Parent's Guide: Call of Duty WWII - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

What is Call of Duty WWII?

Returning to the storied battlefields of the second world war, Call of Duty WWII brings the series back to its roots for a high octane shooter experience. From the beaches of Normandy to the streets of Berlin, you'll join a squad in the American 1st Infantry Division, famously nicknamed the "Big Red One", as you take the fight to the Nazis on the front lines. With a full story driven single player campaign to play through, a Zombies survival mode that sees you face off against wave after wave of Nazi undead, and a fully featured competitive multiplayer mode, there's plenty to keep shooter fans busy in Call of Duty WW2.

How do you play Call of Duty WWII?

In the game's story driven campaign mode, you take on the role of Private Ronald "Red" Daniels, a rookie recruit thrust into war at the deep end. Beginning with the infamous D-Day landings, you and your makeshift band of brothers will fight shoulder to shoulder through a variety of explosive levels, with an unrelenting pace. Whether you're going undercover in a Nazi HQ to try and meet up with a collaborator who's agreed to get you some explosives; sitting behind the wheel of a Sherman tank, as you level buildings with your gun in an attempt to take out the rocket launcher armed Nazis who're threatening your division; or covering one of your squad mates from the top of a church, using a sniper rifle to pick off any Nazis that may be hiding in amongst the rubble, the levels are as varied as they are fast paced.

Online, the game offers a revamped competitive multiplayer mode that delivers a wide range of different game types, from standard team deathmatch, to the all new "War" mode, which offers a more objective based style of play. Here, you may have to escort a column of tanks, while the other team tries to stop them, or defend a number of bunkers that the enemy team are trying to take. Zombies mode, meanwhile, lets up to four players team up to take on wave after wave of Nazi undead, with your kills earning you points which can be exchanged for new weapons, armour, automatic revivals, or access to new parts of the map. All of the game's multiplayer modes are playable in split-screen, too, either offline against bots, or online against other players.

How easy is Call of Duty WWII to pick up and play?

In terms of accessibility, Call of Duty WWII is a game aimed experienced shooter players, yet there are a few settings and tweaks to help new players get on board. While the game assumes you know the basics - the tutorial tells you how to crouch, but not how to move or shoot - the four difficulty levels on offer give you plenty of scope for customising the challenge. On the lowest level, Recruit, you'll be able to take a lot more damage than even the game's normal difficulty, which makes lasting until the end of each level a lot easier. If you choose to venture online, however, the game doesn't attempt to stream players by ability, instead pitting newbies against those with hundreds of hours of experience.

Whether online or in the game's story driven campaign, Call of Duty WW2 does require a some sharp observational skills, and plenty of situational awareness. Enemy soldiers can often be hard to make out, blending in with the buildings and muddy backdrops, meaning you'll need to keep a close eye out for any signs of movement. On the plus side, the campaign features regular objective markers to help keep you on the right track, as you push towards the objective.

Call of Duty WWII contains strong, bloody violence, and equally strong language from the very beginning.

Violence and Gore

Within a few moments of starting the game's story, you'll see the body of a soldier who's lost his arm, with bits of muscle left dangling at the shoulder, and another fallen comrade who's lost both legs, with just a meaty stump and the very end of a bone where they used to be. While enemy soldiers will only give off small puffs of blood when shot with regular weaponry, certain high explosive weapons may sometimes dismember a soldier, leaving them flailing on the floor with no leg. Melee attacks are similarly gory - whether the game has you stab a soldier in the neck, or clonk them with the butt of your gun, any melee attack will make the enemy soldier become totally covered in blood, with their face turning into a crimson mask, and their entire torso becoming drenched in claret.

The level of violence in COD WW2 is the same across all three modes. In online multiplayer, soldiers can lose limbs, while in zombies mode, one move sees you hit a zombie in the neck with a shovel, and then start digging/pulling until you tear their head off.

There's also violence involving animals here, as you'll sometimes come under attack from attack dogs (German shepherds), which you have to kill.

Bad Language

Bad language is reasonably frequent throughout, stretching the gamut from b**tard to f**k.

Sexual Content

There's nothing in the way of sexual content in the game.

Additional Notes

Unlike other Call of Duty games, there's nothing in the way of a mature content filter here, so those playing through the campaign, or the game's multiplayer modes will see all of the game's gore.As a game with a strong online component, we should note that there's always the chance of additional mature content coming up during online games through voice chat, although access to voice chat can be limited or blocked using the parental controls on your console.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Playstation 4