Call of Duty Is Not Back

Overview

The speaker argues that Call of Duty is “not back” and never will return to what it once was. They claim the franchise has been fundamentally degraded by corporate greed, trend-chasing, and a loss of identity. In their view, modern CoD is less about quality game design or believable military storytelling and more about monetization and hype.

Key Criticisms and Claims

Corporatization and exploitation

• The video blames Activision’s business practices for scamming developers (citing 2009 as an early sign).
• Games are described as functioning like storefronts rather than standalone experiences.
• Critiques focus on overpriced microtransactions and battle passes.

Broken “grounded” promises

• The speaker rejects marketing claims that this year’s CoD will be grounded/realistic.
• They cite past examples they consider contradictory—such as unrealistic soldier appearances and stylized characters.

Writing and narrative collapse

• The speaker says CoD stories have remained consistently terrible.
• They expand the criticism to related shooters, most notably calling Battlefield’s campaign the “worst of all time.”

Loss of genre identity

• Modern CoD is described as no longer feeling like a military shooter.
• The tone is framed as closer to airsoft/arcade styling, with weapons used in visually appealing locations without consistent realism.

“Marvelification” and narcissism themes

• Campaigns are compared to superhero movies (specifically Marvel).
• Characters are portrayed as overly special “gun-fu” badasses, tied to a broader cultural shift toward narcissism.

Gameplay pacing and overload

• The gameplay is criticized as too constant and action-heavy:
  • frenetic fighting
  • “button-spamming”
  • lacking pacing and control

Realism vs. fan expectations

• Gun/weapon design and audio are called unrealistic or overly stylized (including “ADHD ASMR” type claims).
• The speaker mocks players who accept wacky cosmetics while still demanding “realism,” arguing that CoD markets itself as military—but behaves like a flexible, cosmetics-driven arcade shooter.

Fanbase polarization and hypocrisy

• The speaker mocks both camps:
  • those wanting CoD to be like Fortnite
  • those wanting it “tactical and grounded”
• They argue both sides misunderstand what “grounded” would actually require.
• They also criticize claims like “DMZ is so back,” saying the presentation looks misleading and spectator/stylized rather than authentic grounded gameplay.

Advice / Conclusion

The speaker’s takeaway is consumer-focused:

• Don’t buy the game
• Don’t pre-order
• Don’t reward the corporation financially

“Last Word” Comedic Dialogue

At the end, a comedic “last word” sequence is presented as dialogue, where one character repeatedly warns:

• “Do not pre-order”
• “hit delete”

They emphasize that the game “sucks,” encourage refunds, and refuse to purchase.

Presenters or Contributors

• The video appears to be voiced/commented on by a single unnamed speaker/creator (no other presenter names are provided in the subtitles).