Call of Duty: Vanguard – Campaign Review

Played on Steam
14 hours campaign
6 hours multiplayer
Veteran difficulty
22/44 *broken achievements unlocked
Completed February 2026

I started with a few hours of multiplayer before jumping into the campaign. It was refreshing to use World War II era weapons with a surprisingly deep attachment system and familiar killstreak structure. Vanguard probably does the best job of modernizing WWII gunplay that I’ve experienced. In other WWII shooters, the weapons and attachment limitations sometimes make the gunplay feel dated. Here, the guns feel modern and responsive while still grounded in the era.

The campaign centers on a special forces team made up of members from different countries/fronts of WWII. Each mission dives into the backstory of a specific character and shows how they ended up fighting in the war. It reminded me a bit of Battlefield 1 and its war stories format.

This is clearly a well-made game, but it didn’t land for me the same way some of the other recent campaigns did. The story really wants you to connect with this team of misfit soldiers, but outside of the Russian sniper and her missions, not much truly stood out. After how much I enjoyed Sledgehammer’s WWII campaign, this one felt like a step back.

That said, the production quality is undeniably strong. The presentation, graphics, voice acting, and overall polish are solid throughout. Activision consistently invests heavily in their campaigns, and even when one doesn’t fully connect, the level of effort is obvious. Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer, and Raven all deserve credit for that. Not every campaign is a home run, but very few are outright bad.

One frustrating issue worth mentioning is the achievements on Steam. I know most players won’t care, but for completionists, several achievements are broken. Many of the ones that require completing a specific number of actions simply do not track properly. From what I’ve read, this has been an issue since launch. It’s not game breaking, but it is disappointing to put effort into mission-specific challenges only to find out later that they won’t unlock.

This isn’t the worst Call of Duty campaign, but it may be one of the most forgettable. If you’re craving a WWII setting, I would recommend going back to the excellent WWII campaign instead.

Overall, I’d give it a 6/10. Just okay in my eyes. Only buy this for $20 or less, and if you want to complete all of the COD campaigns.

Im one of the wired people who only play CoD for the Singleplayer.

Its fun, but not wort 60€, get it on sale.

its good and underrated