I’ve already had a lot to say about the return of Grief, but no matter the amount of pre-release information available, you can only get a feel for it once you’ve jumped into a match. Having spent the past week body-blocking players in hallways and collecting bruises from Kali Sticks, I’m happy to report that the indirect PVP mode’s return is a worthwhile endeavour (for the most part).
With eleven arenas at launch, the mode addresses the severe lack of variety in the original Black Ops 2 version. The quality of the arenas varies; some suit the close-quarters combat of the mode more than others, with The Pit being my favourite. The entrance to The Tomb quickly ends up flooded with the undead, forcing you to stay alert.
The most significant departure from BO2 is the addition of Grief Zones. These Zones require each team to race to a certain number of kills to secure a Grief against the other team. With different stipulations, such as melee and critical kills, it isn’t as easy as camping and mowing down Zombies.
Capturing a Grief Zone tips the scales in favour of your team, meaning stalemates aren’t quite as prevalent as before (though they do still appear more than I’d like). Ammo drain and weapon nerf require quick thinking—or dodging—by the inflicted,
The magic of Grief is when it lets you cause chaos through traditional Zombies gameplay. Stealing power-ups, preventing revives, leading a horde of Zombies towards an enemy; all are still fair and viable strategies in Black Ops 6, and the rush of downing an opponent never gets old.
Combining these tried-and-tested methods with Grief Zones makes the moment-to-moment gameplay much more engaging. Where before you’d sit around and wait for an enemy to slip up or present an opportunity to grief, now you can be aggressive and apply pressure by capturing a Grief Zone.
It was an inspired choice to have S.A.M. and Richtofen as the announcers for each team. While I’m always desperate for more lore, I think the light-hearted fourth wall-breaking nature of their dialogue is a good fit for Grief. It’s all a bit of a laugh.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Zombies without a few caveats. I won’t beat around the bush—Grief needs private matches. The ability to play with your friends, foes and pre-arranged opponents is essential. There are too many players quitting as soon as they go down, and the matchmaking is inconsistent. Some matches last 3 minutes while others are hour-long epics.
I’m in two minds over the late stages of a match. Endurance should be one of the key tests of Grief. When matched against an equally skilled team, the matches can be long and tense. Sometimes, however, you’re against a weaker team that spam gobblegums, keeping them in the fight, but only delaying the inevitable. It gives me flashbacks to some of my deadlocked BO2 Grief matches, so perhaps there should be some heavier punishments as the rounds increase.
The melee spam can be infuriating, but that’s kind of the point of the mode! My main issue is with the annoying audio and visual effects that occur when someone is doing you in with a melee weapon. Turning down the noise would help massively without compromising the spirit of the mode.
I stand by my prediction that Grief won’t take over, but I don’t think it has to! It’s another flavour of Zombies that presents Treyarch with new avenues to support the mode across the year, and it may encourage new players to take a step into the Dark Aether. I can see myself returning to Grief, hoping to concoct a grand scheme that Richtofen would be proud of, time and time again.
Grief undoubtedly has a lot of potential. But, as I was writing this, a thought occurred to me. I’ve said the same about Outbreak, Onslaught, MWZ, and even elements of Black Ops 6 Zombies. I’m resigned to the fact that Zombies will never reach its full potential as long as Call of Duty’s prime directive is “make money”. As it stands, the series does not allow artistic development. It is entirely focused on financial growth. Whether that’s a Microsoft, Activision, or Treyarch call, the result is the same: the creatives and fans suffer because of short-term greed.
To those with the power to make substantial changes, know this. You don’t get the success of a Zombies Chronicles without the blood, sweat and tears of the ten years that came before it. You don’t get the excitement of a mode like Grief coming back without releasing the bold yet fallible mode in the first place.
Either put your weight behind Zombies and give the development team the time and resources necessary to support it, or let the mode operate on its own terms, as it did before the modern era of Call of Duty.
I’m happy for the Zombies Team to take its time and focus on nailing down quality maps, but I understand most players are invested in the seasonal model and, as such, expect meaningful seasonal updates. Treyarch cannot deliver that whilst simultaneously working on its next premium Call of Duty title, though.
By the end of Cold War’s life, Outbreak had grown to become a Zombies playground with multiple main quests and plenty of side easter eggs and objectives. Imagine where Outbreak could have been now if Treyarch had doubled down on it instead of rushing out Vanguard Zombies.
I don’t know what the answer is. There are so many factors and unknowns that make speculating about the future of Zombies a lost cause. What I do know is that the cycle of Treyarch chasing its tail can only continue for so long. If Call of Duty is expected to dominate for another 20 years, the developers holding it up need to be allowed to tend to their creations, and Zombies is no houseplant.