MW4 Campaign Early Reviews Are In: Critics Call It a Return to Form

The verdict on Modern Warfare 4's story is starting to come in, and it's a lot warmer than anyone expected. Campaign Early Access went live on October 16 for everyone who digitally pre-ordered, and the first wave of in-progress reviews is calling it one of the strongest Call of Duty campaigns in years. Kotaku's roundup sums it up as "a return to form if not to Call of Duty's heyday."

What you're getting

According to Activision's announcement, the campaign runs across 16 missions set on the Korean Peninsula and in Paris, New York and Mumbai. You play Private Park Hyun Jun as his squad fights a full-scale invasion of Korea, while John Price, now an outlaw, hunts the person behind it. Kotaku puts the runtime at roughly six hours.

Early access covers the Standard Digital and Vault Editions on Xbox Series X|S, PC (Xbox, Battle.net and Steam), PS5 and Switch 2. Finishing missions unlocks rewards for launch, including operators, calling cards and Double XP tokens. For the full setup, see our MW4 Campaign Early Access guide.

What critics are saying

There are no scored reviews yet. As Kotaku notes, outlets are holding their final verdicts until they've spent proper time with multiplayer and DMZ. The impressions so far, as quoted by Kotaku:

• GameSpot says the campaign "ranks as the best we've seen since Modern Warfare 2019."
• IGN says it "made me feel something for the series again" and singles out a huge mission that plays like "Korea's answer to D-Day."
• PC Gamer calls it "the most fun I've had with a Call of Duty campaign in years," crediting the young South Korean marines at its core.
• Destructoid says it could go down as "one of the better options in the series."

Players seem to agree. Windows Central reports that Steam user reviews were sitting at 82% "Very Positive" when it published.

The catch: a rushed finale?

The praise isn't unanimous. PC Gamer called the story "more like a sprint to be done with it all" for a game billed as the end of the saga that began in 2019. PlayDayOne said Mads Mikkelsen's role feels "a bit undercooked," and GamesRadar wished Infinity Ward would "let me off the leash a little."

Switch 2 holds up

If you're playing on Nintendo's console, IGN's hands-on found the campaign locked at 30fps at 4K while docked, with multiplayer targeting 60fps. The textures are far flatter than on PC or PS5, but IGN said the port, built by Digital Legends, held steady through the story's most hectic moments. It's the first mainline CoD on a Nintendo platform since Ghosts in 2013.

What's next

Infinity Ward's official roadmap has a busy few weeks ahead, as Insider Gaming also reported:

• Oct 20: DMZ Early Access for digital pre-orders (details)
• Oct 23: Full launch with multiplayer
• Oct 27: Shipment returns
• Nov 6: Season 1 for MW4 and Warzone (full roadmap)

Scored reviews should land once multiplayer and DMZ open up. If the campaign is any sign, Modern Warfare's reboot is going out on a high note.