The last two channels on The Truth Dies are live, but before that, Mr Peeks had another secret for us last night. Inputting the following code on The Truth Dies revealed a video of what I assume is the Mystery Box moving animation.
Is the announcer still The Forsaken? It’s hard to tell. Some think it’s him; others don’t. I want to hear more quotes before coming to a conclusion.
They Did What? Again?!
Channel 5 hosts a nature documentary which twists into static, with a pompous voice stating, “Watch as this arachnid-like vermin explodes from the frontal lobe of the undead.”
The footage is tough to see, but you can just about make out what looks like legs and sharp teeth. It seems Spiders are back in Call of Duty: Zombies. Welp.
Frankly, this new enemy type looks more frightening than the bugs we encountered on Pohnpei Island. A combination of a Dark Aether Mimic and Resident Evil’s Las Plagas, these things look quick and skittery. Gross.
Despite my arachnophobia (which made my first few attempts at ZNS extremely difficult), I’m excited. Given the progression of the mode, it’s difficult for Zombies to be scary. How can you “bring back the fear” for players who have been killing Zombies for ten-plus years?
Sledgehammer tried with WW2 Zombies, but the result was simply a darker tone, more gore and a few jumpscares. Playing into fears, however, will definitely make some people’s skin crawl. Let’s just not make it too much of a habit, Treyarch. Please? I’m still recovering from the Mother Spider.
We already have at least two new enemy types confirmed for Terminus, which is great. Variety is essential for replayability in Zombies. I’m honestly a little sick of Manglers after Cold War and MWZ, despite originally being excited at their return. Having map-exclusive enemies for round-based maps is the way forward.
The added bonus of mixing up enemy types on each round-based map is that if an Outbreak successor ever merges, there’s the potential for a larger pool of enemies to encounter. I’m happy for Treyarch to throw every enemy into a mode like that. In an open-world Zombies mode, the more ways to play and things to do, the better.
The comparison to Zetsubou No Shima is obvious, given Terminus’s location, atmosphere, and new enemies. Many see the map as the worst of Black Ops 3 Zombies; I disagree. It isn’t the perfect map, but it has some fantastic gameplay ideas, like revealing new areas using the Skull of Nan Sapwe, the KT-4 wonder weapon, and dynamic doors (the spider webs). The mood is also second to none.
Kevin Drew was ZNS’ design director. We don’t know for sure if he’s in a similar role for Terminus, but if he is, I’d expect that he is applying everything he learned from Zetsubou to make Terminus a triumph. Regardless of his role on Terminus, he clearly has a pro-Spider agenda.
Black Ops Cold Brew
Channel 6 revealed a brand-new perk—Melee Macchiato—via the “RBZ Shopping Channel.” New perks are always exciting, and I love the design of the can. It’s interesting to see a brand-new melee perk. I don’t indulge in Melee gameplay much in Zombies outside of maps with melee wonder weapons, so hopefully, this perk changes that!
Looking back over the history of melee perks in Zombies we’ve had:
- Infinite Warfare: Slappy Taffy increased melee damage and added a stun effect.
- WW2: Faustblitz was similar to Slappy Taffy, focussing purely on melee damage.
- Black Ops 4: Ethereal Razor gave the player’s melee ability an aetherial blade, which enabled offhand melee swipes to affect multiple enemies in an arc. Offhand swipes and lunges would provide bonus damage and restore a small amount of health. When the Modifier was active, offhand lunge attacks would instantly kill basic zombies and do more significant bonus damage to others.
I’m hoping Melee Macchiato will, in particular, improve melee gameplay in later rounds. Even if Zombies are one-hit kills on a high round, the quantity of undead means you will take some hits. The ability Ethereal Razor gave to swiping attacks helped, but I think it could go further.
It’s worth noting the amount sold on the teaser reached 115. I’ve said in the past how Treyarch had avoided many references to Element 115 following the ending of The Aether Saga. It does seem like that may be changing here, regardless of whether it’s a wink to the fans or something more substantial. I’m putting it in the “sus” category for now and waiting to see if there are other references to the element in Black Ops 6.
These teasers offer little to explore, but they’re exciting nonetheless. With all channels live on The Truth Dies, the question is, what happens next? I can’t help but feel a trailer for Terminus is imminent. That said, Mr Peeks might have some more tricks in his bowl.
Despite being referenced in social media trailers, Liberty Falls doesn’t feature much on The Truth Dies website. We may see some hints at the second launch map before getting a trailer, but I think it’s more likely Liberty Falls is being kept for COD Next or beyond.
It’s almost time. The reveal is on its way, whether today, tomorrow, or a few weeks from now.