Five days before release, the first scores for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 are rolling in. Early Access for the campaign started this week, and many publications have released their impressions. The official launch follows on October 23, 2026, including on the Switch 2. A review round-up from Nintendo Life shows how critics are rating the story campaign.
How Well Is the Modern Warfare 4 Campaign Being Received?
Overall, the reception is positive. Reviewers are calling it one of the best campaigns in the series, with one critic even dubbing it the „greatest Call of Duty campaign ever made“. GameSpot awarded it 7 out of 10 points. One reviewer considers it the best campaign since 2019's Modern Warfare, while another praises the saga for ending „on a high note“, even if it doesn't quite reach the heights of the franchise's absolute classics.
Particular praise is directed at the grand cinematic set-pieces, the performances, and the moral complexity of the story. While PC Gamer hasn't yet given a score, they speak of having the most fun with a Call of Duty campaign in years. GamesRadar's review also highlights the presentation.
What Are the Criticisms of the Campaign?
The campaign isn't entirely without flaws. Several testers criticize a rather rigid mission design with little room for maneuver. Missions are mostly linear, accompanied by AI squadmates who guide you through operations. Gaming Trend, however, praises the pacing and variety, including an open level section.
- Scope: 16 story missions, approximately 6 to 8 hours depending on playstyle and secret hunting
- Structure: predominantly linear missions with grand set-pieces
- Onboarding: A roughly two-minute recap brings newcomers up to speed on the story
- Conclusion: According to reviews, MW4 concludes the ongoing saga
What Do the Reviews Mean for Multiplayer and DMZ?
Important: These scores only cover the campaign so far. Many publications are conducting their tests „in progress“, and final scores for the complete package, including Multiplayer and the DMZ extraction mode, will only arrive once the rest of the game goes live. Therefore, players who primarily focus on online play should not interpret the campaign scores as a definitive judgment on the entire game. You can find more about the launch times in our overview of Early Access, DMZ launch, and release times.
How Does Modern Warfare 4 Run on Switch 2?
Nintendo players can also look forward to the launch. Nintendo Life plans to deliver its own Switch 2 review. We've already covered how the campaign performs on the handheld in our report: According to Nintendo Life, the campaign runs surprisingly well.
From our perspective, this is a strong signal for the release: A campaign that convinces even critical voices is not a given for Call of Duty. However, whether the complete package holds up will only be decided after October 23.
Source: Nintendo Life
Have you played the campaign yet? Let us know in the comments if you agree with the scores!
Comments (0)
No comments yet — be the first to share your take.