After a full year of beta testing and limited regional rollouts, the much awaited COD Warzone Mobile finally made its global debut on March 21st.I eagerly installed it, filled with both excitement and skepticism. As a huge fan of the original Warzone’s top-notch graphics and fast-paced gameplay, I pondered how it would translate to a mobile platform. Unfortunately, my initial impressions of Warzone Mobile were quite disappointing.
Being a long-time Call of Duty player since the first installment, I had high expectations for Warzone Mobile, especially after feeling unsatisfied with COD Mobile. However, I was taken aback by the game’s state upon release, considering the numerous delays and extensive testing it underwent.
After a week of gameplay, I’ve decided to share my initial thoughts on Warzone Mobile, highlighting the encountered issues and community feedback.
Subpar Graphics and Lack of Detail
Despite the game having a base file size of 1.5 GB, an additional 5 GB of in-game assets must be downloaded before the first match. Upon entering the game, it becomes apparent that the visual quality doesn’t align with the substantial download size
Textures seem low-resolution, resembling oil paintings on your high-end $1,000 iOS or Android device screen. The overall view appears blurry and pixelated, with delayed loading of details. 3D objects lack clarity, enemy models appear shapeless, and textures frequently pop in and out. This inconsistency is striking, especially after the publisher’s promises of delivering a AAA gaming experience.
The game streams visual assets in the background during gameplay instead of pre-downloading them, potentially explaining the initial low-quality textures and lack of detail. Graphics quality might improve after several matches, depending on your internet speed.
The question arises: why doesn’t the game allow pre-downloading of high-resolution files like CoD Mobile? There’s no option to disable asset streaming, meaning players must endure subpar graphics in their initial matches to witness potential improvements later on.
Buggy Gameplay in Warzone Mobile
Adding to the frustration, Warzone Mobile is plagued with bugs, as my colleagues and I experienced firsthand. For instance, the HUD sometimes fails to display the gun mode, and weapon textures don’t load initially.
Occasionally, my character’s hands are left in a black void. Players have reported visual glitches where bodies fail to load, leaving only floating heads visible. Various glitches occur when interacting with objects, unresponsive controls, and skipped animations during takedowns. Characters may get stuck in a T-pose, asserting dominance over others randomly, as reported by numerous players online.
Poor Optimization Across Devices
Anticipated as a demanding game for older hardware, Warzone Mobile surprisingly challenges even newer smartphones. Both iPhones and high-end Android devices struggle to maintain a consistent 60FPS.
Playing on the iQOO Neo 9 Pro with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, I generally experienced good FPS but encountered occasional frame rate drops. Some users reported that flagship phones from a couple of years ago couldn’t reach the 60 FPS benchmark. Moreover, only Mid and High graphic settings are available, with Low and Minimum options missing. Strangely, only the iPhone 15 Pro Max and select iPads support Peak graphic settings, requiring an extra 1.5 GB download.
Heating becomes a significant issue, with even the best devices overheating within minutes of gameplay. Despite the iQOO device’s efficient cooling, it noticeably warms up after a single match. Reports online suggest devices reaching temperatures as high as 49 degrees Celsius, potentially leading to crashes. Therefore, it’s advisable not to play without a cooling fan at present.
Connectivity Problems and High Ping
Despite a global release, connectivity issues persist in Warzone Mobile. Throughout my time playing from India, the ping consistently exceeded 100ms, leading to missed gunfights due to unregistered gunshots and erratic lag. This situation reminded me of playing the original MW3 over a 2G mobile hotspot
As mentioned earlier, the game frequently ejected me from matches at the start, preventing re-entry. Random disconnections occurred while in the lobby, necessitating re-signing in. Surprisingly, the game only allows one device to stay signed in, which may inconvenience users who wish to have the game on multiple devices.
Final Thoughts on Warzone Mobile’s Launch
Despite its flaws, Warzone Mobile isn’t devoid of merit. It offers a genuine Call of Duty experience on mobile phones, featuring fast-paced movement, recoil-rich gunplay, improved visuals (when functioning correctly), and cross-progression integration.
While current issues persist, there’s potential for Warzone Mobile to evolve positively. At the time of writing, Warzone Mobile acknowledged graphics issues and promised an upcoming update to address them.
However, it remains perplexing that a game undergoing extensive beta testing in various regions still exhibits glaring graphics and optimization problems. For now, I’ll stick to playing Warzone on my PlayStation 5 and revisit the mobile version after the promised patches are released.
Despite a rocky launch, Warzone Mobile is likely to attract more players with each update or seasonal patch. How has your experience been with the game? Which smartphone are you using to play it? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
