Call of Duty: Vanguard [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

It’s November, which can only mean one thing: there’s a new Call of Duty game to play. This time it comes in the form of Call of Duty: Vanguard, which takes players back to World War Two as they look to bring down a Nazi plot, battle other players in intense multiplayer showdowns, and, of course, kill some zombies. It’s par for the course then really, but how does this year’s entry hold up?

Check out a gallery of screenshots down below:

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Let’s start with the campaign. This time around players are controlling an elite team of soldiers spread across different allied countries, with each bringing with them their own specialty that makes them imperative to the team’s success. Their goal is to infiltrate a Nazi base in order to uncover information behind the mysterious ‘Project Phoenix’, but the mission goes wrong, and they instead find themselves captured and interrogated. During this interrogation, flashbacks take place for each character that don’t only tell their back story, but also show why they were picked for the team in the first place. These make up the main missions of the game, along with a couple in the present time that progress the main story forward.

The story itself is fine and I quite liked the cast of characters, with each having their own little qualities and banter which make them work well as a team. The same can be said for the villains, with Dominic Mohaghan’s role as Richter perfectly portraying a devious Nazi interrogator who is never quite as in control as he likes to think he is. The only problem is that the main cast don’t always get a lot of screentime, so it’s hard to feel connected to them all; I found that I cared a lot more about Polina and Lucas’ stories by the end, but Wade and Arthur didn’t stand out quite as much. It would have been nice to have spent maybe a few more missions playing as them, if only to learn more about how they found themselves on the team.

“There are nine missions in total and they’re all fun to play, with plenty of varied locales to explore and explosive set-pieces that keep players in the heart of the action.”

The flashbacks ensure that you see plenty of different battles across the war, so there’s a lot of variety to be found in the game. Whilst the mission to retrieve details about ‘Project Phoenix’ takes place at the end of the war, you can expect to be helping take out artillery on D-Day as the British Lieutenant Arthur Kingsley, flying through the skies in the Battle of Midway as hot-shot pilot Wade Jackson, blowing up North African Nazi bases with all sorts of explosives as the fearless yet brash Lucas Riggs, or even sneaking through the snowy remains of Stalingrad as the expert sniper Polina Petrova.

There are nine missions in total and they’re all fun to play, with plenty of varied locales to explore and explosive set-pieces that keep players in the heart of the action. Whilst some missions see you battle an onslaught of soldiers, others change up the pace by encouraging you to sneak your way through bases or pick off enemies from afar with a sniper rifle. Heck, you’ll even find yourself piloting a plane and taking part in an epic dogfight, with plenty of different things to do in Call of Duty: Vanguard. I had a really good time playing through the campaign, and whilst it has taken a step back by not offering choices or optional side missions like Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War did, I found that the linearity made for a more streamlined and enjoyable experience.

“Once again, players have all sorts of weapons and bizarre powers to use to battle the zombie threat, whilst constantly upgrading weapons and equipment to keep up with the growing hordes of the undead is incredibly satisfying.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Call of Duty game without zombies, so players will be happy to see that the mode returns once more. Once again, players have all sorts of weapons and bizarre powers to use to battle the zombie threat, whilst constantly upgrading weapons and equipment to keep up with the growing hordes of the undead is incredibly satisfying.

Players will zap off to a variety of different locations through portals as they complete objectives tied to the zombies, with Blitz tasking players to survive for a set amount of time, Transmit tasking them with staying in range of a floating zombie head, and Harvest tasking them with collecting runes and returning them to set locations. The objectives are simple but fun to complete, even if they could feel a little samey after a few hours of play.

I found that with the Zombies mode in general; after a few hours, I felt like I had seen everything it had to offer, especially with the lack of objective variety and enemy types to face off against. It’s surprisingly easy too, especially when compared to previous games where I found the zombie hordes to be genuinely formidable foes and where it was hard work to earn some of the best upgrades. But hey, maybe I’m just a Zombies pro now…

Still, I’m sure it’ll appeal to a lot of players, especially when you’ve got a good team together to hatch a plan with. I haven’t played a lot of Zombies with friends yet, but when I have, we’ve had a really good time plotting to take down zombies, co-operating to save each other when surrounded, or simply having a laugh when things start to go wrong. It has always been a mode that is best experienced with others, and that’s certainly the case in Call of Duty: Vanguard.

“Multiplayer also comes with the traditional Call of Duty modes so there’s plenty to stick your teeth into depending on what you fancy, whilst the robust class options allow you to fine-tune your loadout and abilities online.”

Speaking of playing with others, the most time I’ve spent with Call of Duty: Vanguard has been with the game’s multiplayer modes, with another stellar offering on show this year. Again, it brings with it a sense of familiarity that returning players will be used to across its game modes and shooting, but why fix what isn’t broken?

That’s not to say that there aren’t new additions though, with ‘Champion Hill’ proving to be a VERY addictive game mode. Players either play in singles, as duos, or trios in teams and then face off against each other, with a set amount of lives given to each team – if you’re the last team standing, you win. Each team will earn currency as they play, which can then be spent to unlock different upgrades and bonuses to give them a better chance of survival. Admittedly, these upgrades can upset the balance a little as you play, but it does reward players who are more active and willing to take the fight to their rivals.

It’s a strategically fun mode with high stakes thanks to the lives count, and believe me, I upset more than a few teammates by being a bit too overeager and going on the attack… only to result in me dying and, of course, costing us a life. It’s all about planning and playing it safe, but then knowing WHEN to attack and being faster on the trigger than your rivals, and honestly, it makes for a really good time.

Of course, multiplayer also comes with the traditional Call of Duty modes so there’s plenty to stick your teeth into depending on what you fancy, whilst the robust class options allow you to fine-tune your loadout and abilities online. It was fun to go back to World War Two weaponry, which doesn’t bring with it the modern pizzazz seen in other entries in the series, but still packs plenty of punch. There’s a big emphasis on destruction too, with parts of levels being blown to pieces by the time players are done with them. It changes things up and helps Call of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer feel a little more unique when compared to last year’s entry.

“It was fun to go back to World War Two weaponry, which doesn’t bring with it the modern pizzazz seen in other entries in the series, but still packs plenty of punch. There’s a big emphasis on destruction too, with parts of levels being blown to pieces by the time players are done with them.”

I really enjoyed my time playing Call of Duty: Vanguard, and I haven’t even talked about how pretty it is yet, with the game clearly taking advantage of the new generation of consoles with its stunning landscapes and impressive lighting effects. It’s certainly a looker and you can expect to be left wowed by all of the epic set pieces that take place in front of you. Add to that some great voice acting and a fitting soundtrack, and it’ll become clear it’s a very cinematic experience with incredibly high production values.

That’s not to say that there weren’t some flaws though. For one, some cutscenes could be incredibly jittery, whilst I also came across a few instances where they’d freeze up and then the audio would be out of sync. It was pretty jarring and could hurt the storytelling in some instances, especially when I’d hear the noises before anything actually happened on the screen. The AI of enemies could be pretty dumb too, with some foes standing around and doing nothing – even when shot. Whilst it wasn’t a consistent issue, I noticed it on a few occasions.

There’s also the fact that, for better or worse, this is just another Call of Duty game. There’s nothing about Call of Duty: Vanguard that made me think, ‘I haven’t seen that in the series before’, whilst a lot of the levels follow the same formula we’ve seen time and time again. This isn’t a bad thing, especially since Call of Duty has mastered the art of first-person shooting action and storytelling, but those hoping for something that feels genuinely different might want to get their expectations in check.

Developer: Sledgehammer Games
Publisher: Activision
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://www.callofduty.com/