I tried these Call of Duty gaming glasses, but did they make me any better?

Between Call of Duty’s mobile and console counterparts, the era of cross-progression has been a revelation for the long-running FPS franchise. I don’t have to be at my desk to complain about how Nuketown doesn’t hold up today, but I can do it wherever I have a stable internet connection. But is skill alone enough to stave off competitors, or can accessories like Gunnar Optiks’ gaming glasses provide me with an extra edge?

Listen, we’ve all done it. We’ve all looked at products that claim to be for the ‘gamers’ out there with a level of disdain, because how do these truly work for all the capital G gamers in the world? After all, I still lay awake at night thinking about the ‘gamer gunk’ incident of 2010. After getting my hands on Gunnar Optiks’ brand-new Call of Duty Ghost glasses, I was curious to see if they could actually improve my sessions with the FPS game series’ free mobile games, Call of Duty: Mobile and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile. But what are these glasses all about?

Gunnar Optiks claims that the eyewear in my possession features the brand’s “iconic amber lenses and a new state-of-the-art Amber Sun-Shift lenses transition from amber to a sunglass tint in just a few seconds.” From a distance, they basically fulfill all your needs if you ever want to cosplay Black Ops Cold War fan favorite Russell Adler. The real benefits supposedly come from how these glasses fight against eye strain symptoms, such as “dry eyes, blurred vision, eye fatigue, and headaches.” It all sounds attractive on paper, at the very least.

Armed with the ultimate tools of the trade – a can of monster, one of the best phone controllers, and sheer will – I equipped the glasses with more grace than an 80s action hero. Out of the two experiences, Call of Duty: Mobile is undoubtedly the easiest multiplayer experience Activision currently offers on iOS and Android, making it my first port of call.

At the start of this totally scientific experiment, I kept my Call of Duty: Mobile loadout extremely simple, using only stock attachments and no wild seasonal blueprints. Across four games, ranging from hardpoint to kill confirmed, the first round of testing was… interesting.

Making the leap into a world tinted by the warm hues of sepia, things didn’t feel quite right at first. The absence of a familiar aesthetic is admittedly jarring, but was I just imagining this obstacle? I’m fairly privy to burning the midnight oil and playing with friends in the early hours, even though we said this match would definitely be the last. Typically, that familiar feeling of sore eyes begins to creep up on me. In some cases, it might be a signal to go touch some grass or hit the hay with some mighty honk shoos. Yet, while I sat at my desk looking like a budget Tony Stark, I still wasn’t sure there was anything beneficial happening. Maybe the glasses were simply doing their job.

To up the ante, I pivoted to Warzone Mobile’s more refined and challenging gameplay. Warzone Mobile is the closest you can get to ‘proper’ Call of Duty on mobile, with features like Black Ops 6’s Omnimovement system recently launching in-game. Despite the pressures of the battle royale game and its traditional multiplayer modes, this is where my perceived results with the Ghost glasses come to a halt.

The novelty of putting these glasses to the test had already worn off at this point. Gunnar’s COD-themed eyewear will set you back $74 and $109 for the Amber/Amber Sun-Shift variants, too, an element I don’t take lightly.

Historically, the benefits of anti-blue light glasses are a point of contention in itself. The University of California claims that “one-third of all visible light is considered blue light,” with an abundance of it coming from artificial sources like device screens and LED lights. Additionally, Gunnar proudly expresses on its website that its products are “the only patented computer eyewear recommended by doctors to protect and enhance your vision.”

However, other studies claim that products intended to fight blue light-related symptoms aren’t proving strong enough to have any tangible effects.

“The best scientific evidence currently available does not support the use of blue-blocking spectacle lenses in the general population to improve visual performance, alleviate the symptoms of eye fatigue or visual discomfort, improve sleep quality or conserve macula health,” says The College of Optometrists in a 2017 study. Some of my favorite streamers, like competitive The Finals player ‘Neon Gutz,’ don vibrantly tinted shades as they rip through teams like paper. Of course, there’s the factor of pure skill, but I’m not entirely convinced that some premium eyewear is the magical elixir for excellence.

However, if you do need something to aid your next battle, I can at the very least supply you with our picks of the best Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile guns, and everything you need to know about Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile ranks.

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