The Citadelle des Morts intro cinematic is out, and while I was already excited for more Zombies after Black Ops 6’s launch, my hype is now at fever pitch for the new map update. It’s been a while since I’ve written on Shutter Paw–I’ve been dipping my toes in some YouTube–but now’s the perfect time to tap away furiously at my laptop and speculate on the future of Zombies.
Off the bat, I’m so happy we’re getting intro cinematics for post-launch maps again. It’s been a while! By my estimations, Ancient Evil was the last one we got (ironic, given the Chaos ties). We had the comic-book-style intros for Alpha Omega and Tag Der Toten, of course, but they weren’t quite the same as a good old pre-rendered cinematic.
There were cinematics in Cold War, Vanguard, and MWZ, but not to the extent that we had a cinematic to look forward to the week or so before a map’s launch. It’s a critical marketing beat that helps increase the anticipation for maps (the glory days of Black Ops 3 had cinematics coming out like clockwork) while giving fans of the story something to chew on. I hope this sets a precedent for the rest of the season.
The Citadelle des Morts intro reunites us and the Terminus crew with Sergei Ravenov. Ravenov hasn’t taken the outcome of the Cold War well, turning to drink while working as a heavy for the Syndicate. He’s currently tasked with giving prisoner Gabriel Krafft his “beatings”. This is a very different Ravenov than we’ve experienced in the past: a man bereft of hope. The shot of him stubbing his cigar out on the picture Maxis had signed for him was heartbreaking, and it emphasises the importance of these assets for telling Zombies’ story.
The action is kept to a premium, with only a few Zombies breaking through to attack the gang, but Maya and Ravenov save the day, looking slick in the process. Blood-covered Peck got a laugh out of me, although I hope it’s not a sign of things to come! I’m still rooting for Peckdemption, despite my head knowing he’s probably going to be the first to stab us in the back.
We’re still not 100% certain about what kicked off the simultaneous outbreaks at Liberty Falls and Terminus Island. An outbreak in Avalon right as the crew arrives is quite a coincidence–something may be tracking the Terminus crew. I’m still suspicious of S.A.M since she claims in the Terminus ending that she has no idea where Richtofen is despite capturing him in the Mansion in the Liberty Falls cinematic. She’s another one to keep an eye on, for sure.
We don’t actually know what happened to Richtofen. He could easily have fought back and taken control of S.A.M. Maybe he’s the one guiding the crew to Avalon. We cannot trust anyone at this point, and that makes things interesting!
The map’s objective seems to be to kill Franco, rescue Krafft, and retrieve the sentinel artefact. I’m not sure we’ll successfully manage all three; Franco is an authoritative member of the French Syndicate, there’s an undead outbreak, and Krafft’s suffered torturous beatings (not to mention the miraculous age he is). There’s also no guarantee the Artefact is anywhere near Avalon. Twists and turns are undoubtedly on the way!
Kraffting Chaos
Alongside the trailer, Treyarch teased: “An old friend, a forgotten artefact, and a man who should not be alive.” I’m very excited to witness all the different threads tie together. Despite being part of the Dark Aether saga, Cold War and Vanguard felt like separate entities. Black Ops 6 is finally making it all make sense!
The implications of the crew hunting down the Sentinel Artefact are yet to be known, but the premise has caught the community’s attention. Jason Blundell and Craig Houston persistently reminded players during Black Ops 4 that Chaos and Aether were not connected. They aren’t. The Dark Aether and Chaos, however, are fair game. Call it a loophole if you want; it makes logical sense, and if that’s the path we’re going down, I’m all for it!
I don’t want to focus too much on Chaos until we play the map and get more information about how it will work. Despite the ending of Terminus, we still need to determine what we’re dealing with here: nostalgia bait, a reboot, a retcon, or a straight continuation. I’m hopeful it’s not a cheap throwback, and we’ll be getting multiple Chaos concepts included in Dark Aether at the very least. Considering how Black Ops 4 played out, you have to imagine Craig Houston and the team have a sense of unfinished business with Chaos.
“Read It AGAIN.”
Since we’re on the topic of story elements returning in Zombies, it’s worth pointing out that remnants of Aether exist in the Dark Aether. It would be foolish not to play around with them (for gameplay and story reasons), but some are cautious about treading old ground. As far as I’m concerned, Treyarch can go as wild as they want when clashing old with new, as long as it respects the past and drives fresh storytelling experiences forward.
What “respecting the past” means will vary from person to person. Some don’t like Dark Aether’s continuity with the old story, but I think it was a clever way to move forward while still having connective tissue to the past. After Black Ops 4, a clean break to a new story may have been disastrous.
