Treyarch has been more vocal than ever before regarding the Zombies mode for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, with the game set to feature plenty of new features that have never been seen in the classic survival mode. With Zombies additions like an exfil system that lets players complete a match without going through a map’s lengthy story quest, as well as plenty of new weapons and gear, it would seem like the mode is evolving for the better in its latest appearance.
However, not every change may be for the best, as the addition of multiplayer operators to the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War version of Zombies comes at a cost. With Black Ops Cold War kicking off a brand new Dark Aether storyline set within the same universe, the writers have the task of telling an engaging story without the help of original playable characters. With the characters players control in the latest version of the mode not having any real importance to the story, Black Ops Cold War Zombies is immediately faced with a major issue regarding personality and storytelling — and it could greatly damage the player experience.
It seems like Treyarch’s primary reasoning behind adding operators to the mode in place of original characters is a pure one, as the team’s intention of creating a unified experience within all modes of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is commendable. The latest Zombies mode shares loadouts with multiplayer, with progression carrying over too. This means that anything unlocked through the games multiplayer can be used within Zombies, a major addition fans have requested for a long time. Weapon blueprints, camos, and unlocks from multiplayer will all carry over to Zombies, and more importantly, so will unlocks for operators.
The inclusion of operators within Zombies allows players to show off all their skins and voice lines, and on top of that, it allows for Zombies players to make use of items earned through the Black Ops Cold War battle pass. Players can not only progress the battle pass through Zombies gameplay, but they can finally use the pass unlocks within Zombies as well. This is a major quality of life change that brings plenty of life to the Zombies mode, as it gives players some meaningful rewards to grind for and use while fighting the undead hordes.
The change comes at a cost, however, as it requires the addition of operators within Call of Duty: Zombies. With a unified game that sees shared progression across all Black Ops Cold War modes, the same operators must be seen throughout each mode so that the items unlocked for them can be used everywhere. While operators being seen in both Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops Cold War multiplayer causes no problems, Zombies is a different story. For a mode that has relied on having a unique personality, replacing deep and original characters with generic soldier archetypes immediately strips away some of what has made the mode so special.
While battle pass progression and more unlockable content within Zombies is a major plus, players may not be realizing the damage that multiplayer operators can do to the mode’s storytelling and overall vibe. Prior to Black Ops Cold War, every major CoD Zombies map since Shi No Numa featured a lineup of characters with deep storylines and relationships that fans cared about.
While it was often the classic Zombies crew of Richtofen, Nikolai, Takeo, and Dempsey that were the focus of a map, even characters like the Shadows of Evil survivors or the Mob of the Dead prisoners had a story to tell. Beyond that, they interacted with each other often and brought life to every round of the mode through their discussions.
The operators of Black Ops Cold War Zombies, apart from working for a specific CIA branch called Requiem, do not seem to have unique stories of their own within the Zombies universe. Where numerous multiverse versions of Richtofen once appeared, helping his character evolve for over a decade, operators from multiplayer have virtually nothing to build off. As such, players have no reason to care about the characters they play as, with beloved Zombies icons like Samantha Maxis only having roles in cutscenes for the mode thus far.
Worse yet, it seems unlikely for Treyarch to have recorded much unique Zombies dialogue for the multiplayer operators, especially when compared to previous Zombies modes. With so many different operators to choose from, the sheer amount of resources and writing that extensive dialogue would require makes it seem unlikely that much will be seen in the game. While players may have initially been excited to see Frank Woods appear at the end of the Black Ops Cold War Zombies reveal trailer, hearing him shout his iconic “you can’t kill me” catchphrase should be an immediate sign of what’s to come for the other operators.
Operators will likely use their multiplayer dialogue throughout Zombies, with quick one-liners triggering when they score kills— and little more beyond that. Deep, meaningful conversations between two characters that reveal pieces of their backstory will likely not happen. Characters may be less likely to comment on what is going on within a specific map or easter egg quest, or even when picking up a Zombies-exclusive wonder weapon from the mystery box. For years, dialogue has been a major component of the Zombies experience, telling fans more about the characters they love and the universe around them. Sadly, though, that storytelling device may be leaving in Black Ops Cold War, and the mode could very well suffer because of it.
Black Ops Cold War is tasking the major CoD Zombies characters, all of which exist outside of the mode’s gameplay, with carrying the load of a story through audio recordings and brief intro and outro cutscenes. While characters like Weaver and Samantha may speak to the player over the radio as a match goes on, not hearing characters have a conversation will certainly take some adjusting. There may be long moments of silence as the rounds progress, with characters not speaking at all as they fight the hordes. With each playable character possibly only being different in appearance, so much of the Treyarch Zombies’ personality is immediately lost.
While Zombies originally found success without a storyline, as Nacht Der Untoten launched with four unnamed soldiers and no plot behind the endless hordes of the undead, the mode has evolved plenty since its first appearance in 2008. Many Zombies fans now love the mode purely for its memorable characters and convoluted story, and the decision to replace original characters with operators may damage the experience for those players. Many gamers will undoubtedly enjoy the benefits of operators in Zombies, such as meaningful battle pass progression and more customization options, but just as many may take issue with the mode losing a part of itself because of this.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War adding new Zombies systems like armor and salvage is undeniably good, but the addition of operators has already put the new Dark Aether story in a tough position. While operators have their benefits for gameplay, their addition may very well lead to the removal of dialogue, a key storytelling device for the mode. Further, by playing as operators that seem to have little impact on the story apart from following the main cast’s orders, it is awfully hard to care about what happens to the expendable Requiem task force. With multiplayer operators unlikely to have their backstories tailored for Zombies in a meaningful way, and no relationships between them to discuss through conversations, the mode may be left feeling just as dead as the enemies being fought within it.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available November 12 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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