Battle Royales have become the most popular genre in gaming today. Games like Apex Legends, Fortnite, and PUBG have gained widespread popularity and are among the most played titles.
Call of Duty also has its own Battle Royale experience, COD: Warzone, which has been a huge success. However, before Warzone, there was COD: Blackout, a Battle Royale game that paved the way for Warzone’s success.
Key Takeaways
- Released as a separate game mode for Black Ops 4, COD: Blackout had the potential to be a great game with its simplistic design and focus on Battle Royale aspects.
- COD: Blackout had a better gameplay design and visual style than the popular COD Battle Royale game, Warzone.
- Due to a lack of crossplay and not being free to play, the game couldn’t appeal to a wider audience and had a short life.
COD: Blackout was released as a separate game mode for COD Black Ops 4. Despite its relatively short lifespan, players were generally satisfied with its content and gameplay. If COD: Blackout were still active today, it could have been the best Battle Royale game.
Same Ol’ COD We Love
Call of Duty is renowned for its exhilarating and chaotic gameplay and combat. COD: Blackout delivered the same gameplay that fans love about the series.
Its gameplay was similar to Black Ops 4, allowing players to feel at home with minimal time to adjust to the Battle Royale mode. On top of that, it provided the same multiplayer experience but on a larger map with more players, creating a great Battle Royale experience for fans.
The addition of gadgets like grappling hooks introduced more ways to play. Using these gadgets with the classic Black Ops gameplay felt refreshing.
I always loved grappling with a moving car and jumping into the passenger seat to eliminate the driver. It gave me a sense of performing something stylish while also providing the thrill of battle.
Better Than It’s Descendents
Many Call of Duty series fans agree that COD: Blackout had more potential than the current COD Battle Royale games. The classic Black Ops gameplay was always well-received, and with the current gameplay design, fans now wish for the return of the combat style of previous titles more than ever.
The new Warzone removed essential movement mechanics like slide canceling to favor newer players. After complaints from high-level players and content creators, the developers took time to bring what the fans desired. This wasn’t the case with COD: Blackout since it already had a gameplay design that fans loved.
COD: Blackout may not have been as serious and gritty as previous titles, but it retained the gritty feeling of the Black Ops series. Warzone, these days, has become too cartoonish, making it difficult to take the game’s themes seriously. In COD: Blackout, I was always immersed in the game due to its design, while Warzone feels closer to Fortnite than a traditional COD game.
Another major issue with Warzone is that the visuals are not clear, making it tough for players to find and track enemies during combat. In COD: Blackout, the colors are vibrant and everything is clear. Players can easily aim at enemies without being obstructed by environmental effects. Despite its vibrant and bright colors, COD: Blackout still conveyed a sense of being in a life-or-death situation.
Simplicity At It’s Best
Battle Royale games these days are becoming increasingly complex. While this works for some games like Apex Legends, most have not been successful. COD: Blackout was mechanically simple, emphasizing the battle royale aspects and strategic decisions.
I always appreciated the simplicity of COD: Blackout. Although gadgets like grappling hooks and barricades could feel less traditional, you never felt overwhelmed by complex mechanics and abilities during the game. Even if you lost, it could be a reason for bad positioning or inaccurate aim, not due to the complicated mechanics that other games have.
Even with some unique additions the game felt like a traditional Battle Royal Experience. The suspenseful and intense moments of being in the top 10 or top 5 increase when you realize there are many ways to deal with different situations and to be ready for anything. This ability to adapt and think strategically makes a great battle royale game and COD: Blackout perfectly executes these elements.
Time To Move On
The game failed because it was not free-to-play like Warzone and lacked crossplay, which is essential for any multiplayer game today. Initially, it also had an unbalanced meta that heavily favored close-range combat, leaving players who preferred sniping at a disadvantage against aggressive close-range weapons.
Despite the issues, COD: Blackout was highly esteemed, with many believing it had the potential to become the next big thing. Unfortunately, it fell short of its fans’ expectations.
COD: Blackout is now defunct and unlikely to return. However, we can only hope that with the upcoming Black Ops 6, developers learn from COD: Blackout and strive to reintroduce the nostalgic gameplay of previous Black Ops titles into their Battle Royale games.
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Talha is a games guide writer at VeryAli Gaming. He’s an expert in crafting guides based on walkthroughs and provide helpful tips and fixed to the readers. He loves to play AAA Titles like Starfield, Armored Core 6, God of War Ragnarok. Talha being a Computer Science student knows nits and bits of Gaming and error fixing. If you find yourself stuck at any point in the game Talha is your guy. Do check Talha’s Steam to learn more about his recent adventures.
