Before the “oh it’s another Modern Zombies Call of Duty with a new theme” comments begin and prominent CoD Zombies content creators start slamming the game for armor, which I do hate as well, studio Treyarch has confirmed that there are more exciting ways to kill the undead this year. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will feature a game mode that’s closest to the “Classic Zombies” experience, but unfortunately, it requires an extra grind to unlock, which begs the question: Why?
Reading the recent Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Zombies blog post, “take on a new experience featuring some legacy mechanics” really caught my eye and raised my eyebrows. This is exactly what we’ve been wanting for more than seven years since Black Ops 4, echoing the popular CoD meme “Call of Duty IS BACK!!” but for real this time around. But there are extra bumps ahead that seem unnecessary.
In fact, there are certain things you’ll need to do to unlock the Cursed mode, and I’m assuming the Ashes of the Damned main easter egg completion is among them. However, even when you access Cursed, the returning Classic Zombies gameplay elements are a starting pistol and a classic points system that rewards you with each bullet shot at zombies instead of kills. No armor is mentioned, but if you want to remove the unlimited perk system, ammo caches around the map, and more, you’ll have to obtain what’s called “Relics” in this mode.
This sure does add to the replayability of the maps, forcing players who want the ultimate Classic Zombies experience to grind for hours in Black Ops 7 to earn that. And that does kill the mood a little.
We Could Have the Classic Zombies With All Its Features, and Relics To Make It Even Better With Community Challenges
Instead of tasking me with unlocking what’s already unlocked in the majority of the Black Ops titles’ Zombies modes, the Classic experience should’ve been there for all to enjoy. Maybe I’d like to complete the map’s main easter egg without armor and a loadout that has all the attachments I need to make the experience easier. But if that’s the case, the Relics would become useless, right? Nope.
If Relics are made to add more challenge to the party, they could add some of the coolest community challenges instead of locking away the Classic Zombies features. These are only a few examples of how Treyarch could go all out with the Relics in Black Ops 7, and it’s never too late since the game’s not out and there are seasons ahead to add them:
- Starting Room Only
- Cash Limit
- Wallbuys Only
- No Pack-A-Punch
- Starting Pistol Only
- Mystery Box Weapons Only
- Headshots Only
- And a lot more…
Overall, Black Ops 7 Zombies already sounds more promising than what we got in Black Ops Cold War, Vanguard, MWZ, and well, Black Ops 6. But when there is a simple solution to make Classic Zombies fans all make that glorious comeback to experience the game the way they used to enjoy years ago, why not give it to them? It’s like pausing the game all over again, something that’s essential to have in a PvE mode that takes hours and hours to beat, and it’s still mentioned as a feature.
All that aside, it’s important to note that nothing’s always final in this, as we saw Treyarch cancelling the Carry Forward content from BO6 to BO7 at the community’s demand. So while Cursed mode sounds promising and I’m all game for it, a fully-fledged Classic mode might as well make a return at launch or in future Black Ops 7 seasons.
