Players have finally delved into the depths ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Zombies experience, with a huge amount of discussion and expectations surrounding the mode prior to launch.CoDZombies has been in a difficult spot in recent years thanks to huge shifts in its story, core mechanics, and primary goals, but the recently releasedBO6promised to offer an experience that was much more in line with classic Zombies iterations of the past.
Some of the major ways in whichCall of Duty: Black Ops 6has achieved this is through the return of round-based survival, an abundance of Easter eggs, and an increased focus on a core Zombies cast, but another key mechanic is arguably just as important. A huge draw factor for the gameplay loop ofCoDZombies over the years has been its imposing difficulty, which made the survival of high rounds a serious achievement, but recent titles likeCold Warare said to have watered this down quite significantly. Treyarch recently made some last-minute changes based on fan feedback to ramp up the difficulty ofBlack Ops 6Zombies, and while this is great, the mode relies way too much on special enemies with massive health pools to achieve this.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Zombies Difficulty Should Come From More Than Just Special Enemies
A lot of the controversy around theCold Warera of Zombiesstemmed from its new Outbreak approach, which did away with the tense claustrophobic maps of classic round-based Zombies in favor of much more open, objective-based experiences. This was a huge departure from the kind of gameplay thatCall of DutyZombies was founded on, and while Outbreak did have its positives, it seems that Treyarch has set its sights back on the classic themes and gameplay loops of more traditional titles.
Prior to launch, fans were excited to seeBlack Ops 6’s two Zombies launch maps, Liberty Falls and Terminus, with Terminus in particular being much more in line with the experiences of olderCoDtitles. While a lot of positives were taken from the early gameplay reveals ofBlack Ops 6Zombies, players were concerned at how easy the mode appeared to be, with this being a carry-over criticism fromCold War.
The massive map size ofCold War’s Outbreakremoved a lot of the tension of classic tight-knit Zombies experiences, with older titles prioritizing smart movement and map knowledge for players who want to survive up to high rounds. While the map design ofBlack Ops 6’s launch Zombies maps is more conducive to this, survival still initially seemed much easier than in past games, and this is something that Treyarch tweaked just before the game’s official launch.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s New Zombies Difficulty Changes Are Hopefully Just the Start
Treyarch announced prior toBlack Ops 6’s release that tweaks have been madeto make Zombies a much harder experienceafter round 25, with players previously breezing to high rounds at the pre-releaseCall of DutyNEXT event. This increased difficulty is definitely noticeable in-game, and leads to a much more engaging overall experience, but a lot of the difficulty from these higher rounds stems from a spate of special enemies that take a long time to deal with.
At these higher rounds, players can expect to encountermini-boss-type enemies such as the Mangler, Amalgam, and Abomination, with these spawning at high frequencies with massive health pools. Even with powerful weapons, these special enemies eventually become huge bullet sponges that take a long time to deal with, ramping up difficulty through distraction and resource depletion in gameplay that is not necessarily always tense or rewarding. A wider variety of special enemy types that debuff the player could be a better way to approach this, akin to the Pentagon Thief fromBlack Ops' Five map. While it is great to see a clearly higher level of difficulty inBlack Ops 6Zombies, it would be a breath of fresh air to see future maps shake up their special enemies by making them more than walking tanks.
