Black Ops 6 Multiplayer review: Treyarch missed the bullseye

It's been some days since Black Ops 6 went live and I've had my fair share of experience in Multiplayer. After spending hours in the game, I'm probably more disappointed than ever. After the Beta ended, I wrote that the game was going to be "messy" but in a good way. However, it felt like the game went downhill even from the two beta weekends.

But, what went wrong? Black Ops 6 had all the potential to become one of the best Call of Duty in the franchise's history. The game had almost four years of development time. I played the Campaign, and it took my breath away. The gunplay is crisp in the Multiplayer, and the movement is new and different, but it's not as bad as Modern Warfare 2. Even the prestige system is back.

You might wonder why I'm still disappointed when I have so many good things to say. Black Ops 6 felt like a dish that had all the top ingredients, and the best chefs in the world, but in the end, the cooking was bland and tasteless. Yes, you heard it right.

One of the biggest reasons I'm saying this is because the game probably has the most terrible map layouts that I've come across in recent years of Call of Duty. Even the beta period had some good maps and some bad ones, but the newly added maps at launch are outright bad and if you have been playing Call of Duty like me since childhood, you'd wonder how Treyarch had made them after what we had in Black Ops 2.

It's not like the game is bad itself. There are so many good things I can say about it. However, it's all for nothing if you are unable to enjoy the game while playing. Keep on reading to see my verdict regarding Black Ops 6.

Black Ops 6's Omnimovement: Is it any good?

The biggest PR campaign that Call of Duty pushed was about the latest Omnimovement in Black Ops 6. It's a brand new movement mechanism that allows you to sprint and dive in any direction, very similar to the Max Payne series but with the arcade touch of Call of Duty.

But, is this movement a game-changer? After the Beta ended, I had high hopes regarding the brand-new movement mechanism as I was still trying to learn how it worked. After grabbing a fair grasp of what it is, it feels like a small gimmick.

Is Black Ops 6 Omnimovement any good? (Image via Activision)

The movement that we've seen since Modern Warfare (2019) always allowed players to do intelligent trickery to outplay the opponent. With Omnimovement, I thought that would be much much better. It is, for some time, but it's not consistent.

For instance, if I jump and slide, there is a long interval before I'm able to shoot properly. Another thing is that the tac-sprint is not consistent. To move faster in the game, I don't have to explain why having the tac-sprint is important. But, in Black Ops 6, it felt like they had nerfed it down due to some unknown reasons.

Although the ability to shoot enemies after sliding backward looks extremely cool, the overall feel is fluid. As I explained earlier, using the movement mechanism to your advantage in order to outplay your opponent is much better than before. I just wish it had some kind of consistency like in the previous games.

Also read, Black Ops 6 Beta first impression

Black Ops 6's gunplay is as smooth as it could get

Coming to the best part of the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer, the highly satisfying gunplay in Call of Duty is finally back after some years. Be it using an assault rifle, SMG, or the Sniper, every single weapon is extremely fluid and feels good to use. It kind of reminded me of the OG Call of Duty days, where every single kill felt rewarding.

If I had to be a little bit more specific, I was missing some good sniping in Call of Duty for years. The last time the sniping felt this good was back in 2020, when I had my Kar98k in my hand and my goal was to conquer Rebirth Island.

Black Ops 6 gun customization feels easier to use. (Image via Activision)

Black Ops 6 also has comparatively easier gun customization than the last two years. Although you can see detailed stats for each attachment, I prefer not to focus on too many statistics and make it simple. But I'm pretty sure some of our favorite YouTubers will bring the absolute best out of those stats and give us some crazy weapon loadouts for the rest of the year.

The recoil is easier to control in Black Ops 6. Although I'm a mouse and keyboard player and the recoil was never an issue, it still felt good. Weapon idle sway also felt a bit low, which gave better control in my opinion compared to last year. However, I need to go back to Modern Warfare 3 in order to check if it's true or not.

Truth be told, the gunplay in this game is so good that I don't want to go back to either Warzone or Modern Warfare 3 right now, and I'm waiting for Season 1 to drop.

Also read, Black Ops 6 "Emergence" mission walkthrough: How to complete and rewards

Black Ops 6 maps are probably some of the worst I've seen in recent years

Every single map in the game looks beautiful and the color tones are gorgeous as well. Even I could not believe that I was playing Multiplayer. Yes, the map looks that good. However, every good thing comes to an end, and that happened in Black Ops 6 with its terrible map design.

Some areas in the Red Card map do not make any sense. (Image via Activision)

The latest addition, Red Card, is a 6v6 core map in Black Ops 6, which I think should be a POI for the next Warzone map. It felt like I was back in Verdansk's stadium with a more complicated layout. If I'm playing modes like Kill Confirmed or Team Deathmatch, it's hard to keep track of enemies and coordinate with your teammates, especially if you've matched with random players.

Furthermore, the map has a massive open space in the hallway, which felt unnecessary for a 6v6 core map. Any player with a sniper or an assault rifle with a range would dominate this ground, which would rule out fair play.

