It is no secret that Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies has had a rough life span, as from the very beginning fans were critical of the mode. However, after months of steady improvements and additions - and the release of the strong Shi No Numa Reborn - some fans seemed ready to give the latest iteration of Zombies one more chance. Unfortunately, The Archon does not capitalize on the good will earned by Shi No Numa’s remake, instead serving as one final failure for this version of the mode.
Though fans were excited about the potential of pyramids being able to be explored and the Chaos Story seemingly returning in a major way, The Archon fails to deliver on either front. From a gameplay perspective, it is a massive retread of what came before, with very little new content on offer. Even worse, the story receives an incredibly anticlimactic conclusion, damaging one of Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies’ few strengths: its narrative.
The Major Issues With The Archon
Upon loading into The Archon, the biggest issue with the map will become clear, as fans should quickly realize that it is not a new map at all. A round-based version of Terra Maledicta with a green sky and color palette, the map sees players exploring the same parts of Egypt that they did several months ago. While Black Ops Cold War Zombies maps were criticized for reusing too many campaign assets, the fact that The Archon is just a recolored version of an existing Zombies map is devastating, especially when it is meant to be a grand finale for this chapter of the story.
From a narrative perspective, the lack of a final cutscene or any kind of closure for fans is a real bummer, as the point and gear drops feel like a lackluster reward for getting through the quest. After defeating Kortifex, his body simply falls into a pit in the Dark Aether. The day is saved, with no final cutscene provided that wraps up the story or sets up the next chapter. Major moments like Von List's death happen off-screen, and the use of Chaos story characters and items in Shi No Numa ultimately goes nowhere. Vanguard Zombies’ connection to Black Ops Cold War and the wider narrative feels nonexistent, too, with little connective tissue provided in this final map.
On top of this, The Archon introduces no new Wonder Weapon for players to wield. Instead, they simply get the Decimator Shield, Ray Gun, and Wunderwaffe DG-2 once again. Players hoping got a fresh piece of gear are out of luck, and the same can be said for those wanting to see more enemy types. Even the side quests are simple and lacking, with the music Easter egg simply tasking players with finding one guitar. Ultimately, The Archon is a prime example of Call of Duty: Vanguard’s many issues, and it will likely not be a map that fans return to in the years to come.
The Archon Needs To Be a Lesson For Treyarch
No matter what aspect is looked at, The Archon is a harsh reminder of what not to do. Following Zombies’ fall from grace, Treyarch needs to make sure Call of Duty 2024’s Zombies mode is spectacular, avoiding all The Archon’s biggest flaws. If the next Zombies map released is anything like this one, the mode will continue to see its relevancy fading away and longtime fans moving on to new games.
With its next Call of Duty Zombies offering, Treyarch needs to introduce unique weapons and maps for the entire post-launch Season. Proper cinematics need to return during Zombies’ Easter egg quests to progress the story, and a large variety of complex side quests need to be included in each map. From day one, a quality round-based mode is a must, with any objective-based content treated as a side mode. Most importantly, Zombies should never get to a point where two versions of the same map have to be released in the same game, as The Archon being a recolored Terra Maledicta is its most offensive aspect. If Treyarch uses The Archon as an example of how not to approach Zombies, perhaps the mode will be able to reach the heights of the Black Ops 3 era once again.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
