Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 saw the Zombies community frustrated for several reasons. Not only were some players against the idea of splitting the maps between the Aether story and the new Chaos story, but a new perk system that removed fan favorites like Juggernog was divisive. The game also launched in a heavily buggy state, with plentiful crashes turning several content creators away from the mode. Still, there are some bright spots with a few Chaos maps being excellent, and the Aether story’s writing staying strong even though its maps were all remakes. As always, there were some great main easter eggs, too.
Though Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 caused a divide in the Zombies community, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has reinvigorated fans of the mode through several smart gameplay changes and a new storyline that still acknowledges what came before. The Dark Aether maps have functioned as a fresh start for fans and for Treyarch, and though they may lack the unique settings of an old castle or a Moon base, they are plenty of fun to play on. While the game’s perk system, armor system, and exfil system all improve gameplay greatly, its easter eggs have been solid as well.
Despite having solid characters and an interesting universe to play with, most Zombies fans failed to connect with the Chaos story. Players were far more intrigued by seeing how Aether narrative would be brought to a close, and with fans growing attached to the characters for over ten years, it is easy to see why. Even with Black Ops 4‘s problems and a split focus, though, both the Chaos and Aether story delivered some memorable main quests.
Voyage of Despair – Abandon Ship: Set on the Titanic, Voyage of Despair kicked off the Chaos Storyline and introduced players to a new cast of characters. Shaw, Diego, and Bruno join the skilled mechanic Scarlett on her journey to rescue her father Alistair. The quest sees players living out the events before the legendary ship crashed and clashing with the Eye of Odin in a tough boss fight, with the ending leading the Chaos crew to Delphi.
IX – Venerated Warrior: Taking place in a hallucination where the Chaos cast visits the past, the unique coliseum setting makes this gladiator-heavy map one of the standout experiences in Black Ops 4. Its main quest sees players appeasing four gods through separate trials, with the final boss fight being against two massive, zombified war elephants. IX’s easter egg, much like the map itself, pulls no punches with its references to various mythologies, and this approach pays dividends.
Blood of the Dead – Most Escape Alive: Jumping back to the Aether story, Blood of the Dead’s easter egg sees the cycle broken. Trapped inside Mob of the Dead like Black Ops 2‘s mobsters once were, the quest sees Zombies players learning more about why the time loop has continued for so long. Rather than trying to break it, Primis Richtofen was actually prolonging it, as his realization of what needed to happen for the cycle to break terrified him. The quest comes to a tragic end as Richtofen dies alone, saying he was “the nicest one” as he is abandoned by those he tried to save. Replaced by a version of himself that wants the cycle to end, the new Richtofen places Nikolai in charge.
Classified – Cold War Remedy: Classified’s easter egg is an odd one, as the “main quest” of the BO4 bonus map is round-based. The outro cinematic is unlocked by reaching round 115 as opposed to completing a quest of some kind, which is the only time in Zombies’ history where this happened. Showing Primis teleporting into the map to recruit the Ultimis crew, Classified sets the stage for the final maps of the Aether story.
Dead of the Night – Trial By Ordeal: Before players could see how the Aether story ended, though, the Chaos story was continued. Dead of the Night saw a celebrity cast take center stage, with the map itself set in a mansion surrounded by werewolves and vampires. The easter egg involves some fun steps like going into the afterlife to interact with ghosts, with the Celtic goddess Danu watching over the trial. After a final boss fight with a large werewolf, players see the map’s cast of characters killed off, with the final reveal being that Dead of the Night was a prequel to Voyage of Despair.
Ancient Evil – Greek Tragedy: Ancient Evil’s quest leans into Greek mythology, allowing players to ride the horse Pegasus while fighting spear-throwing Gegenees. A gorgeous map with Wonder Weapons that let players use the powers of gods, Ancient Evil is a great example of what worked about the Chaos story. Its easter egg not only takes players to Mount Olympus for a wild final boss fight, but also features huge moments like Bruno turning on Shaw, and Scarlett finding out her dad is already dead. Turned to stone by Medusa herself, the Gorgon is revealed to be the Chaos story’s main villain, putting Scarlett into a coma.
A major cliffhanger that was clearly meant to be expanded upon, sadly it seems like the story will never be continued.
Alpha Omega – Electromagnetic Awakening Party: Despite only being a bigger version of Nuketown, Alpha Omega served as a great way to tie up loose ends in the Aether story. Featuring 8 playable characters that were chosen at random, players were treated to many different conversations between the Primis and Ultimis characters. The quest saw players getting answers on the Broken Arrow faction, the creation of TranZit’s bus driver T.E.D.D., and Dempsey’s old squadmates. Players also fight the Avogadro from TranZit, learning of its backstory in the process. The quest ends with a tease of The Great War being fought, though this is ultimately just a trick played by Nikolai.
