Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s Campaign Reviews Are In, and Critics Are Largely Impressed
Critics have started weighing in on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s campaign, and the early verdict is one of the warmest the rebooted series has gotten in years. With the campaign already playable in early access for digital pre-order customers and the full launch arriving on October 23, outlets including IGN, GameSpot, GamesRadar and PC Gamer have published their reviews and review-in-progress pieces, and most of them like what Infinity Ward has built around Captain Price’s hunt for Vladimir Makarov.
Scores Are Trending Up for the Reboot
IGN landed on an 8 out of 10, and its reviewer says the campaign made them feel something for the series again. GameSpot scored it 7 out of 10 and says the campaign “ranks as the best we’ve seen since Modern Warfare 2019,” pointing to the pacing and a structure that alternates between two storylines and points of view. GamesBeat hasn’t published an overall game score yet, but its campaign-specific rating lands at 4.5 out of 5, with the reviewer noting that the more open-world stretches of the game slow its pace compared to the series’ usual set-piece rhythm.
“Modern Warfare 4 made me feel something for the series again.”
IGN
Infinity Ward’s campaign follows a fugitive Captain Price as he hunts Vladimir Makarov while a new war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula.
Plenty of Praise, With a Few Shared Complaints
Outlets that haven’t assigned a score yet are broadly positive too, though several share the same reservations. GamesRadar, reviewing under a work-in-progress label since only the campaign was available ahead of launch, calls it “a confident cinematic shooter” that brings the rebooted trilogy to a satisfying conclusion, while flagging rigid mission design and restrictive scripting as the drawbacks that threaten to spoil the fun. PC Gamer strikes a similar note, writing that for once the campaign “does not feel like the afterthought” next to multiplayer and Warzone. GamingTrend keeps it brief, saying Modern Warfare 4 simply “continues that trend” of consistently strong Modern Warfare campaigns.
Nintendo Life’s early look focuses specifically on the Nintendo Switch 2 version, praising the campaign as a fun “popcorn game” even on the hybrid hardware, though it notes the handheld presentation makes some of the tighter corridor sections feel even more cramped. No outlet so far has found a reason to steer players away from the campaign, and the open beta weekends held earlier this year already gave a preview of how the multiplayer side is shaping up.
When You Can Play It
Campaign early access began on October 16 for anyone who pre-ordered digitally, and the full release, including multiplayer and Zombies, follows on October 23 across Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC and Nintendo Switch 2. If you need a refresher on how Price ended up a fugitive hunting Makarov after Modern Warfare III, Gamersuniverse’s Modern Warfare story recap covers everything that happened before this campaign picks up, and our open beta recap has the details on the multiplayer side.
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Picture Source: Activision (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4)
