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The latest Call of Duty Zombies story continuity — better known as the Dark Aether — takes place right in between the events of Black Ops and Modern Warfare games. Now, many might think that it’s a good thing for the sake of unification of all the Call of Duty stories, but Zombies in its old CoD fashion doesn’t just fit there. This isn’t a new topic, of course. But as we move forward, there has been plenty of potential that has been buried due to the fact that the Dark Aether storyline has to remain bound to the campaign narrative. How does it affect the whole Zombies mode, though? And does it mean that Black Ops 6 isn’t going to feature the unique round-based experience that we cherished in the old Black Ops games? Let’s start from the beginning.
What Went Wrong With The Zombies Story?
Up until Black Ops 4 in 2018, everything about the Zombies storyline was always kept siloed off to this specific game mode. From Richtofen’s pursuit of power with Ultimis to resolving the paradox of the multiverse with Primis, these unique story beats helped make the Zombies narrative shine brightly. Of course, there were universes, and every Call of Duty game series was supposed to remain in its own timeline. Like, Black Ops did Black Ops with the numbers sequence, tricky Vic, and the tale of the Mason bloodline, and Modern Warfare followed the story of Task Force 141 in its own unique and untouched narrative. However, the multiverse of Call of Duty collapsed in Black Ops 4 Zombies.
This was meant to start a new era of Call of Duty, and it sure did with Modern Warfare 2019. That game was a perfect start for a new MW series. But then came Black Ops Cold War, introducing shared characters and elements from the newly rebooted Modern Warfare timeline. As it turned out, all the Black Ops games and the new Modern Warfare story are set in the same universe. That I can live with. But then, Samantha Maxis shows up and calls Grigori Weaver?
This is where things went sideways a little bit, as the Zombies storyline of Black Ops Cold War, was in the same universe where Captain Price saves Farah and executes some of the best realistic SAS missions we’ve ever seen in a video game. So, the boundaries were broken loose, and MW3 surely did put the nail in the coffin by introducing Soap to the Zombies narrative, too.
Now, this raises concern when we realize that the newly formed Zombies narrative is no longer able to expand into what it wants to be. The Call of Duty campaign missions are all about feeling a sense of realism, right? Zombies, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of that point of view, which is where the disconnect often arises.
We can no longer go to the moon and discover elements that are way beyond the realism of Call of Duty. And we cannot have maps like Shadows of Evil where everything just feels like a fantasy. The main CoD‘s story has become a big issue that limits the creativity of the development team to get out of this world and build something unique for Zombies. In short, tying the Zombies story to the campaign ends up painting the game into a corner, which it struggles to get out of.
It’s Not Just About Reusing Assets
Now, with things we said in mind, some might argue that the unification of Call of Duty‘s Zombies story with the campaign is to let the developers reuse some of the multiplayer and narrative levels for the undead warfare. But that’s really not the case. Reusing assets has never been a limitation.
Of course, maps like Moon, Origin, and Tranzit are some of the peak creative zeniths for Call of Duty Zombies map design that glorifies the atmosphere of the game mode. But, Der Riese, Nacht Der Untoten, Veruckt, Ascension, and a lot more are still excellent Zombies maps that were basically reused assets from the campaign and the multiplayer portions of their respective games.
So, if Zombies doesn’t feel like the way it was during the Aether storyline, it’s because it always needs to explain itself to the realistic chronologies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Black Ops campaigns. However, this new direction could be leaning towards something special with Black Ops 6; something that’d change and maybe even separate the Zombies and Call of Duty campaigns once more.
Black Ops 6 Shares The Same Fate, But..
With Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Treyarch is giving us some of the best that we’ve been waiting for since Black Ops 4. We’re talking a big map like Terminus Island with a whole ton of Zombies vibes, round-based game modes, and a dedicated crew that is looking after none other than Edward Richtofen voiced by the original actor, Nolan North.
Yes, the story is still bound to the campaign missions, and MW3 Zombies is the canon continuity of it. But at least, we are not playing on a map that’s used for Warzone where we have to exfil under 1 hour. Russel Adler and Woods have nothing to do with this, and Edward Richtofen might even change the whole thing by setting up a multiverse. I mean who knows what Project Janus is?
So, while the Black Ops 6 Zombies story is still set in the shared Call of Duty universe where realistic military operations are a thing, it reveals a mystery of what could happen in the shadows. Terminus Island is a place where nobody hears you screaming, and Richtofen is a man who’s capable of doing things that would mess up a whole universe. So, with the right direction in the story, the future of the undead tales in Call of Duty could shine brightly when Black Ops 6 arrives later this year. Fingers firmly crossed, eh?.