Although most of my friends hated Babylon, I felt it was a pretty fun map for XP boost and camo grind. In my opinion, this map actually had good verticality, unlike Derelict and Rewind. If Black Ops 6 never releases a shipment of their own, I'd be happy to play Babylon for the rest of the seasons.

One of the biggest dissatisfying moments in some of the maps is specific entry points. Skyline and Stakeout—these are the two maps with the aforementioned problem. There is a place near the balcony in Stakeout where you could take a sniper and camp the entire map and get the most kills at the same time.

There is no alternate way for you to push that place, as it lacks innovation. This is not the same case for Skyline, as it is a core map. However, the straight corridor on the first floor is also very similar, and with the inconsistency in Omnimovement, it was a hard time for me as a run-and-gun player.

The Pit feels congested in Black Ops 6. (Image via Activision)

As for Pit, I'd rather not say anything. If you constantly spam Flashbang, you'd rarely be able to see what's going on in the map. It feels congested and suffocating. I really wish Treyarch would bring out some maps with innovation in the post-launch content. Because I really loved the gunplay and the visual fidelity. The attention to detail was also breathtaking for a Multiplayer.

Also read, Liberty Falls main quest Easter Egg guide for Black Ops 6 Zombies

Black Ops 6 doesn't add any innovative modes either

Except for Kill Order, there isn't anything new in Black Ops 6 right now. I liked the mode in the beta weekends, and I still like it now. The idea of adding an HVT in a team deathmatch is pretty fun.

However, there are no new modes to explore as of my time of writing. With some maps being unnecessarily big, I'd love Search and Destroy to be back in the game. I'm also eagerly waiting for Prop Hunt to be back in Black Ops 6. That might change my mind about how I felt regarding the maps in the game.

Kill Order in Black Ops 6 is good, but nothing extraordinary. (Image via Activision)

Right now, the game is still in preseason. Season 1 for Black Ops 6 launches on November 14. Hence, giving any verdict regarding the game modes would be unfair. Although I did expect something like Ground War in the game as well. Although it became a Modern Warfare thing in the last couple of years, it is still fun, and it would have been nice to play the mode with Black Ops 6 gunplay and graphics.

Also read, How long will Black Ops 6 be on Xbox Game Pass?

Black Ops 6 graphics and optimization—this is what I asked for

Two things in Black Ops 6 where I'm more than impressed are the graphics and the optimization in the game. I have a fairly decent system with an RTX 3060 TI graphics card.

However, I have had numerous problems in the past with Call of Duty when it comes to optimization. I had to decrease the visual fidelity in order to maximize the FPS in the game. However, that is not the case with Black Ops 6.

Black Ops 6 looks beautiful! (Image via Activision)

The graphics in the game made my jaw drop instantly. Although Call of Duty has been graphically superior for a very long time, I was missing a color tone that matched my preference. Be it in shadows or light, the game felt vibrant, and every single frame made my inner child scream his lungs out.

Modern Warfare 3 did a pretty decent job last year as well, but I wanted COD to look this beautiful for a long time. It seems like finally, Activision has listened to my heart, and I'm more than happy.

Moving operator in the lobby in back in Black Ops 6. (Image via Activision)

One more thing that I forgot to add: the intense operator walking lobby is back. It felt so better after seeing the basic lobby screen for two straight years. I do have one complaint though.

Black Ops 6 doesn't let you have different settings for Campaign and Multiplayer. I don't remember if that was the case for the past Call of Duty titles, but it felt pretty annoying as I was playing the Campaign at the same time and maxed my settings out during the story mode. Hopefully, this can be fixed in an upcoming update, but I'm pretty sure I'll be done with the Campaign by then.

Also read, How to play split-screen in Black Ops 6

Black Ops 6 audio—is it a game changer?

One of the saddest parts is I could not find the Enhanced Headphone Mode, which I had been hearing before the launch of the game. However, compared to previous Call of Duty titles, Black Ops 6's audio felt like an improvement.

The footsteps are pretty clear, and the additional noises are lower than usual. However, focusing on footsteps in traditional Multiplayer mode was never a priority for me. I'd be able to understand how good it is when Warzone gets integrated with Black Ops 6.

In conclusion

I do realize that I treated Black Ops 6 harshly in this review, and it probably doesn't deserve criticism like this. However, after the beta, I had my expectations set, and it didn't reach what I anticipated. Meanwhile, both the Campaign and Zombies mode felt like one of the best Call of Duty titles in many years.

I'd even keep the Black Ops 6 Campaign right after the OG Modern Warfare 2. If you are a COD aficionado, you'd understand how highly I'm ranking the game then. However, this review is about the Multiplayer, and I genuinely expected more.

The spawns in the game have gotten better compared to what we experienced in beta. However, in strike maps, it's not always good. Black Ops 6's attention to detail, complex movement mechanism, and gunplay clearly showcase that the developers have poured their hearts and souls into the game, but as a player who spends most of his time playing Call of Duty, the maps really felt off.

Last year, the Modern Warfare 3 developer added some amazing Multiplayer maps in the post-launch content, and I'm hoping that Treyarch would do the same. This game is just one step behind becoming one of the best Call of Duty of all time, but that step is a big leap forward.