Call of Duty: Vanguard

Rock Paper Shotgun

Ed Thorn·Nov 17, 2021

Critic—

Agreement—

Call Of Duty: Vanguard's multiplayer does just enough to be fun, but is largely unambitious. Zombies is a similar story and lacks any weight.

Pure Xbox

Daniel Hollis·Nov 13, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

It may sound like we're being a bit down on this year's Call of Duty, but it's only because we know the franchise has potential. Warzone has proved it with multiplayer and Black Ops Cold War showcased it with its campaign. We hoped this would build upon those foundations, but instead it steps back into familiar territory. It's not a bad game by any means - in fact, even at its worst it's better than most first-person shooters out there - but as the games industry evolves, it's time for Call of Duty to bring something new to the table, and this isn't it.

Polygon

Yussef Cole·Nov 11, 2021

Critic—

Agreement—

And torpedoes its own potential

IGN

Luke Winkie·Nov 10, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Vanguard's Zombies mode is goofy, gory, and adventurous, but it suffers from a deadly lack of content.

IGN

Seth G. Macy·Nov 10, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Call of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer doesn't do enough new to distinguish itself from the last few years to be a great game, but its excellent maps and Champion Hill mode mean that it's still a reliably good time.

Rock Paper Shotgun

Ed Thorn·Nov 9, 2021

Critic—

Agreement—

An unremarkable FPS story set in World War 2. Has moments of spectacle and is largely quite fun, but feels like you're a gun on-rails, hardly a war hero.

PC Gamer

Rick Lane·Nov 9, 2021

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Despite some impressive moments, Sledgehammer's WWII shooter struggles to stand out.

GamesRadar+

Leon Hurley·Nov 8, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

With new ideas and great looking missions, Call of Duty: Vanguard is a strong entry for the franchise

Push Square

Liam Croft·Nov 8, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Call of Duty: Vanguard is another incredibly solid but also super safe instalment in the series. Its campaign may be over in a hurry but it's still a fairly memorable one, featuring good characters and outstanding visuals. Multiplayer is another robust package, hosting a ton of content and the promise of more to come. The less said about Zombies the better, but this is a Call of Duty game doing Call of Duty things. Whether that's of any interest or not, you likely already know.

Eurogamer

Wesley Yin-Poole·Nov 5, 2021

Critic75/100

Agreement—

It feels like a stop-gap year for Call of Duty. Developer Sledgehammer Games finds itself sandwiched in-between the meg…

GameSpot

Phil Hornshaw·Nov 5, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Tweaks in multiplayer and Zombies advance the Call of Duty franchise overall, and an emphasis on distinct characters makes Vanguard's story fun, but it doesn't always mix well with the series' gameplay.

IGN

Simon Cardy·Nov 5, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Call of Duty: Vanguard's campaign is fun and truly cinematic but lacks variety over its brief runtime.

Game Informer

Daniel Tack·Nov 4, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Call of Duty: Vanguard brings three distinctly different experiences to the table.