Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies has been a much-needed win for Treyarch. After an unpopular experimental period that saw the releases of the much-maligned Vanguard Zombies and the divisive open-world experience that was MWZ, BO6 Zombies has been a return to form. A round-based format, a dedicated crew, and maps built with brand-new resources as opposed to heavily reused assets are all things that the community wanted and the latest CoD game delivered. However, it does still have its issues, one of which has unfortunately continued in the Squid Game 2 event.
While Treyarch has worked to address community complaints like Mangler spawns, there are other aspects of the game that players would like to see adjusted. More unique mechanics that set each map apart, map-exclusive weaponry, and complex side quest Easter Eggs are some of the things that have been asked for. Alternative modes of play like Grief are commonly requested as well, and by extension, limited-time modes that players are eager to keep coming back to. Unfortunately, Treyarch has yet to hit it out of the park with its Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies LTMs, which is a concerning trend that hopefully won’t continue throughout the game’s entire life cycle.
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Treyarch’s Zombies LTMs, Like Dead Light, Green Light, Haven’t Hit The Mark Yet
Unfortunately, Treyarch is 0 for 2 on making a crowdpleasing limited-time mode for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Its first attempt with Jingle Hells did come close to hitting the mark, as it had a number of things working in its favor. Players could still complete a majority of the side quest Easter Eggs on Liberty Falls, while the map received a significant winter makeover and placed every undead foe – including mini-bosses – in Christmas-themed attire to really drive home the holiday theming. Jingle Hells also had unique mechanics like ice storms that froze players who were caught outside of shelters shelter and tossable snowballs that gave the undead a chance to drop presents. Despite all these upsides, messy progression held the mode back from greatness.
While it was potentially done to push players to embrace the present mechanic, the lack of salvage meant that players could not easily upgrade their starting weapon in Jingle Hells, which made Black Ops 6 camo-grinding tedious and forced players to rely primarily on random weapon drops from presents. Beyond that, no salvage meant no purchasable armor, and with armor drops from enemies being so scarce in the mode, players often found themselves with no armor. Considering that Black Ops 6 is balanced around the armor system, this decision made what seemed like a fun holiday mode overly difficult for casual players.
Call of Duty’s Squid Game 2 collaboration bringing a new LTM for Zombies offered Treyarch a chance to make up for Jingle Hells’ shortcomings, but unfortunately, it’s even more flawed. Many Call of Duty Zombies fans are taking issue with the following aspects of the mode:
- A forced exfil: Players are forced to retreat on Round 10, meaning that as soon as they start to upgrade their weaponry and get a handle on the rules of the mode, they’re forced to leave instead of aiming for a high round.
- Disabled quests: Not only can players not progress through the main quest in Dead Light, Green Light, but side quests like those for Citadelle Des Morts’ elemental swords are also disabled, meaning players cannot even use the map’s Wonder Weapons within the LTM.
- A lack of depth: With only one positive effect in the form of Green Light’s double points and two negative ones via Dead Light’s buffed horde and Red Light’s movement penalties, players will see all there is to offer from the mode rather quickly. More Green Light and Red Light effects could have made the mode significantly deeper.
- Limited map changes: Instead of giving Citadelle Des Morts fresh visuals to match the Squid Game-themed LTM players are experiencing, the only alterations made to the map are a few large statues of the Young-Hee doll spread throughout. This is a far cry from Jingle Hells, which gave Liberty Falls a major redesign. Zombies dressed like Soldiers or Squid Game players could have added to the uniqueness of the new mode as well.
Why LTMs Hitting The Mark Will Be Key For Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
With a full round-based Zombies map unlikely to release in every season in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and no open-world mode like Outbreak to slowly expand with fresh content, the game’s LTMs cannot continue to disappoint players. Apart from smaller additions like Ammo Mods and Field Upgrades, limited-time modes could be the main reason to play BO6 Zombies during the slow periods between map drops. If the modes continue to fall flat, then Zombies lovers could be facing some significant content droughts, which is concerning for any live-service title. Dead Light, Green Light had some potential, as being forced to stand still or risk losing points can feel intense, but its major flaws greatly limit its replayability. With the multiplayer Squid Game 2 modes knocking it out of the park, it is a shame that the Zombies one feels like an afterthought, and hopefully that changes with future events.
Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.
The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.
In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.
Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.