Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 releases this week, and the campaign and DMZ are currently in early access. Infinity Ward delivers an epic series conclusion for its Modern Warfare reboot, but if you're finding some missions tough on a normal difficulty setting, don't worry–you're not alone.
Modern Warfare 4 features 16 missions in total, and these offer a wide variety of staple Call of Duty missions, such as stealth ops, cinematic chase sequences, and a slow-motion breach-and-clear scenario. There are also a couple of intense melee-style boss fights, where your life depends on well-timed parrying.
As a longtime Call of Duty player who typically plays through all the campaigns on both normal and veteran difficulties, Modern Warfare 4's normal difficulty feels tougher than what we've experienced in the last few years. This takes me back to Infinity Ward's most recent game, Modern Warfare 2, when the NPCs also felt like much more formidable opponents. It was easy to underestimate the AI's ability to overwhelm you, and they always seemed just smart enough to sniff you out during stealth missions.
The NPCs aren't necessarily more intelligent in Modern Warfare 4, but they do feel like they are buffed up and shooting straighter this year, so trying to rush through their defenses can be unwise. I was humbled more than a few times when trying to clear out an area with a large presence of enemy soldiers, and I had to repeat one of the boss fights more than I'd like to admit. I've heard this same complaint from others playing Modern Warfare 4's campaign, so surely this isn't an age or skill issue, but Infinity Ward delivering another challenging campaign.
Overall, Modern Warfare 4 on normal difficulty isn't too painful and definitely a manageable setting to play on, but it has forced me to play slower and show more patience. I'll still give the campaign a try on the veteran setting, but that's the highest challenge I'm aiming for. For those eager for an ultimate test of skill, Modern Warfare 4 introduces a "YOLO" difficulty setting, which requires you to restart the entire campaign if you die.
Modern Warfare 4 fully releases on October 23 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Switch 2.