Tag Der Toten – Salvation Lies Above: The final easter egg of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 sees the Aether story coming to a close, and though Primis and Ultimis feature heavily in dialogue, they are not the playable characters. Instead, Victis carries out the map’s main quest, using tools like Samantha’s Music Box on their way to ending the multiverse. Once the quest is complete, a gut punch ending plays out that shows all members of Primis and Ultimis dead — poisoned by Primis Nikolai, their new leader.
With the characters being the cause for the storyline’s problems and the reason they would continue forever, they all needed to die, something Richtofen was unwilling to do. Nikolai was, however, and with the group dead, he has Samantha finish him off. The young Sam and Eddie are the only survivors, entering a new universe as the one that players knew for over a decade comes to an end.
As always, Call of Duty Zombies boasted some memorable side easter eggs in Black Ops 4, and these are the best of the bunch:
- Easter Egg Songs: As is tradition, Black Ops 4 Zombies has several easter egg songs. These include Avenged Sevenfold’s “Mad Hatter” in IX, Voyage of Despair’s “Drowning,” and Blood of the Dead’s remix of “Where Are We Going.” Classified featured Elena Seigman’s “Shockwave,” Dead of the Night played “Mystery,” and Ancient Evil featured “Stormbound.” Alpha Omega’s “I Am The Well” and Tag der Toten’s two instrumental songs “A Light From The Shore” and “Reflections” round out the list.
- Shield Upgrades: Several maps in Black Ops 4 took after Gorod Krovi by having upgradeable shields, including Voyage of Despair, IX, and Blood of the Dead. Each increased durability and damage, with Voyage’s getting the cryofreeze ammo type attached to its gun.
- Jump Scare Easter Eggs: In Classified, players can get “scared” by Last Gen Richtofen, a reference to a popular meme that pokes fun at the character’s design in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Black Ops 3. Blood of the Dead’s jump scare shows the Shadowman, while Alpha Omega shows the Avogadro in the middle of its transformation. Tag der Toten features images of the Margwa and Pablo the Hermit.
- IX’s Fire Immunity Easter Egg: If players successfully slid under a spike trap and killed every type of enemy with an acid trap, they will not take damage from the fire in the central area of the map. Making training significantly easier, this side quest easter egg is a must.
- IX’s Viking Funeral Easter Egg: If players collect three items and attach them to a corpse in Odin’s tower, they can then throw a wraith fire from Zeus’ tower nearby — arching the grenade so that it lands on the body. After several rounds, a free perk drop will appear by the viking.
- IX’s Prisoner Quest: Players can find a series of quotes by interacting with several items around the map, and once all are found a wall will break revealing a cypher puzzle with new storyline info.
- Voyage’s Doll and Low Gravity: If players collect three items and place them on a corpse like with IX’s Viking, the Zombies will bounce around on the Titanic as if they were floating in space. Further, an odd doll can be found that says “yes” or “no” when interacted with.
- Blood’s Golden Scalpel: As if the Golden Spork in the original Mob of the Dead was not enough, Treyarch introduces another upgrade in Blood of the Dead. While players can turn the spoon into a spork, they can also turn the spork into a scalpel.
- Blood’s Free Monkey Bombs: Players can acquire Monkey Bombs for free on Blood of the Dead by getting special weapon kills near a statue of the mode’s iconic lethal grenade.
- Classified’s Samantha Easter Egg: If players interact with a door near the spawn of Classified several times, they will interrupt Five character and real-life historical figure Robert McNamara. If this is done enough times, Samantha will yell at the player, screaming to “leave him alone” while spawning several Nova 6 crawlers.
- Classified’s Bonfire Sale: Seeing as Classified is a remake of Five, it seems fitting that the map has a Bonfire Sale. With no Pentagon Thief to fight, though, it is acquired differently, as players need to survive in Area 51 for 3 rounds.
- Dead of the Night’s Wooden Stake and Savage Impaler: Players can acquire a Wooden Stake melee weapon through a side easter egg, serving as a one-hit kill on vampires. A separate quest allows players to unlock a special crossbow weapon, which is equally efficient at slaying the Nosferatus.
- Dead of the Knight’s Silver Bullets: In Dead of the Knight, players can create a special ammo type that boosts weapon damage against werewolves and allows them to refill ammo for any upgraded weapon.
- Ancient Evil’s Pegasus Strike: While players can ride Pegasus inside Ancient Evil, they can also build a special piece of equipment which allows the legendary stallion to be called in during regular gameplay.
- Alpha Omega’s Love Story: A funny side quest in Alpha Omega is started by knifing the heads off every Nuketown mannequin, as special male and female mannequins will be spawned. Players need to lead the male to the female, and when they do, their heads will be restored. As they embrace, players are awarded with a free self revive.
