Call of Duty: Vanguard (PS5) Review

Oh how we’ve missed it.

by Rik Henderson
MSRP: £69.99
7
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

Call of Duty: Vanguard (PS5) Review

This Call of Duty won’t win many prizes for originality, especially when it comes to multiplayer, but what you get is an accomplished outing that proves why an occasional return to World War II is a necessity. The visuals especially are impressive, with 4K60 and even 120Hz gaming on the table. We’d have liked the campaign to be an hour or two longer, but can’t grumble over the fun it provides regardless.

The Good

  • A fun campaign with plenty of variety
  • Nice characterisation and voice acting
  • WW2 weapons feel tangible
  • Plenty of multiplayer maps at launch
  • Excellent visual presentation

The Bad

  • A bit same old, same old
  • Campaign could do with being longer
  • Multiplayer needs a lot of tweaking
  • Some graphical glitches and AI issues at launch

Overview

The Call of Duty franchise has been running almost yearly since 2003 – a staggering feat really – with 18 main games coming before this outing. But in that time, only four of them have been based during World War II, even though the series always seems synonymous with the conflict.

In fact, there have been more releases in the Black Ops and Modern Warfare arcs respectively, with five apiece.

Finally however, we get a fifth WWII title too, with Vanguard returning to COD’s roots - the battlefields of the 1940s. And, oh how we’ve missed it.

... a varied, interesting six to eight-hour campaign that is choc-full of glorious set pieces

It’s not perfect, for reasons we’ll get to, but getting to once again tread the streets, jungles and trenches of the period is a joy. And, thanks to a campaign that jumps between locations, it can even be argued that it offers more than ever before.

That starts with the characters. There are several different members of the eponymous Vanguard, with four that you get to play as, both in flashbacks and through a large endgame scenario. Each has different skills including, but not limited to, scurrying through ventilation shafts, and being able to pinpoint enemies you cannot see. Their respective missions play out slightly differently as a result, with multiple strategies and gameplay styles to consider.

Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty: Vanguard - Back in the WWII scrap

This makes for a varied, interesting six to eight-hour campaign that is choc-full of glorious set pieces (you even get to partake in a plane dogfight at one point). It naturally all feels very Call of Duty, but also, at least, attempts something a little different. The story is well-told, if a little cliched, and the voice and motion capture acting is excellent – especially from Dominic Monaghan (Lost, Lord of the Rings) as Nazi officer Jannick Richter.

And, oh how we’ve missed it

Most of all, it’s great fun. There are issues with some of the enemy artificial intelligence and a few bugs and glitches here and there, but it mostly stands up very well – not least because it’s the best-looking COD yet – and is satisfying from the first scene to the last.

Perhaps less innovative are the multiplayer modes. They too are fun but about as paint by numbers as you get. Plus, there were some technical issues at the time of writing that made it hard, at times, to hear opponent’s footsteps, or the odd bug here or there that gave other indications that an enemy was placed somewhere they weren’t.

... less innovative are the multiplayer modes

Still, there are plenty of maps at launch, while the added zombie mode is a hoot. So there’s plenty of re-playability even after the campaign is a long distant memory.

Graphics

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Call of Duty: Vanguard lies in its presentation. The graphics are simply superb – easily the best of the series so far.

Scenes are filled with volumetrics (smoke and fog), crisp details and great explosion effects that make the best use of HDR we’ve seen. We played on PlayStation 5, so can’t comment on last-gen machines, but the 4K 60fps standard mode looks great. There are a few noticeable frame drops at times, but they are few and far between. They may even be patched out by the time you’re reading this.

Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty: Vanguard - great use of HDR

The 2160p resolution can drop a little during the more intensive battles – thanks to dynamic resolution techniques, we suspect – but you’ll barely notice.

One weird thing though is that the campaign is interspersed with both in-game pre-rendered sequences and, separately, cinematic cut scenes. The former drops to 30fps when entered, so is somewhat jarring, while the cut scenes are different again – 24fps for a more filmic quality. It’s an odd design decision to keep chopping and changing, but there you go.

... it’s the best-looking COD yet

Like Cold War, Vanguard on PS5 and Xbox Series X (even Series S) benefits from a 120Hz option. This naturally drops the resolution a touch – the exact amount dependent on the machines – but does offer an excellently smooth experience with relatively few issues.

The frame rate does bounce around a bit, but you barely notice as it’s so high anyway. And, if you own a TV with variable refresh rate (VRR) technology, you’re laughing.

Audio

As with previous Call of Duty games, the soundtrack and effects are as cinematic as they come. We’re especially keen on the weaponry audio – they sound as good to fire as they feel. We’ve been told by a couple of WWII experts we know that not all of them are particularly accurate, but they do sound the part when it comes to sheer entertainment.

Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty: Vanguard - Aerial dogging... err... dogfighting, sorry.

The bombastic musical score is great too – although think action-flick more than Dunkirk. Like many games these days, you get to choose the format of your audio setup in the options. This will determine the dynamic range offered to your system (or headphones). There’s also a night mode for when you don’t want to wake up the rest of the family.

Conclusion

Call of Duty: Vanguard (PS5) Review

Call of Duty: Vanguard doesn’t break the mould or set new groundwork, but it does show that WWII could be a regular playground once again. It might even set the stall for a new tri-annual series to run alongside Modern Warfare and Black Ops.

... it can even be argued that it offers more than ever before

Multiplayer is, perhaps, its biggest disappointment. It’s as standard a fare as it comes, but there’s still a load of enjoyment there for COD fans and at least there’s content a-plenty from the off. While zombies mode is a blast – both literally and figuratively.

We do wish the campaign was a little longer, but what you do get is decent fun from beginning to end, with plenty of big moments worthy of a theatre release. And, it’s almost worth it for the visual feast anyway, including the impressive 120Hz mode.

Scores

Gameplay

.
.
.
7

Graphics

.
9

Audio

.
.
8

Longevity

.
.
.
7

Overall

.
.
.
7

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The games console used in this review was kindly supplied by our gaming partner Smyths Toys Gaming, the No.1 choice for next-gen Gaming


7
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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