Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Final Fantasy Resonance review roundup

Two very different games landed a day apart this week. Final Fantasy Resonance, an HD-2D, turn-based Final Fantasy rebuilt from the shut-down mobile game Brave Exvius, launched on October 22. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Infinity Ward's finale to the rebooted Modern Warfare series, launched on October 23 after a week of campaign early access. Both sit at 85 on OpenCritic and in the 80s on Metacritic.

The short version: Modern Warfare 4 has the warmest Call of Duty reviews in years, but many early scores cover the campaign only, and IGN and PC Gamer haven't scored it yet. Final Fantasy Resonance is more settled. Critics love its combat and how it looks, and the argument is almost entirely about its story.

Scores below were taken at the time of writing and are still moving, especially for Modern Warfare 4.

Modern Warfare 4 and Final Fantasy Resonance at a glance

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 review scores: 86 on Metacritic

Modern Warfare 4 is set during a North Korean invasion of the South. The campaign splits between Private Park, a young South Korean soldier, and Captain Price, now a fugitive, with Mads Mikkelsen as the new villain. Around it sit 6v6 multiplayer and DMZ, a full extraction shooter mode. It's the first Call of Duty on a Nintendo console since Ghosts in 2013.

Metacritic lists it at 86 on PC from 18 critics, all positive, and 89 on PS5 from 7. Xbox and Switch 2 don't have enough reviews for a Metascore yet. OpenCritic has a Top Critic Average of 85, with 96% of critics recommending it. Our guide to how Metacritic and OpenCritic scores work explains the difference.

Which Modern Warfare 4 scores are campaign-only?

Digital pre-orders got the campaign on October 16, DMZ on October 20 and multiplayer at launch, so reviews arrived in waves. GameSpot's 7/10 is its campaign review from October 16. Insider Gaming (October 18) and Screen Rant (October 19) scored the campaign alone. GamingBolt's 8/10 is a campaign review in progress, and Metacritic lists it as tbd rather than counting it.

IGN's Simon Cardy has a "review so far" covering campaign and multiplayer, with a final score due early next week. PC Gamer's Morgan Park won't score it "until sometime after launch." The full-package reviews arrived on October 22 and 23.

What critics love about Modern Warfare 4

The campaign, almost everywhere. Windows Central's Cole Martin writes "I think I've just experienced the best Call of Duty ever." GameRant's Dalton Cooper calls it "potentially the best game in the series since Black Ops 2," and IGN's Cardy says the campaign "made me feel something for the series again."

One mission comes up again and again: Stranded, an open sandbox level behind North Korean lines. GamesRadar+'s Jake Tucker says it "will be in 'best campaign mission' debates for years." TechRadar's Dashiell Wood calls the whole package "quite simply Call of Duty at its very best."

Where Modern Warfare 4 reviews split: Price, freedom and multiplayer

The campaign is short. Insider Gaming finished it "in just under six hours" on the easiest difficulty, IGN took roughly seven, and Nintendo Life puts it at six to eight.

Captain Price is the weak half for several critics. PC Gamer's Park calls it "the most fun I've had with a Call of Duty campaign in years," but says the Price story is "more like a sprint to be done with it all." GamesRadar+ lists "Price storyline is lacklustre" among its cons, and says straying from your squad leader on the Seoul beach gets you "instantly killed."

Multiplayer is where IGN is coolest: Cardy finds it "quite a bit duller" than the campaign. GamesRadar+ loves the shooting but says "Killstreaks remain an anti-fun device."

Modern Warfare 4 on Switch 2, Steam and Game Pass

The Switch 2 version, ported by Digital Legends, holds up. Nintendo Life's Gavin Lane (9/10) calls it "a Switch 2 version with everything: no cuts, and the correct compromises." The campaign runs at 30fps, DMZ at 40fps docked and 30fps handheld, and multiplayer "appears to target 60fps in most modes," with crossplay and cross-progression.

Players liked the early campaign too. On October 19, TechSpot counted 94% positive across 4,068 Steam reviews, the best for a Call of Duty on Steam since Black Ops in 2010 (Black Ops 7 sits at 38.7%). That came before multiplayer went live, so treat it as a campaign verdict.

It isn't on Game Pass. Xbox has told subscribers its "Game Pass availability starts Holiday 2027," so playing now means buying it.

