Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

The PlayStation 5 version is the technologically most powerful release of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and symbolically accompanied the console right at its launch – in Europe it released on November 19, 2020, only a few days after the PS5's European launch. Content-wise it's the same game as on PS4: a campaign with a branching story set in 1981, in which a custom CIA agent alongside Alex Mason, Frank Woods, and Jason Hudson hunts for the Soviet agent Perseus, plus the complete multiplayer and the Zombies mode with the Die Maschine map. The game comes from studio Treyarch together with Raven Software, which was responsible mainly for the game's online component.

The next-gen version benefits mainly from the power of the new hardware: it supports higher resolution and frame rates up to 120 frames per second, significantly shorter loading times thanks to a fast SSD drive, and haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on the DualSense controller, which players will feel, for example, when firing different weapons or moving through the environment. It also supports Tempest 3D AudioTech spatial sound for more precise localization of enemies by footsteps and gunfire. The game also supports cross-generation progress sharing with the PS4 version, so players don't lose unlocked content when moving to the new console, and large-scale modes such as Fireteam or Combined Arms run here with the full player count, without the limitations the older-generation version faces.

Just like the PS4 version, the PS5 edition also had early access to the multiplayer beta ahead of Xbox and PC thanks to the partnership with Sony. Shortly after release, the game linked up with the battle royale mode Warzone, which on PS5 also ran with improved technical quality, supporting the same next-gen features as the campaign itself.

Black Ops Cold War also loosely continues the story of the first Black Ops from 2010 and references its characters and key plotlines around the MKUltra program, so players familiar with the previous entries will find plenty of narrative connections. The player community particularly appreciated the smooth 120 frames-per-second performance and fast loading thanks to the SSD drive.

Why play it: For fans of the first Black Ops from 2010, Cold War offers plenty of narrative connections around the MKUltra program, on PS5 further complemented by a smooth 120 frames per second and fast loading thanks to the SSD.