Black Ops 6’s Campaign Could Inspire a New Zombies Experience

This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s campaign.

It’s been a rough few years for Call of Duty Zombies. Though Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War‘s Outbreak Zombies mode brought some interesting ideas to the table, Modern Warfare 3‘s open-world Zombies mode learned the wrong lessons from it, delivering a rather generic, lifeless mode that lacked the identity and beloved gameplay loop of its predecessors. Thankfully, though, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has been the return to form fans hoped it would be.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s Zombies mode is the best the franchise has been in a while, delivering two maps at launch that hearken back to the franchise’s golden age. But Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s Zombies offerings don’t stop at its dedicated mode. In a surprising move, Black Ops 6‘s campaign includes some zombies-themed missions, and though they’re fairly rudimentary, they could pave the way for a new type of Call of Duty Zombies experience.

How Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Campaign Lays the Groundwork for a New Type of CoD Zombies Experience

Black Ops 6’s ‘Emergence’ Is a Glorified Zombies Boss Gauntlet

About halfway through Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s campaign, players begin a mission that quickly takes a turn towards the paranormal. Titled ‘Emergence,’ this mission sees player-character Case making his way through an abandoned secret CIA research facility that used to be the site of bioweapon experiments. At the start of the mission, Case breathes in some of this bioweapon, and he begins to hallucinate some familiar foes.

A small army of zombie researchers, scientists, and facility workers start to chase the player through the hallways of the facility. The player must battle through this army of the dead and obtain three keycards that belonged to the facility’s directors. Upon reaching these keycards, the player is presented with a boss fight, with each one taking on the appearance and abilities of a boss monster from Black Ops 6‘s Zombies mode, such as the Mangler and Abomination.

‘Emergence’ has quickly become one of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s most popular missions, with its mind-bending narrative and presentation setting it apart from traditional Call of Duty levels. It’s also fun to see Call of Duty‘s zombies play a role in a more narrative-focused setting. While CoD Zombies has its story Easter eggs, it could be interesting to see the mode take things one step further and deliver a full story campaign, complete with a similar structure and objectives to those found in ‘Emergence.’

Black Ops 6’s ‘Separation Anxiety’ Shows How a Zombies Set Piece Could Work

But a story-driven Call of Duty Zombies mode wouldn’t be able to entertain for too long if it solely followed Emergence’s structure of reaching an objective, fighting a boss, repeat. Instead, a full story mode for Call of Duty Zombies would need some set pieces to keep players hooked, and thankfully, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s campaign paves the way for that as well.

In the penultimate mission of Black Ops 6‘s campaign, titled ‘Separation Anxiety,’ players take control of ex-CIA handler-turned-villain Jane Harrow as she suffers from the mental dissociation brought on by Frank Woods’ interrogation. Another mind-bending mission, ‘Separation Anxiety’ sees Harrow face off against pale, zombie-like versions of herself.

The final moments of ‘Separation Anxiety’ see players running through a skyscraper, blasting at zombified Harrows, and leaping onto a helicopter. When on board, players take control of the chopper’s mounted gun and rain fire down on the army of zombie-like enemies that are leaping from the surrounding skyscrapers. It’s a thrilling set piece, and a solid blueprint for a proper Call of Duty Zombies campaign.