Final Fantasy Resonance review scores: 86 on Metacritic

Final Fantasy Resonance adapts the first season of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius into a single-player, premium JRPG. VGC describes it as the mobile game "with the gacha system removed," and IGN confirms "no gacha mechanics, no microtransactions." You follow the knights Rain and Lasswell against the Sworn Six. Battles are turn-based, and each character can equip a Vision, a hero from another Final Fantasy such as Cloud or Squall, which works like a job system.

Metacritic lists it at 86 on PS5 from 51 critics (98% positive, one mixed), 86 on Xbox, 83 on PC and 82 on Switch 2. OpenCritic has a Top Critic Average of 85 from 86 reviews, with 88% recommending it. Famitsu's four reviewers gave it 9/9/9/9, for 36 out of 40.

What critics love about Final Fantasy Resonance

The combat and the Visions. Game Informer's Nadia Oxford (9/10) says "If you're a Final Fantasy V job-head, you've come home." Nintendo World Report's Jordan Rudek (10/10) puts it plainly: "There's no need for remakes of classic Final Fantasy. We're already there."

It also looks remarkable. Even Eurogamer's Dom Peppiatt, at 3/5, calls it "the best-looking HD-2D game I've ever played," and Windows Central's Alexander Cope calls it "a glorious HD-2D JRPG that old-school Final Fantasy fans should not miss."

Where Final Fantasy Resonance reviews split: the story

Almost every complaint is about the writing. IGN's Michael Higham (8/10) says much of it "reads like a script that didn't get punched up." Eurogamer's Peppiatt is blunter: "The cast has no chemistry." VGC's Dave Aubrey (3/5) argues "the design of its mobile origins limits this game's ambitions," and with Pixel Remasters around, "Resonance just isn't an essential experience."

Pacing is the other note. Push Square's Robert Ramsey finds "the opening hours are perhaps a little too straightforward," and Eurogamer says it takes over 10 hours to get going.

Eurogamer puts the length at 30 to 40 hours, Game Informer at "a 40-hour experience, give or take," and IGN finished in about 45 with side quests. On Switch 2, Nintendo Life's Mitch Vogel (8/10) reports "a smooth 60fps." Metacritic had no reviews of the original Switch version at the time of writing.

Which one to play before GTA 6

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is the pick if you skipped the last few Call of Duty campaigns. The campaign is the most praised part, and the multiplayer verdicts are still forming, so wait for IGN's and PC Gamer's final scores if online play is why you're buying.

Final Fantasy Resonance is for anyone who has missed turn-based Final Fantasy and can live with a familiar, sometimes flat story. It's also $20 cheaper, and it's on the original Switch.

GTA 6 arrives on November 19, 26 days from now. Modern Warfare 4's campaign is a weekend. Resonance, at around 40 hours, is about an hour and a half a day if you want the credits first. Our list of what to play while waiting for GTA 6 and our plan for clearing your backlog before GTA 6 have more on fitting it all in.

Sources

• Metacritic: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
• OpenCritic: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
• Activision Support: Modern Warfare 4 editions and early access
• PlayStation Store: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
• Pure Xbox: Xbox reminds Game Pass members to buy Modern Warfare 4
• Pure Xbox: What the reviews are saying about Modern Warfare 4's campaign
• TechSpot: Modern Warfare 4 has the best Steam rating for a Call of Duty game in 16 years
• Insider Gaming: Modern Warfare 4 emerges to best Call of Duty Steam rating in a decade
• Wikipedia: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 reviews: GameRant, Windows Central, TechRadar Gaming, Digital Chumps, Nintendo Life, Destructoid, CGMagazine, Insider Gaming, GamesRadar+, COGconnected, GamingTrend, Screen Rant, GamingBolt, IGN, PC Gamer
• Metacritic: Final Fantasy Resonance
• OpenCritic: Final Fantasy Resonance
• PlayStation Store: Final Fantasy Resonance
• Gematsu: Final Fantasy Resonance announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, Switch and PC
• Nintendo Life: Famitsu's review of Final Fantasy Resonance
• Steam: Final Fantasy Resonance
• Wikipedia: Final Fantasy Resonance
• Final Fantasy Resonance reviews: DualShockers, Nintendo World Report, COGconnected, Game Informer, PCGamesN, PlayStation LifeStyle, GameRant, Windows Central, IGN, Shacknews, Push Square, Nintendo Life, Eurogamer, VGC