Call of Duty Zombies has been a staple in the franchise since its first introduction in Call of Duty: World At War, it has changed a lot since then, some for the better, some for the worse. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is regarded as one of the best Zombies iterations alongside Black Ops III Zombies. However, more recent Call of Duty titles like Vanguard and MWIII, prioritized objective-based game modes over round-based maps, this was received poorly among the zombie community, demanding a return to the traditional round-based formula we all know and love. Here’s what BO6 Zombies need to do to avoid sharing the same fate as MWIII and Vanguard.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Round-based Zombies Maps have stood the test of time and have worked for years. Since the game devs already know what works and what doesn’t, prioritize making high-quality and fun round-based maps above everything else. Treyarch did their best in Black Ops Cold War by slowly introducing different modes like Outbreak. Onslaught was released on launch exclusive to Playstation for a year which is why it’s not well liked among the community for many didn’t even have the chance to try it and lost interest by the time they were able to play it. No exclusives, and prioritizing round-based will make everyone happy.
Take what works and leave what doesn’t
Outbreak, the objective-based maps in Vanguard, and Zombies in MWIII are all similar in gameplay speaking. But, here’s what makes Outbreak more beloved than Vanguard and MWIII. Outbreak, while not perfect nor as fun as round-based, was still great in many ways, the maps were expansive and full of treasures, main and side objectives that were meaningful and rewarding, two easter eggs to complete along with a super easter egg that was rewarding for the dedicated players investing in beating all the easter eggs.
Vanguard was almost the complete opposite, it had minimal objectives, many of which were mediocre and boring. No side objectives, the maps were small and cramped with little to no exploration, and you had to do the objectives to open the map which was a complete pacebreaker, leading to boring matches that gave players no reason to keep playing. Although there were round-based maps, it was too little, too late as Vanguard left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.
MWIII Zombies, while claiming to be “inspired” by Outbreak in Black Ops Cold War by stating it’s an “all-new open-world Zombies experience”, is clearly a direct rip-off of the DMZ game mode in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. It improves upon Outbreak by adding more variety of objectives, being able to craft and spawn with consumables to help the player get started, and extracting consumables and weapons to use in future matches. It’s completely undermined by the inclusion of human enemies, the drop rate of rare items needed in higher tier zones left unbalanced, and the game mode overall being left unbalanced. It’s a mess that most zombie players would rather avoid altogether.
Hitting all the sweet spots
So far, what Treyarch has said about what’s coming to Zombies this upcoming October has been hitting all the checkboxes on the list of what the community wants, but it’s only natural to be cautious about how the game will turn out to be. The upgrade system for in-game consumables and items in Cold War was great and would definitely make a wonderful return in BO6 Zombies, Gobblegums make a return from Black Ops 3, which is great. But, it would be nice if the system got reworked so the player won’t be so over-reliant on them, and rely on glitches because of a predatory microtransaction system. Keeping things simple will make the journey all worth it.
Keep the priorities prominent
In short, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies has the most potential to effectively get Zombies out of the mud it found itself in after Vanguard and MWIII. Round Maps must take priority above any new game mode introduced for variety. Many fan-favorite features like the consumable and equipment upgrade system in Cold War along with the Gobblegums returning, with some fine-tuning and balancing, can be great assets. However, many gamers in the community, myself included, have confidence in Treyarch to deliver an epic return to Zombies, all we can do is wait until launch day, and see what awaits in the story for us.
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