Call of Duty was once known as the quintessential casual FPS game; it was the king of the genre and still had enough room for skilled players to show up and be the difference maker. Nowadays things are different; the movement mechanic is integral to winning a shootout and is less about individual aim than ever before. Is it any wonder random people have a harder time?
User Thorin1601 recently jumped on the Warzone subreddit to air his frustrations with the game and the struggle of being a casual player. Our protagonist gives some personal details about a motorcycle accident and their relatively new experience with Warzone; they specifically admit that they care little about being the best of the best, but would like to feel a Warzone victory every time. However, the current meta and general game mechanics do not favor the casual audience.
User SnooMacaroons6049 offered a kind word to our leading man, saying, “You’re not alone friend; it gets frustrating and I think we all question what’s going on sometimes. Hope your recovery is going well; good luck out there.”
Others were not so gracious; user Alie-Unit1329 chimed in, saying: “This just isn’t a casual game anymore.” They are not the only ones with that mentality; user SILENCERSTUDENT_ agreed, but offered some other games as suggestions, saying, “This is not a casual game. Try Diablo 4 or Manor Lords; they’re good fun and much more casual.”
I can’t wrap my head around the fact that Call of Duty isn’t a casual game. The very idea seems so foreign and that may be the exact mindset of other players who are exhausted by the current state of the game. Call of Duty was the casual FPS for decades and suddenly players are left with very limited alternatives. At this point it wouldn’t surprise me if a vast majority of gamers are looking to the future of CoD hoping that Treyarch’s hand at the wheel will shake things up.
Since the transition from MW2 to the MW3 version of Warzone, I have seen a drastic increase in the difficulty of winning a game of Warzone. I may be a competitive gamer and always strive for the win, but I am exhausted by the sheer demand that CoD asks of me as my supposedly casual game. If you don’t want to learn the movement, Warzone feels like hell; you have to master those mechanics to even have a chance of winning a duel against another player who jumps, dives and slides all over the place.
During MW2 and Al Mazrah, my comrades all achieved victory despite their status as casual players, but moving into MW3 none of them managed to claim that golden spot or even come close. Rather, they are usually spotted by enemy fighters jumping from wall to wall in a sugar rush in the final few circles. This presents a growing problem with Warzone and Call of Duty itself: it is steadily moving away from the casual player base despite its roots as the casual FPS. I honestly doubt that CoD has the guts to reach levels of competition like Valorant or CS2, so it saddens me that my friends and I are turning to other games for a more relaxing experience (Destiny 2 has become our home in recent months).
That’s all we have for the frustrations of casual players. If you’re looking for more Call of Duty content, check out The Black Ops 6 teaser is the light at the end of the tunnel you’ve been hoping for, MW3 Zombies ‘Most engaging third mode’ ever, minimal content planned, and more about Due to Game guides.
