Call of Duty is one of, if not the most popular gaming franchises in the world. Ever since the first Call of Duty was released back in 2003, people have been waiting each year for a new title. For some reason, players can’t seem to get enough of it.
While the game design and story of the Call of Duty universe as a whole are certainly exceptional, some titles in the series were subpar at best. Almost hated by everyone, these handful of games in the fan-favorite series were plagued by micro-transactions, bad game design, or simply a lackluster story.
Talk to any Call of Duty fans, and you’ll likely get a long discussion on the title they love the most. But we’re not here to talk about the best ones in the series. Instead, we’ll take a look at some of the worst Call of Duty games that have ever been released. Let’s get started.
5 Worst Call of Duty Games
Here is our pick for the five worst Call of Duty games of all time in no particular order:
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare had a lot of potential. Its over-the-top, flashy futuristic elements set in a futuristic America could have made it one of the best Call of Duty games out there. Unfortunately, the exosuits introduced in the game did more harm than good. Fans of the genre felt that they made the game less Call of Duty and more of a generic sci-fi shooter.
The jump boost and wall-running systems in the game provided a lot of verticality and mobility options. But they also felt gimmicky and made the combat weird. The fact that the game’s storyline was also one of the worst in the series didn’t help. Kevin Spacey was phenomenal in his role, but the game just had too many flaws for the players to overlook.
Call of Duty: Ghosts
When it launched, Call of Duty: Ghosts was extremely disappointing and infuriated a lot of old-school fans. The story lacked the real depth that these games are known for. There wasn’t any intensity, and the characters felt shallow and impersonal. The multiplayer mode also had confusing maps and balance issues, which made it frustrating to play.
They also added a squads mode, which was fun for a while but got boring quickly. For the time, the graphics were also underwhelming. Simply put, most players felt they were ripped off with this one.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered
While the original Modern Warfare will go down in history as one of the best Call of Duty games of all time, the remastered version failed to do it justice. It wasn’t that the game was too different from the original. The main issue people had with it was how the developers released it.
First, they added a loot box system to the game, which caused many players to think of it as Activision’s greed. The classic maps also got changed, which didn’t sit well with most fans of the original. They also added some new weapons through loot boxes that were simply overpowered, making it difficult for free-to-play players to enjoy the game.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty games aren’t like traditional shooters, where the gameplay gets stale after a while. The game constantly finds ways to keep the players engaged and on the edge of their seats, whether it’s through interesting twists in the story or ingenious gameplay elements.
Call of Duty: Vanguard, however, failed miserably in that regard. The game had one of the poorest campaigns in the series, and the gameplay became repetitive after a few hours. The World War II setting wasn’t exciting at all, and the multiplayer mode had bad map designs and unbalanced gameplay features. Even the Zombies mode, which almost every Call of Duty game did well, was downright horrible in this iteration of the game.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
With Infinite Warfare, Activision tried to push the futuristic style once more, and again, they were met with a lot of criticism. On paper, the main campaign set in space did sound fun and exciting. However, on release, it was a severe disappointment for most fans.
Besides, the game’s advanced movement systems made playing extremely complex. They also pushed the loot box system to the maximum limit, which didn’t sit right with the community. Infinite Warfare did have one redeeming quality. For all its flaws, the Zombie mode in this game is one of the best out there.
Call of Duty has a rich history in gaming. Considering the franchise has many different titles, it’s natural to mess up once or twice. Despite a few blunders, it remains one of the most popular game series in the world. And when the next Call of Duty game comes out, fans will certainly be waiting to see what the devs think up next!
