Call of Duty Zombies has had a rough five years, and nearly every fan of the survival mode is aware of its struggles. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 featured the interesting-but-incomplete Chaos story and a rushed ending to the beloved Aether narrative. Black Ops Cold War’s new Dark Aether timeline showed potential, as did its Outbreak mode, but the use of Operators and bland map concepts did not do it many favors. And then, Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies was a complete disaster.
While rumors have suggested that Call of Duty 2023 could feature some form of Zombies, with a fresh take on Outbreak seeming to be the most likely scenario, Call of Duty 2024 is set to feature the grand return of traditional round-based maps. While a back to the basics approach is what Call of Duty Zombies needs after Operators hurt the storytelling and a move away from Survival maps led to a worse gameplay experience, new features are needed as well. Intriguingly, Final Fantasy 16 of all games boasts a feature Call of Duty Zombies should borrow, as it would give fans an easier way to take in all the lore.
Call of Duty Zombies Needs a Lore Approach Like Final Fantasy 16
Though the new Dark Aether storyline does not yet require a giant timeline like the convoluted Aether universe, it is quickly becoming more complex. Call of Duty: Vanguard introduced demons known as Dark Aether entities to keep track of, while the fates of characters like Weaver and Samantha Maxis are still up in the air. This is in addition to the World War 2-era experiments that started the Dark Aether story as well as the various factions featured within it, giving players a ton of content to keep track of.
Like the original Call of Duty Zombies storyline, the primary way that Treyarch delivers its narrative is through collectibles, with cutscenes and Easter eggs quests only being pieces of the puzzle. Further, with the introduction of Operators meaning that there are no conversations or story-related dialogue, Treyarch has had to double down on its use of radios and documents, resulting in hundreds of pieces of intel in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Being able to listen to and read intel in the Black Ops Cold War main menu is a step forward, as previously fans had to hunt down YouTube videos to take in the story, but there is still an absurd amount of info to digest. With the intel jumping between locations and years quite regularly, too, fans could have a difficult time placing where each piece of intel belongs in the ongoing story. Fortunately, Final Fantasy 16’s Situation Map and Grand Cast systems are the perfect solution, as they could help get casual fans invested in Call of Duty Zombies’ lore.
Final Fantasy 16’s excellent Active Time Lore system would be tough to pull off in Call of Duty Zombies, as players cannot easily stop to read while they are training a horde of undead enemies. However, the Situation Map and Grand Cast could absolutely be incorporated. In the case of the Situation Map, players could get a visual of the journey the characters have been on just like with Clive in Final Fantasy 16, with a brief bit of text explaining the time period players are looking at. The map could also provide a look at how quickly and where exactly the Zombie outbreak is spreading. As for the Grand Cast, it could serve the same purpose as in FF16, with characters like Weaver and Sam connected as well as villains like Dr. Vogel and Valentina. In particular, seeing a breakdown of someone like Peck switching sides and forging new connections could be a lot of fun.
While Call of Duty Zombies should continue to shower fans with lore drops like audio recordings and readable documents, Treyarch can and should strive to make that lore more accessible. Given how hard the original Aether story was to follow prior to the official timeline being released, getting ahead of things could be wise, and having some Final Fantasy 16-like systems in the next game's main menu could be a perfect way to deliver a more easily digestible story. For those intimidated by Call of Duty Zombies’ mysterious plot, a character tree and situation map timeline could be a huge help.