Call of Duty: Vanguard: PS5 Review

Developed by Sledgehammer Games
Released by Activision
Platform: PS5

The annual Call of Duty release rumbles around once again - and collectively, most game reviewers wonder how to stave off the apathy of a series that's had as many highs and lows as a climber ascending to the top of the tallest mountain.

In the latest, the franchise takes a bit more of a step forward than its recent Cold War outing, thanks to a non-linear campaign that covers a lot of World War II.

Whereas we've been in World War II before for Call of Duty, this latest outing uses areas less visited by franchises before - such as Libya and Stalingrad to help set the scene. It also helps that some of the soldiers in the campaign are based on real figures, and moments that include racism feel like a capsule of the time writ large and horrifically within.

But the problem with Call of Duty: Vanguard is that really it offers little new in terms of mechanics to the core gaming, and to those who've endured every single annual release. It may look pretty on the next generation consoles, but it's a familiarity that dogs a lot of Call of Duty: Vanguard throughout.

Zombies mode feels lacklustre this time around, as the game rattles between locations, trapping you in some and giving you the chance to pick off various shambling shuffling undead monsters before sucking you back in time to rest and do it all again - there's a cloying sense of deja vu from this mode that makes it at times interminable and quite dull.

It's hard to recommend Call of Duty: Vanguard as a game for non fans of the series to jump into - it lacks the accessibility for all - and there just isn't enough of the newer edges to make it a stand out of the franchise this year. 

Still, depressingly, there's probably always next year's outing to look forward to.