It’s all about execution for me. I’ve long been against Primis and Ultimis returning, but if it were done to perfection, I won’t argue! I just worry that the potential for failure is exceptionally high; I’d rather not risk it. By all means, bring back Victis, the Apothicons or the Keepers, but not Primis or Ultimis. If there were new variants of Takeo, Dempsey, and Nikolai, though… I think I’d be okay with that.
But one returning set of characters at a time, please, Treyarch! Until the state of the Chaos story is clarified and the fate of Bruno, Shaw, Diego, and Scarlett is explained, I’ll hope to see them appear.
Who Let Me Cook?
Despite my earlier warning about approaching Chaos cautiously, I wanted to pitch a crackpot theory because what is Call of Duty Zombies if not a mode where we can theorise and throw some shit at the wall to see what sticks! Several leaps in logic need to be taken, and I wouldn’t be gambling on any of this happening, but it entertained me, so strap in.
In the Chaos Story, The Scepter of Ra is an artefact used to revive the dead. Once revived by the Scepter, The Order can control a human, and a “dark” version resides within them (e.g. Dark Godfrey). This notably gives them a red mark on their forehead, similar to a “third eye”. The Chaos story was shelved before we could discover what it all means, but with its potential return, I couldn’t help but notice the similarity between the third eye and Kortifex the Deathless.
Kortifex’s was often involved with the Egyptians (see below). The Elder Gods of the Dark Aether each had artefacts that bonded humans to them, but what if there were additional artefacts? What if Kortifex was involved with creating the Scepter of Ra, imbuing it with the power of deathlessness?
Inviktor: Saraxis likes to claim she discovered your world, but there were many of us who took an interest. She saw you merely as new toys. Kortifex, I have never fully fathomed. But I assume he saw new lands to plunder. He ordered Norticus to study you for conquest. Norticus ordered me to learn your ways of war. And Bellekar? Curiosity is her lifeblood. We each had our favourite mortals to visit. For me, the Greeks. For Kortifex, the Egyptians.
We were seen as patron spirits… angels… demons… gods… Saraxis did have the idea to make artifacts that could bond us to mortals. But it took Bellekar’s cunning to actually make it work. Even then, we each had to craft our own. We tried to make them fit the cultures we wanted to visit. Heh. None of us got it quite right. I was probably closest with my sword, but swords I understand. Kortifex… Kortifex just didn’t care. Hrrr… Two pyramids on a stick. How long did that take him?
We cast our artifacts through the veil, our friends picked them up, and suddenly we were truly with them. We had such adventures in those days. But those are tales for another time. If only we had realised sooner that in creating the artifacts, we had made a rod for our own backs…
Check out the audio of this radio via Detonated Codex: https://codex.detonated.com/intel/spare_the_rod
We only know of three people revived by the Scepter: Godfrey, Shaw and Bruno. Shaw and Bruno were still alive as of Ancient Evil, but Scarlett Rhodes killed Godfrey at Rhodes Manor. It doesn’t make you immortal then, but the Scepter could theoretically extend the life of a human, despite them still being susceptible to bullets and bloodshed.
Another possibility is that the Scepter can be used repeatedly to keep someone alive. Godfrey was no longer required by The Order following Dead of the Night’s conclusion, so he was never revived again.
Now, how does this relate to Citadelle des Morts?
We have Gabriel Krafft, a man who was ageing in the Second World War, somehow alive in the 1990s and able to withstand torture by the French Mob. Could Krafft have been revived with the Scepter of Ra at some point, giving him a glimpse of eternal life? Treyarch itself said he shouldn’t be alive.
Whatever the reason for the anomaly that is Gabriel Krafft, the revelations of Citadelle des Morts will likely explain what Krafft has been up to for the past 40/50 years. We already know Ravenov extends his life at some point, as he’s still on the field in Modern Warfare Zombies in the 2020s. I doubt the fountain of youth is found at the bottom of his alcohol bottle.
That’s it for my 115/Aetherium/Prima Materia-induced delusions! If nothing else, they raise an interesting thought I’ve seen others discuss recently. If we assume Chaos is being incorporated into Dark Aether, wouldn’t the Elder Gods be the neatest way to tie both stories together? Vanguard established a lot of lore about the ancients, and you can explain a lot of the Chaos stuff
Thankfully, we’re due answers (and, no doubt, further questions) in just over a week! Who knows what awaits us at the end of Citadelle des Mort’s main quest: perhaps the tease of a sentinel trial following the successful retrieval of the artefact? Or is our artefact in another castle?
It cannot be understated how successful Black Ops 6 Zombies’ launch was. Some things still need to be addressed (mangler spam, etc.), but I’m delighted with the mode. If Treyarch delivers a solid expansion in Citadelle des Morts, 2025 may be the biggest year for Zombies in a very long time.
Have faith in Chaos.