Back to basics.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 players are having a blast with the games new mode, Black Ops Classic. The new mode was released today as part of the game’s Season 4 update and brings some radical changes to the gameplay of Black Ops 7. The new limited-time mode strips out omnimovement, sliding, and simplifies the overall gameplay experience to be more akin to classic Black Ops games like Black Ops 1 and 2. Players also can’t use things like stims, an equippable that lets you immediately heal mid-battle.
“We wanted to get as close to a classic movement set (Black Ops 2 as a target) as we could, so Omnimovement, Wall Jump, and Slide are restricted in Black Ops Classic along with some additional feature restrictions,” said Black Ops 7 design director Matt Scronce on X.
The mode also limits players to maps from classic Black Ops titles, including Firing Range, Summit, Raid, Nuketown, and more. It’s by all intents and purposes Black Ops as you remember it, save for some changes to the visuals and different weapons.
So far, players seem to be really enjoying the old-school throwback.
“Black Ops Classic is exactly what Black Ops 7 should have been,” said one player, and they’re not alone.
Another player concurred, stating that the mode should remain in Black Ops 7: “Played one match of Black Ops Classic and yeah I’m gonna need this to be a permanent mode.”
“Very fun and fixes a ton of issues I have with BO7. Almost got a nuke,” said another fan.
Some are noting that the changes are so radical they’re having a hard time adjusting to them, because they’re so used to the controls of modern Call of Duty. As of right now, it remains to be seen whether or not this will actually drive players to the game. The mode comes eight months after Black Ops 7’s initial launch, and four months before the release of Modern Warfare 4 – which may mean it’s too little, too late for some players who bounced off the game in its earliest days.
The movement of Black Ops 7 has been a hot topic since its arrival, with some feeling like omnimovement and wall jumping overcomplicates the gameplay. More traditional movement, however, focuses on a player’s gun skills rather than their ability to dodge bullets by moving around like a lunatic.
Even if this mode doesn’t change the tides for Black Ops 7, the future is looking bright. We recently went hands-on with Modern Warfare 4’s multiplayer ahead of the game’s official reveal and had plenty of glowing things to say about it. Modern Warfare 4 won’t feature omnimovement, and will instead focus on fluid but more grounded movement.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.