Call of Duty: Vanguard feels, looks, and plays like a reskinned Modern Warfare 2019

Over the weekend, I had some time to jump into the Alpha test for Call of Duty: Vanguard's new Champion Hill multiplayer game mode, which was available to all PS4 and PS5 players. As a series-long fan, there was no way I wasn’t going to at least check it out, even if my fondness of the series has dwindled in recent years. The Champion Hill mode is a twist on the Gunfight mode introduced in Modern Warfare 2019.

Though, whereas Gunfight was a simple 2v2 mode, Champion Hill is far from simple. Essentially, Champion Hill is more akin to Gunfight tournament and features eight teams of two players. Each duo has 12 lives to share, and the objective is to survive rounds of 2v2 matchups. The winning team is the last team standing with the most remaining lives. Between some rounds, you can use money buy weapons, perks, equipment and other resources to prepare for the next round. 

In its current iteration, I must admit I did not enjoy the Champion Hill alpha as much as I enjoyed Modern Warfare’s Gunfight alpha. Unfortunately, whilst the premise is interesting, Champion Hill suffers from a mix of issues. First and foremost, the maps are plain boring. Whilst Modern Warfare and Cold War (less so) had varied, unique 2v2 maps, the ones on show in the Cold War alpha are strikingly uninteresting by comparison. Not only that, the drab colour palette mixed with exaggerated effects meant that visibility can be quite poor. 

Notwithstanding, the Vanguard alpha did feel, look, and play noticeably similar to Modern Warfare 2019. Everything from movement to animations to the time to kill all felt like a WW2-themed clone of Modern Warfare 2019. For better or worse, Modern Warfare 2019 seriously split the Call of Duty community and the direction it was taking the genre. For series veterans like myself, the strict SBMM, quick TTK which in turn promoted camping and slow play, made for a rather unpleasant experience in traditional multiplayer. Though, it must be said the upcoming beta test(s) for Vanguard will provide a clearer picture of just how similar it is to Modern Warfare 2019 in these regards. 

My worry as a series veteran is that FPS fans are spoiled for choice this fall. The upcoming Battlefield 2042 and Halo Infinite both look amazing and even free-to-play games like Splitgate are on the rise. Call of Duty is still king in this genre and whilst I will likely purchase it out of obligation, the Vanguard alpha didn’t do much to make me feel excited. I hope the beta turns my mind around and with access to more of the game’s content, I’ll provide a more comprehensive review of the game. But, for now, it’s not looking too promising for this series veteran.