Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is arguably one of the most anticipated games of the franchise in the last half-decade. Not only does it mark the return of developer Treyarch at the helm but it also features the longest development cycle in franchise history, with four years between it and its predecessor Black Ops Cold War. Given Treyarch’s track record and the Black Ops series’ consistent high quality, there’s likely pretty high expectations for this latest entry. I got to try out the multiplayer early access beta for Black Ops 6 and it was a mostly enjoyable experience, save for some technical issues.
The biggest feature that people will first experience in Black Ops 6 is the new omnidirectional movement system, which lets you sprint, dive, and slide in any direction. This opens up a ton of options for players for tackling engagements. You can choose to slide or dive into the fray to surprise your opponents, forcing them to suddenly adjust their aim lest you shoot them down before they do. It also allows you to quickly get out of fire or position yourself in a more advantageous spot when enemies are trying to gun or chase you down.
The omnidirectional movement system makes gameplay feel smoother and potential engagements more adaptable, allowing for a more dynamic experience. It’s a great addition to Call of Duty’s signature fast-paced gameplay, which is by and large still very present in this latest iteration. Shooting guns and landing hits feel satisfying, gunshots and explosions are impactful, and scoring kills feel rewarding.
The early access beta included a total of six maps, and six game modes. Four of those maps and game modes were part of the core rotation while the other two maps were part of the two Face Off game modes. The maps were all relatively small, with the two Face Off maps being the smallest, which allowed for almost constant engagements. Even in the larger maps, it usually only takes a few seconds before you spot or run into an opponent or two.
The maps did feel mostly balanced, with mostly equal layouts that flowed pretty well. The exception to this is SCUD, which was skewed towards players that took advantage of the elevated platform located on one side. The small maps also sometimes led to weird enemy spawn locations, such as right behind your current position. Although that’s something that Treyarch will likely fix.
The weapons were also pretty balanced, save for the Jackal PDW. The new submachine gun feels like a must-have in any loadout thanks to its power, stability, and versatility that can outshine most any other gun in the game. But like the weird spawn locations, Treyarch will most likely nerf the Jackal PDW before the game’s launch. Additionally, the small maps made sniper rifles pretty niche, as most sight lines were relatively short.
Performance-wise, the game ran pretty well on my system (which includes an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and an AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT) at 1440p on the Extreme preset, averaging around 120-140 FPS. I could probably get even more if I adjusted the graphical settings further. I did run into some technical issues during my time with the game. I sometimes had to deal with the game crashing when I tried to boot it up. I also got stuck on a black loading screen several times. Both issues will likely be fixed by the time the game releases.
Overall, my experience with the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 early access beta was pretty enjoyable. Current fans of the franchise as well as those returning to get back into the Black Ops series may find the experience feeling simultaneously familiar and new. The signature fast-paced Call of Duty gunplay that fans have enjoyed for years is still very present while the new omnidirectional movement system provides another layer of gameplay that pushes and expands the gameplay even further.