Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Zombies Review in Progress

GAMING NEWS

Call of Duty’s latest entry brings back its cult-favorite Zombies mode, delivering absurd firepower, unpredictable monsters, and early-game chaos as the community begins uncovering its secrets.

"Despite another year of massive installs and divisive PC hurdles, Black Ops 6’s undead mode shows early promise with over-the-top action and nostalgic round-based survival.

Each year, Call of Duty’s identity feels increasingly nebulous—a mega-platform stitched together by huge downloads, anti-cheat layers, and enough optional add-ons to make your SSD beg for mercy. With my PC groaning under this year’s new security software, I’ve been sinking early hours into the PlayStation 5 version, diving headfirst into what remains my favorite corner of the series: Zombies. And while the community hasn’t cracked all the Easter eggs just yet, the early hours suggest a familiar but wildly entertaining return to form.

Zombies has always been CoD’s bizarre little side experiment, transforming a once-serious war series into a carnival of ray guns, supernatural villains, and sarcastic one-liners. It’s still hilarious to remember that this franchise used to deliver somber quotes about the horrors of war—now my character jokes about a demonic voice sounding like his high school gym teacher while I gamble for weapons in a skull-covered mystery box. It’s nonsense… wonderful, glorious nonsense.

Black Ops 6 doubles down on that energy. A friend summed it up perfectly mid-match: “I don’t think this sniper rifle is the right one—things aren’t blowing up.” He meant it literally. One sniper fires grenades once upgraded. Giant spider creatures burst from fallen undead. And if someone drops their guard for two seconds, the horde will absolutely end the whole squad before anyone can plead: “Don’t let me die, I have the ray gun.”

Round-based survival is finally back after last year’s detour, and the two maps available at launch—Ashes of the Damned and Vandorn Farm—offer wildly different flavors of chaos. Bugs and odd quirks pop up here and there, but nothing that’s stopped me from wanting to run another match the moment I finish one.

The overarching narrative is suitably ridiculous: Raul Menendez is somehow alive again, a shady PMC is involved, and zombies are doing zombie things. The opening cutscene had me staring at the screen with the exact expression a cow might make if handed a fistful of caffeine pills. It’s silly, but entirely aware of what it is.

Much of Zombies’ true potential won’t surface until the community uncovers map secrets, so early impressions are equal parts excitement and confusion. Many of last year’s early frustrations return—like being forced to reach level four before building a real loadout, leaving you stuck with a basic pistol if Zombies is all you care about. Fun shouldn’t require unlocking, but here we are.

Core gameplay remains familiar: earn currency, unlock new routes, upgrade guns at Pack-a-Punch stations, and juggle armor, Arsenal upgrades, and Gobblegums while hordes chew through the walls. The fundamentals still sing—I will never get tired of sliding into a crowd and vaporizing half the battlefield with a shotgun.

The maps provide most of the excitement. Ashes of the Damned feels like the heavier, secret-laden experience, though my group’s first attempt ended in spectacular chaos when an uncommunicative teammate stole a truck, drove off, and tried to mow down the undead until the vehicle exploded. The rest of us died in scattered pockets trying to catch up. Not ideal.

Vandorn Farm is more claustrophobic and traditional. Zombies drop from rafters, the Mystery Box sits in a cramped barn, and a decrepit house holds a skeleton family still seated at dinner. It’s eerie, lively, and layered with clever pathways that encourage exploration between waves. But even here, early bugs show up—a strange infection mechanic failed to reappear after the first activation, leaving us wandering until my teammates bailed. Fun, but messy.

As always, Zombies’ lasting appeal depends on how the maps evolve once puzzles are solved, routes are mastered, and the community uncovers the juicy, grotesque heart of each location. For now, the mode feels like a promising foundation that hides something deeper—something I’m still carving toward with a metaphorical bonesaw.

By Will Borger

8 min read · Oct 31, 2024