Modern Warfare 4 delivers the familiar Call of Duty mix of gunfights, cover-based combat and oversized action sequences. It also introduces a surprisingly prominent parry mechanic—one that feels far less natural in a first-person military shooter than it does in a dedicated action game.
A familiar opening, then an unexpected combat lesson
The campaign begins with you serving alongside soldiers in Hajin, a fictional South Korean city attacked by the North Korean regime. The early sequence follows the expected formula: eliminate enemies, use cover and destroy a huge truck.
The second mission, Out in the Cold, changes perspective to Captain John Price. Price infiltrates a Manhattan nightclub to obtain information from a Russian asset, entering without weapons. Before long, a large bouncer attacks and the game displays an instruction that feels more suited to a Soulslike than a military shooter:
“Press L to block just before being hit to parry.”
For the opening section, the rhythm is simple: parry an incoming strike with L, then press R to punch the attacker. Once Price acquires a pistol, the mission becomes a stylish blend of close-quarters combat and shooting, with neon-lit rooms, deep house music and a strong John Wick influence.
The mission even includes a chase through Midtown, complete with a smooth parkour sequence reminiscent of Mirror’s Edge. Reaching the target, the Russian operative Makarov, brings the action to an abrupt halt.
The Makarov fight turns parrying into a roadblock
The boss encounter requires repeated parries, and missing a single one causes an instant failure. A checkpoint appears between phases, but the fight can still become a frustrating slog—especially when one mistimed input ends the attempt.
That design choice interrupts the momentum created by the nightclub assault, shootouts and chase. A Call of Duty campaign can certainly include unusual set pieces, but forcing precise defensive timing into a first-person boss battle makes the encounter feel disconnected from the rest of the game.
The mechanic returns in the next mission
Parries are not confined to Price’s mission. In Following Orders, you play as an unnamed North Korean soldier searching a rural hamlet with a squad for a regime dissident.
When the target bursts from the bathroom of an abandoned house and tackles the player, the same prompt appears again:
“Press L to parry.”
The issue is not that parries are inherently poor mechanics. They can work well when a game is built around reading attacks and responding with precise timing. The concern is that their repeated use here seems driven more by a current action-game trend than by what best serves this campaign’s first-person shooting design.
Call of Duty already has the tools it needs
I am not a Call of Duty specialist, although I regularly play the modern campaigns for their energetic, blockbuster-style action. I also enjoyed Black Ops 7’s much-criticised story mode, which made that game one of the strongest co-op shooters of 2025. That makes the sudden prominence of parries in Modern Warfare 4 feel especially conspicuous.
First-person parries can also feel less intuitive than their third-person counterparts, where players can clearly read a character’s movement and attack animation. Other genres have found more convincing uses for the mechanic: a turn-based role-playing game can use timed defence to add immediacy to otherwise menu-driven combat, while a first-person military shooter generally benefits more from responsive shooting and movement.
At its best, Modern Warfare 4 already has the ingredients its campaign requires: capable gunplay, carefully arranged levels and spectacular set pieces. Players looking for more arcade-inspired action can browse RETROCADE’s arcade news and gaming coverage, or explore the arcade light guns built around direct shooting controls.
For anyone planning an arcade setup, the arcade machine buying guide can help compare formats, while arcade machines offer a more traditional way to enjoy focused, immediate action.
In short, the campaign does not need to repeatedly ask players to parry. Its shooting, level design and set pieces are more than enough. Sometimes the better input is simply the one that lets the action continue.
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