comfortably. If you mainly want a tightly paced solo campaign, you will likely feel short-changed this time.
Technical Notes
Black Ops 7 on PS5 supports DualSense features (including trigger effects) and carries a PS5 Pro Enhanced label, which is welcome for players on Sony’s newer hardware.
The biggest technical and usability gripes cluster around the campaign pillar rather than raw performance, particularly its online dependency and the lack of basic conveniences like pausing. Those choices are not just annoying, they directly shape how approachable the story mode feels if you are playing solo or in shorter sessions.
Final Word
Black Ops 7 is easiest to understand as a brilliant competitive shooter strapped to a campaign that is trying to reinvent the format, and stumbling in the process. Multiplayer is sharp, varied, and immediately satisfying, Zombies remains a reliable co-op time sink, and the PS5 version ticks the right feature boxes.
But if you value Call of Duty campaigns as short, replayable action films, the always-online, cannot-pause design and broader structural constraints can make this one feel actively hostile. Buy it for MP and Zombies and you will likely be chuffed, buy it for story and you may bounce off hard.
FAQ
Q. Is Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 worth it on PS5 if I only play the campaign?
A. If campaign is your main reason to buy, Black Ops 7 is a risky pick. It is short (roughly 5–6 hours for most players), and the co-op-first structure comes with restrictions that can make solo play awkward, including always-online requirements and limited session-friendly flexibility. For a story-first purchase, you may get better value elsewhere.
Q. How long is Black Ops 7’s campaign?
A. Most guidance puts the main story at around 5–6 hours, with extra time for intel hunting or a more thorough run pushing closer to 7–10+ hours. Your pacing will vary depending on whether you play solo or with a squad, and how much optional searching you do during missions.
Q. Does Black Ops 7 support PS5 features like DualSense and PS5 Pro enhancements?
A. Yes. The PS5 listing highlights DualSense vibration and trigger effects, and it is labelled PS5 Pro Enhanced. Exact gains vary by display and settings, but it is at least officially flagged for enhanced support on Sony’s Pro hardware.
Q. Is Zombies good this year?
A. Zombies remains one of the strongest reasons to own Black Ops 7, especially if you play co-op. Even critics of the campaign tend to praise the broader package’s multiplayer and Zombies pillars, which speaks to how well the repeatable modes carry the overall value proposition.
Q. Do I need PS Plus to play Black Ops 7 online
A. Yes, PS Plus is required for online play on PlayStation, and the listing also notes that online play is required (with in-game purchases optional). If you mainly want multiplayer or co-op modes, factor that subscription cost into the overall value.
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