Infinity Ward is back again with yet another entry in the Modern Warfare series and I got the chance to play the Closed Beta. After a few hours with hands on the sticks, it’s clear the studio is trying to have it both ways. Modern Warfare 4 is gunning for a grounded and gritty approach that made Modern Warfare 2019 so beloved while also chasing the dynamic and breakneck-pace that fans applauded Black Ops 6 for.
As someone who has been one of the most casual Call of Duty players, I was pulled back into the franchise by Black Ops 6’s revitalized design ethos with the new omni-directional movement system as well as the campaign’s considered and mature writing from Raven. While I skipped Black Ops 7 entirely due to its lukewarm reception, from the first moments I saw MW4’s trailer, I knew I wanted to at least give it the ol’ college try. With Korea as a fresh new setting in what’s sure to be a cinematic campaign featuring grounded characters, Modern Warfare 4 was calling my name like no previous title during the Xbox era.
Movement is the Star of the Show
Movement appears to be the headliner for changes Infinity Ward has made to this sequel. Omni-directional movement and wall jumping of the most recent entries are gone and it seems that Infinity Ward has decided to split the difference between the two and sprinkled in some of the grounded tactics from Modern Warfare 2019 into Modern Warfare 4. The beta opened with a mobility course which tutorializes the new movement systems for players before dropping them into a match. The Mobility Course walks players through mantling, wall climbing, ledge hangs and a brand new Supine Slide. It shows they’re committed to this new system and I, for one, am pretty warm on the updated movement package overall. It isn’t out of place because of how fluid and intuitive each movement felt and created this sense of emergent gameplay which allowed me to express myself tactically in a variety of modes the beta had to offer.
Speed and directionality have been retained and Infinity Ward is asking the players to take a more tactical, methodical approach to their movements which will force you to commit to positioning and timing. A new addition to the movement package allows players to climb on pipes and ledges. You can even slow peek over a gripped ledge or platform with your sidearm to make a nasty kill from cover. All these changes put together culminate in a multiplayer experience that feels interesting and unique. That’s not something you can say for most Call of Duty titles.
A Change in Tempo but a Familiar Beat
Gunplay is overall familiar in Modern Warfare 4, but they’ve made some tweaks under the hood. Firefights are certainly a good deal more manageable than in Modern Warfare III. Footsteps are startlingly loud and muzzle flash isn’t going to wash out your sightlines as much. Time-to-kill is still blisteringly fast for myself, but I’m sure for most accomplished players, it sits in a comfortable middle-ground that rewards position and patience over pure twitch reflexes.
Apex weapon attachments are back and seated within the Gunsmith system which offers an additional layer of complexity and customization on top of the usual dizzying array of attachments. I experimented with only a handful of guns that are unlocked through grinding the beta, so it’ll be tough to tell whether or not the new metas offer meaningful change or just more menus for players to sift through.
The beta certainly isn’t lacking scope. They’re offering genuine value to the diehard fanbase who secured their pre-orders. Infinity Ward launched with four modes familiar to most players: Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, and Kill Confirmed. So far, I’ve experienced four of the 12 planned maps including Cachette, Rooftops, Silkworm and Transit 213 – with Silkworm, a Seoul-inspired city district – being my personal favorite. The tasteful neon lighting with the cool color palette on the surrounding cityscape immediately gave me Night City vibes. The structure of Silkworm is surprisingly well conceived with looping streets, well placed cover and easily defendable central structures that made every Deathmatch and Domination lobby feel different. Transit 213 offers multilane bloodbath shooting sprees while Cachette and Rooftops provide distinct levels of verticality and plenty of back alleys and hallways that reward players who engage with the new movement system to flank the opposing team and secure additional kills.
There’s also a few new modes featured during the beta. Inflation allows players to hunt down enemies to secure a cash bounty for every kill. The team with the most money at the end wins. It’s basically Kill Confirmed but with an economy attached that offers a distinctly battle royale-like level of chaos in the final thirty seconds as squads scramble to secure cash. Kill Block creates a modular gunfight arena that procedurally generates new layouts between every round. It’s undoubtedly their most experimental swing with 3v3 and 10v10 variants available but I do wonder if the mode is more of a novelty longtime fans will quickly shy away from.
An Apéritif with More to Come
Something new to this beta which we’ve never seen before is the ability to play one campaign mission. Entrenched is an early level that feels like a brief yet diegetic approach to tutorializing this new movement system while you fight alongside a team of infantry to secure a high-stakes objective. I really enjoyed my time with it, and while I was hoping to get a little more downtime to ascertain a better sense of the characters like Jae and Dunn, I realize this is more of a tech demo than something that will pull you deeper into the story.
This mission certainly does not have the most original of starts. I found myself wondering if it is realistic to have trench warfare in 2026, but it is sleek and polished with a surprisingly solid score that gave me a sense of urgency. The campaign promises to be fast, flashy and exactly the level of quality I’ve come to expect from a Modern Warfare game. I have grown weary of the Tom Clancy-adjacent storytelling they’ve employed with previous titles and I find myself really hoping they swing for the fences with realized characters and emotional performances that have room to breathe.
Final Thoughts
My first look at Modern Warfare 4 impressed me overall. It’s clear that Infinity Ward is trying to synthesize different eras of Call of Duty instead of just having a kneejerk reaction to player sentiment. The movement system feels good and is a clear win. Frankly, the toned down gunplay and firefights feel like a breath of fresh air from the most recent iterations. It’s a great start but it’s still too early to call it. Attachments, map rotation, and performance still need more runway to solidify this as a favorite in the franchise, but there’s enough here to make jumping into the Open Beta weekend more than worthwhile.
