Each Call of Duty since Modern Warfare 2 has put the player in higher positions of power. Whether you’re the unspoken, do-it-all heroes of Modern Warfare 2 or the literal commander participating in all of Infinite Warfare’s combat, feelings of helplessness and limitations have been de-emphasized. This also extends to the series’ adoption of wall-running, boosting, leaning, and superhuman abilities. Sledgehammer Games’ Advanced Warfare heavily contributed to this by ushering in a frenetic era where movement became as much of a necessary skill as gunplay prowess. Infinite Warfare took this to a controversial extreme, so it’s only appropriate that Sledgehammer would helm another drastic leap forward – or backwards, we should say – with a back-to-basics approach for Call of Duty: WWII, which is a solid if unremarkable return to form that hits the mark well enough.