- Alpha Omega’s Rushmore Codes: While Broken Arrow’s patriotic AI Rushmore is integral to the main easter egg, several codes allow him to change the gameplay in a big way. These include joke triggers, Zombie duck sounds, perk discounts, and free power-ups. Insanity Mode can also be triggered by Rushmore, which instantly takes players to round 200.
- Tag’s Free Perk: In Tag der Toten, players can find several figurines of past Zombies foes. Once all are found, a wave of electric Zombies will spawn, with a free perk provided once they have been dealt with.
- Tag’s “Secret”: Randomly triggered by taking launch pads, this easter egg sees players swimming through some frozen water to reach an odd area with a close-up of the planet Mars — a fun nod to an old community debate suggesting that this is where Shangri-La took place.
- Tag’s George Romero Tribute: One more memorable Tag der Toten easter egg sees George Romero, the man who popularized Zombie films, being shown some love. Players can find Romero’s glasses, pressing square on the item allows players to give up 500 points and literally paying respects to the late director and former boss enemy,
So far, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies has taken an approach to main quests that puts them on the shorter side, with steps also being simpler and manageable without using a guide. While some may miss the days-long easter egg hunts of old, others may prefer the slimmed down approach of these brief quests. Regardless, the similar length and styles of both quests released thus far indicate that future map additions will keep this format.
Die Maschine – Evil Unleashed: Like Die Maschine as a whole, the map’s main quest serves largely as an introduction to the new storyline. With a majority of the main easter egg made up of upgrades for the DIE Shockwave Wonder Weapon, players of every skill level can find success. Telling the story of how the new outbreak began, the map’s quest highlights the villainous Omega group and Requiem, the faction led by CIA member and campaign character Weaver. A thrilling sequence where the facility is destroyed and players escape the area makes for a memorable end to this speedy quest.
Firebase Z – Maxis Potential: Firebase Z’s main quest is where the Dark Aether story really picks up, as it focuses on the rescue of Samantha Maxis — the same girl that was so integral to the Aether story. Now an adult, Sam has been captured by Omega, and Weaver sends Requiem to get her back. After a fight with a giant Dark Aether creature named Orda, players successfully flee the Firebase with Sam in tow— and Samantha promises to fill Weaver in on all she learned while trapped inside the Dark Aether.
Though there will surely be more to come throughout the DLC season, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s best side easter eggs so far are:
- Easter Egg Songs: Kevin Sherwood continues to deliver great, original music for CoD Zombies in the latest Black Ops game, with the new additions being Die Maschine’s “Alone” and Firebase Z’s “Lost”. Firebase Z’s song is particularly special, as Samantha’s voice actress provides the track’s vocals.
- Die Maschine’s Coffin Dance: While CoD Zombies has embraced memes related to its own community, the Coffin Dance mini quest was the most it has ever leaned into the rest of internet culture, as shooting several blue lights leads to players watching a group of Zombies do the routine.
- Die Maschine’s Jump Scare: Die Maschine’s jump scare is different from aiming at certain places, as players excited to pull a Ray Gun from the Mystery Box will get startled by a ghostly red spirit.
- Die Maschine’s Giant Monster and Giant Hand: While players learned that the Elder God is called Orda in Firebase Z, they first saw the creature in action on Die Maschine. At round 45, it can be seen roaming outside the map whenever players enter the Dark Aether. Players can also do the Giant Hand easter egg for a free Legendary Weapon, with Orda killing Zombies as it reaches through a door behind a barrier.
- Firebase Z’s Creepy Crate Quest: Far different from the silly Coffin Dance, this mini quest sees a bunny toy coming to life. Turning at the player and then charging at them, Requiem members are thrust into a pitch-black Vietnam forest. However, once three bunnies are shot, a special crate reward is dropped, making the quest worthwhile for brave Zombies fans.
- Firebase Z’s Safe Easter Egg: In Firebase Z’s safe easter egg, players take a severed head to a machine and bring it back to life so that they can get a safe code. In the safe, players will find a cypher puzzle and a free perk.
- Firebase Z’s Monkey Bomb Upgrade: The final noteworthy Firebase Z side easter egg sees players upgrading Monkey Bombs like in Gorod Krovi, only this time the music changes to hip hop instead of Dubstep. Even better, the Zombies break dance to the beat of the music.
Still thriving over a decade later, Call of Duty Zombies has evolved from a one-off survival mode into a one of a kind experience, boasting its own loyal community of gamers. There are so many reasons that the Call of Duty Zombies fan base loves the mode like it does, ranging from its addictive gameplay loop to its instantly recognizable characters and weapons. Secrets and easter eggs have gone a long way in the mode’s evolution, though, and it is hard to imagine Call of Duty Zombies without moments like the destruction of the earth and the deaths of Primis. As such, hopefully more Zombies easter eggs keep on coming, with lists like this only growing longer and longer as time goes on.
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