I originally hoped to have an article on the forthcoming Paradox Junction map, as well as some of my thoughts on the Black Ops 7 Zombies story, live tonight. Unfortunately, as has become common for Zombies, plans change. Here’s an amalgamation of the latter half with my added thoughts on the latest whispers doing the rounds. I’ll flesh out the Paradox Junction speculation in a separate post.
Everyone has said their piece about the state of the Zombies story at this point. In fact, I did it recently with the phenomenal Stanley557 and The Korborium. I’m over the moon with the response, so thanks to everyone sharing the love! We’ll be doing more when time allows.
Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes, the story. Personally, I think Black Ops 7 is on the right track, with the caveat that until it explains how Tag Der Toten’s ending fits in, I can’t fully get on board with it as part of the story I’ve followed since 2008. I’m fine with waiting for that revelation, so long as it eventually arrives (and if it doesn’t, I suppose I can consider it an “Elseworlds” tale).
It’s too late for some people, though. If that’s you, fair enough! The standard has undoubtedly slipped since the narrative highs of Black Ops 3 and 4 or Cold War, but I’m not going to apologise for enjoying elements of the current story. I still find a lot to love, warts and all.
If Paradox Junction doesn’t give us the answers we’re looking for, we have three more chances before potentially years of silence. I do worry that the more maps we get that ignore the elephant in the room, the more people will turn their backs on the story. I’m not there yet, and I hope I won’t ever be, but we all have our limits. If the day comes when I believe enough is enough, I’ll just move on. I won’t let the seethe consume me like it has others. Tag Der Toten taught me the importance of letting go, after all.
If I didn’t still care about Zombies, I wouldn’t be coming home and writing about it after a hard shift at work. The endless thrill of fighting the undead shows no signs of dimming on my end. Am I happy with everything? No. Should things be better than they are? Yes. Does that mean I’m going to write it off? Never. I’d sooner be dead-ended.
Aside from Audio, which still hasn’t fumbled in nearly twenty years, the one thing that was always dependable in Zombies was the story. Despite the love-it-or-hate-it gameplay of Black Ops 4, the ending of the Aether story endured, even overcoming severe developmental and budget issues. Fast forward a few years, and we’re in a very different place.
Many of us have long suspected that something went wrong with Black Ops 6 Zombies. Despite enjoying it, something didn’t feel right. I was in favour of the theory that Liberty Falls was originally designed for Outbreak. The signs were there:
- The omission of “The Wall” from Cold War
- Liberty Falls’ simplicity as a round-based experience (and “lack of aura”, if you’re one of those people)
- The fact that three of Black Ops 6’s maps (Liberty Falls, Shattered Veil, Reckoning) take place in and around the town.
- The many narrative inconsistencies that plagued BO6’s storytelling and lore.
- The disappearance of intro cutscenes after Citadelle Des Morts.
- The Tomb and Reckoning’s outro cutscenes having no dialogue from the Terminus crew.
- Haven’s Hollow, the Warzone map, was an expanded version of Liberty Falls.
It now seems that the Outbreak theory had merit. COD leaker TheGhostofHope has reported that Outbreak was originally planned for Black Ops 6 Zombies, with some of the game’s Round-Based maps consequently being made up of parts of the Liberty Falls Outbreak map.
I’m not going to focus on the part of the report that suggests MWZ only exists because Infinity Ward dug its heels in. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case, but pointing the finger doesn’t get us anywhere; Treyarch is not infallible. Instead, I want to draw attention to how much disruption a change like this could have caused to the narrative plans for Zombies.
If MWZ wasn’t part of the original plan for Zombies after Cold War and Vanguard, there must have been rewrites. We can go back and forth over how extensive those rewrites were, but it’s undeniable that plans shifted. I do not think Treyarch planned for Liberty Falls Outbreak to be set in 2022, which means Ava Jansen was either an entirely new character for MWZ or was originally meant to debut in Black Ops 6 or Black Ops 7 Zombies. Given that she may be making her return imminently in Paradox Junction, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ava was always in the cards in some capacity.
Even if the story of Liberty Falls Outbreak followed the same beats as its round-based maps, much of the world-building intel likely went out the window. Plans for a round-based map in place of Shattered Veil were no doubt scrapped (assuming the events at the Mansion were originally an Outbreak Main Quest). Then there’s the possibility of cinematics being scrapped or rewritten, the time and money required for new outsourced cinematics, voice actor availability (potentially worsened by the strikes for later DLCs), and the departure of several senior members of the narrative team. To quote Doctor Monty: “I’m not going to sugarcoat things – it’s a fucking shitshow.”
Don’t mistake this analysis for skimping on criticism of Zombies’ writing since Cold War. There are parts of these games that simply do not reach the standards we expect of Call of Duty Zombies. Black Ops 7 is a real improvement across the board, but it’ll take further work to tidy up the mess left by Black Ops 6. These latest rumours give us a small insight into what went on during its development, and possibly an explanation for some of the head-scratching decisions.
I think what has ultimately done the most damage to the Dark Aether chapter of Zombies is ambition: too many characters, too many worlds, too many threads for a Narrative Team to fully commit to while working on a game as erratic as modern Call of Duty. It’s up for debate whether creating such a sprawling story was daring or naive, but I can’t fault the attempt – even if the execution has been slapdash.
For argument’s sake, there’s always a chance the information is incorrect. Infinity Ward recently snapped back at TheGhostOfHope. Hope has had a few misses here and there, but their track record for Call of Duty is pretty strong, so until we hear further, I’m inclined to believe it.
Unfortunately, we may never learn the full truth. Some of the deepest secrets of Zombies are the ones behind the scenes. As someone who is as passionate about the story-behind-the-story as I am about the narrative itself, I hope we’ll one day get the answers we so desperately want. Until then, I’ll be waiting for the Paradox Junction cinematic and practising how to sit like The Warden.
Now that’s Aura.
