Every yearCall of Dutyfans have a new main series game to look forward to, and 2021 is no exception to that rule. This time around,Call of Duty: Advanced WarfareandCall of Duty: WW2studio Sledgehammer Games is back in the driver’s seat withCall of Duty: Vanguard, a game that doesn’t reinvent the wheel by any means but is still one of the betterCall of Dutygames.
Like pastCall of Dutygames,Call of Duty: Vanguardis split into three distinct categories. First up is the Campaign, with this year’s entry taking the franchise back to World War 2. But instead of trying to tell a historically accurate tale,Call of Duty: Vanguardgoes for more of an action movie vibe, following a band of multinational Allied heroes who have formed a Special Forces group tasked with snuffing out the Nazi threat once and for all.
The group, known as Vanguard, consists of a couple of British soldiers, an Australian explosives expert, an American pilot, and a Russian sniper. Very early in theCall of Duty: VanguardCampaign, the group is captured by a cartoonishNazi villain named Hermann Wenzel Freisinger, whose character at first seems like he’s trying to imitate Hans Landa fromInglorious Basterdsbefore pivoting to a more generic bad guy role as the story continues.
Lost’s Dominic Monaghan, on the other hand, players a more interesting villain in Jannick Richter, a cowardly Nazi interrogator who is tasked with getting information from the heroes. The problem for Richter is that he is paranoid, anxious, and delusional, which lends itself well to some interesting interactions between him and the Allied prisoners. The story itself isn’t noteworthy beyond some entertaining scenes, and its structure hampers players' ability to become invested in the characters.
The bulk of theCall of Duty: VanguardCampaign consists of flashbacks to earlier in World War 2, where players get to see how characters likeRussian sniper Polina Petrovaearned her nickname “Lady Nightingale” and how Arthur Kingsley learned to be a leader. There are really only two missions that take place in “present-day” World War 2, and so the central conflict has little room to develop or breathe. The framework is an excuse to transport players to different periods of World War 2, and while it leads to plenty of fun gameplay moments, it does come at a cost of the story.
Granted, most people likely aren’t playing aCall of Dutygame for its story anyway, and luckily the gameplay in theCall of Duty: VanguardCampaignis usually a ton of fun. One mission might have players sneaking around snow-covered Stalingrad, silently taking out enemies with melee executions, while the next will see them divebombing aircraft carriers in the Battle of Midway. Another mission sees players blowing up tanks in the desert, and another has them trying to survive the harsh jungles of the Pacific Theater.
TheCall of Duty: VanguardCampaign is all spectacle, trimming out the fat to focus on breathtaking sights and jaw-dropping set-pieces.Call of Duty: Vanguardsimply looks incredible, and while the Campaign shows off the game’s graphical prowess better than any other game mode, its high level of polish is present throughout the rest of the game as well.
Call of Duty: VanguardMultiplayer also looks stunning, especially on next-generation consoles.Call of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer mapshave a higher level of destructibility than the previousCall of Dutygames, which goes a long way in giving each conflict weight and making the maps feel more alive. Maps are relatively untouched at the start of a match, but by the end of it, everything will be on fire, holes will be in the walls, and all the breakable wooden structures will be left in splinters.
Call of Duty: VanguardMultiplayer is better for introducing destructibility, but it also deserves praise for its other key innovation.Call of Duty: Vanguardimplements a new idea called Combat Pacing that lets players focus on the kinds of maps and modes that they enjoy most. For instance, the Blitz pacing inCall of Duty: Vanguardwill put players on smaller maps with high player counts, whereas the Tactical pacing dials the numbers down and allows for more deliberate skirmishes.Call of Duty: VanguardCombat Pacing, increased destructibility, and well-designed maps all add up to making it the bestCall of Dutymultiplayer has been in years.
The only downside toCall of Duty: Vanguard’sMultiplayer is that it’s missing some fan favorite game modes, most notably Gunfight and Gun Game. Gunfight’s absence inCall of Duty: Vanguardis especially frustrating, as the mode was promised for the game, though it seems Activision used “Gunfight” to refer toVanguard’s Champion Hill mode as opposed to a proper representation of the Gunfight mode.
Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Champion Hill modeis the big new match type for this year, and while it operates similarly to Gunfight, there are some important differences that ultimately make it a different experience. Champion Hill, for the uninitiated, has teams of two or three fight it out with other teams with limited lives, earning cash along the way to purchase upgrades, killstreaks, armor, and more.
The problem with trying to pass off Champion Hill as Gunfight is that proper Gunfight putsCall of Dutyplayers on even ground.Call of DutyGunfight combatantsall start out with the exact same guns, so things like custom loadouts aren’t a factor like they are in the other multiplayer match types. Gunfight comes down to pure skill more than any otherCall of Dutygame mode, but that element is lost in Champion Hill.
Champion Hill’s currency system is the main reason why it is unlikely to satisfy fans of Gunfight, as it gives teams a significant advantage. Many Champion Hill matches tend to end with one team having a ridiculous amount of cash at their disposal, at which point they are able to purchaseCall of Duty: Vanguard’s more overpowered weapons and simply mow over any of the other remaining teams. The mode can still be fun, especially with the right partners, but it does not scratch the same itch as Gunfight.
While the lack of Gunfight is disappointing, especially since it was said to be in the game ahead of launch,Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Multiplayeris otherwise a lot of fun and should keep fans busy for hours on end. And if Zombies was as good as Campaign and Multiplayer,Vanguardwould’ve been a home run, but that’s where the game falls short of the mark.
Call of Duty: VanguardZombies is the weak link when it comes to the three core gameplay experiences that the game has to offer. This new version of Zombies inCall of Duty: Vanguardis more objective-based, with players bouncing around to different areas (like the Hotel Royal multiplayer map and even a slice ofShi no Numa fromCall of Duty: World at War) through portals that all exist in the same hub area.
This hub is an interesting innovation for Zombies, as it contains all of the thingsCall of Duty: Vanguardplayers need in one place, like thePack-A-Punch machine, the Mystery Box, and a crafting station. Players return to this hub after each trip through one of the portals, and so it effectively eliminates the need to make a “crawler” zombie like was necessary in past Zombies modes.
This new setup amounts to a huge quality of life improvement that makesCall of Duty: Vanguard’sZombies experience more bearable when playing with random players online. The issue is thatCall of Duty: VanguardZombies is mind-numbingly easy, to the point where there’s really no fun to be had from playing it.
Call of Duty: VanguardZombiesoffers zero challenge. Players will have Pack-A-Punched weapons, fully upgraded perks, and a slew of special abilites by round 10 and they’ll be practically unstoppable from that point on. The only thing to do then is to keep going through the same portals and completing the same objectives to build one’s fortune and keep killing hordes of the undead. Rarely will players feel like they’re at risk of losing, and since there’s no Easter egg or anything like that yet to figure out, players won’t have much reason to stick with Zombies long-term.
In truth, the only reason to keep playing Zombies is if someone wants to unlock all of theCall of Duty: Vanguardachievements/trophiesor if they want to use Zombies to level up certain weapons for Multiplayer, as progress is shared between the game modes.Call of Duty: VanguardSeason 1 will be adding Zombies updates of some kind that will hopefully make it more worthwhile, but as it stands, Zombies inVanguardis a disappointment.
Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Multiplayer will get new content post-launch as well, as Activision has already shared some of the content fans can expect from the game post-launch. For example, beforeVanguardSeason 1 even starts, players can look forward to the addition offan-favorite multiplayer map Shipment, which will fit in nicely with the solid selection of new maps available in the base game.
Call of Duty: Vanguardwill get better with time, but the launch game is still an impressive package. The Campaign is short but sweet and the Multiplayer is a blast, though Zombies fans will likely come away disappointed. Even with Zombies failing to live up to expectations, though,Call of Duty: Vanguardstill has a lot to offer fans of the franchise and is very much worth the price of admission.
Call of Duty: Vanguardis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant reviewed the game on Xbox Series X.
