Summary
There’s no denying that, as a franchise,Call of Dutyis one of the most successful in video game history. Since its humble beginnings in 2003, the series has spawned over a dozen titles, each of which has sold millions upon millions of copies.It’s crossed over with pop culture luminaries and icons, sold toys and consoles and built up a live-service juggernaut. Simply put, it’s a behemoth.
But for all the financial success Call of Duty has, and trust us, it’s a lot, not every game has been a rousing success with fans. That’s because for every Modern Warfare 2 (the 2009 one) or Black Ops, there’s been an Advanced Warfare or Vanguard. That’s not to say that Advanced Warfare or Vanguard are necessarily bad, but they don’t hold the same place in the hearts of fans as other titles do.
And so, taking to Reddit, Call of Duty fans joined in to discuss what is the most hated COD title of all time, and just why are these titles so hated. Hint: It has a lot to do with nostalgia.
Everyone Hates Vanguard, But Infinite Warfare Is OK
While there’s a lot of defending going around for the likes of Infinite Warfare and WWII, the majority of fans are in agreement that Vanguard was bad. To that point, COD had ditched its World War II roots, and outside the WWII title in 2017, had moved into different eras. A return to those roots was not a welcome one for fans,and it didn’t help that its multiplayer was a mess.
In a bit of rewriting history, fans are also in agreement that Infinite Warfare gets way too much flak. “Don’t touch Infinity Warfare. The best campaign I have ever played,“one user exclaimed. Indeed,the Infinite Warfare campaign was actually pretty stellar, and it featured a pretty star-studded cast, including Kit Harington from Game of Thrones. “It was popular to hate on, and jetpack exhaustion. Although the people who actually played it know the campaign is elite,“another user wrote.
Elsewhere, according to fans, Ghosts had the unfortunate luck of following up the stellar Black Ops II. It also was the first Infinity Ward title post Modern Warfare, which was no easy feat. Oh, and it was going to be a launch title for the PS4 and Xbox One. It didn’t help that it was also memed to death prior to launch.
Ultimately, as one user noted, a lot of the hate comes from nostalgia for the games of old. There’s no denying that some of these titles missed the mark with their multiplayer or campaign offerings, but some of the hate stems from a desire to play what’s come before. “Because most people want games to just be reskinned BO1-2, and WaW,“the user wrote. Perhaps these games really aren’t bad after all then.
