Sledgehammer Games took a massive gamble back in 2017. They decided to strip away the jetpacks. After years of players literally flying across maps in Advanced Warfare and Infinite Warfare, the franchise pivoted hard back to the mud. It was a "boots on the ground" reset. Honestly, it was a polarizing move at the time, but looking back now, Call of Duty WWII gameplay redefined what a modern historical shooter could actually feel like without losing that signature arcade speed.
It isn't just about the nostalgia of the M1 Garand ping. It's about how the game forced you to care about positioning again.
The Division System Change
Remember how Pick-10 used to let you do basically whatever? That was gone. Instead, we got Divisions. It was a structured way to play that felt more like a class-based shooter than a free-for-all sandbox. You had Infantry, Airborne, Armored, Mountain, and Expeditionary. Later on, they added Resistance and Cavalry, but the core five defined the early meta.
If you wanted a suppressor, you had to play Airborne. If you wanted that sweet bayonet charge, you stayed with Infantry. This wasn't just a cosmetic choice; it fundamentally changed how you approached a corner. In the Infinite Warfare era, you'd just jump over the doorway. In this game? You had to check your corners or hope your Armored division flak jacket would soak up the inevitable grenade spam.
The rhythm is slower. Well, "slower" for Call of Duty. You're still sprinting, but the verticality is almost entirely gone, which makes map control way more predictable and, frankly, more satisfying for players who prefer strategy over twitch-reflex aerial movement.
War Mode: The Unsung Hero of Multiplayer
If you haven't played War Mode, you haven't really experienced Call of Duty WWII gameplay at its peak. This was a narrative-driven multiplayer experience that didn't care about your K/D ratio. Seriously. Your deaths didn't even count toward your global stats in this mode. It was all about the objective.
On Operation Neptune, you're storming the beaches of Normandy. It's chaotic. It's loud. It’s frustrating when your team won’t throw smoke grenades. But when you finally breach those bunkers, it feels earned. Then there’s Operation Griffin where you’re escorting tanks through a snowy forest. It borrowed heavily from games like Overwatch or Battlefield, but kept the tight gunplay mechanics that make CoD what it is.
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The lack of killstreaks in War Mode was a genius move. It meant the game didn't snowball. You couldn't just drop an Artillery Barrage on a tank and end the match; you had to actually get in there and fight for every inch of ground.
Why the Gunplay Feels Different
The recoil patterns in this game are actually somewhat predictable once you put the hours in. Take the BAR, for example. Before the numerous nerfs, that gun was an absolute monster because of its high damage and manageable kick. Then you have the PPSh-41, the undisputed king of the SMG category for most of the game's lifecycle.
There's a weight to the weapons here. When you fire the Kar98k, there’s a distinct delay and a heavy bolt-action animation that makes every shot feel high-stakes. You miss? You're probably dead. You hit? It's one of the most satisfying sounds in gaming history.
Headquarters and the Social Experiment
Sledgehammer tried something weird with the Headquarters. It was a 48-player social space. You could commend other players, practice in the firing range, or even watch people open supply drops.
Some people hated it. They thought it was a waste of time. But it added a layer of community that's been missing from recent titles. You could challenge someone to a 1v1 pit match right there in the hub. It made the game feel alive. It wasn't just a menu screen; it was a base of operations.
There was also that weird period where the servers couldn't handle the load at launch, and everyone's Headquarters was empty. It felt like a ghost town. But once they fixed it, seeing dozens of soldiers running around, testing out emotes, and prestige-ing at the General was a cool touch.
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The Campaign's Hard Pivot to Realism
The single-player experience in Call of Duty WWII gameplay ditched the regenerating health mechanic for the first time in forever. You had to rely on Zussman, your squadmate, to toss you health packs.
This changed the flow of combat entirely.
You couldn't just hide behind a crate for five seconds and go back to full strength. You had to manage your resources. If Zussman was on a cooldown and you were at 10% health, you were genuinely terrified. It added a layer of tension that the "superhero" style campaigns of the mid-2010s lacked. The focus on the 1st Infantry Division felt personal, even if it hit some of the familiar tropes of Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers.
Zombies: A Darker Turn
Zombies in this game—officially "Nazi Zombies"—took a hard turn into horror. It wasn't the neon-colored, 80s-themed fun of Infinite Warfare. It was grim. The character designs were grotesque, leaning into the "mad scientist" vibe with bolts and stitched-together flesh.
The Easter Eggs were notoriously difficult, but they also introduced a "casual" track for the main quest on the first map, The Final Reich. This was a great move. It let regular players see the story content while keeping the "Hardcore" Easter Egg hidden for the pros. The jump scares were real, and the atmosphere was thick with dread.
Technical Performance and Visuals
Even years later, the game looks great. The lighting in the forest maps like Ardennes Forest is moody and sharp. The sound design is where it really shines, though. The crack of a sniper rifle in the distance or the muffled thud of a grenade in a bunker adds to the immersion.
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However, it wasn't perfect. The map count at launch was low. Nine standard maps was a tough pill for the community to swallow, even if they were mostly well-designed. Carentan was locked behind a Season Pass initially, which annoyed a lot of folks. And let's not talk about the "Gustav Cannon" map—unless you love being sniped from a mile away by someone you can't see.
Moving Beyond the Basics
To really master the gameplay today, you need to understand the nuances of the "Cavalry" division if you're playing objectives. Carrying a shield on your back might seem cheap, but in a game where everyone is lobbing explosives, it’s a tactical necessity.
Also, don't sleep on the "Basic Trainings." These replaced the Perk system. Using "Hustle" for faster reloading or "Lookout" to see enemy names from further away can completely change your performance. It's about finding the synergy between your Division and your Basic Training.
Actionable Insights for Returning Players
If you're hopping back into the servers today, here’s how to actually win:
- Focus on the Daily Orders: Major Howard in the Headquarters gives out orders that reward you with supply drops and social score. This is the fastest way to unlock variants.
- Shipment 1944 is the XP Farm: If you want to level up fast, stay in the Shipment 24/7 playlist. It's absolute carnage, but you'll get more kills in five minutes than you will in twenty minutes of Team Deathmatch on a larger map.
- Learn the "Quickdraw" timing: In this game, the sprint-out times are slower than in Modern Warfare. You can't just sprint around corners and expect to win. You have to "pre-aim" or use the Gunslinger basic training to fire while sprinting.
- Warm up in the Firing Range: While waiting for a match, use the firing range in the Headquarters to get the muscle memory for your specific weapon's recoil. Every gun has a slightly different kick.
- Utilize the Scorestreak Training: There is a tower in the HQ where you can practice using every scorestreak in the game for free. This is huge for learning how to aim the Glide Bomb or where to position the Artillery Barrage on specific maps.
The legacy of this game is its commitment to a specific feeling. It’s not the fastest CoD, and it’s certainly not the most complex, but it nailed the atmosphere. It brought the community back to the ground when we were all starting to get a bit of jetpack fatigue. Whether you're playing for the historical immersion or the competitive grind, the mechanics here are some of the most solid in the franchise's history.