Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies has officially been revealed, with players getting a close look at Der Anfang. This new Zombies experience will be a combination of Outbreak, Onslaught, and Survival, with Treyarch attempting to mesh the best parts of each mode together. While it remains to be seen if this will work, the idea of instantly teleporting between several small locations to complete different objectives is intriguing. However, one specific location has captured the attention of longtime Zombies fans.
Call of Duty: Vanguard will be bringing back Shi No Numa, with the Japanese swamp base serving as one of the three locations players teleport to from the Stalingrad hub area. Obviously, this provides a wave of nostalgia, with fans of Treyarch’s iconic mode having a special attachment to the area. Shi No Numa was the third Zombies map ever, so it is nice to see the storied location getting some love - though the Shi No Numa content should not stop with its cameo in Der Anfang.
How Shi No Numa Will Play In Der Anfang
As many will have noticed when watching the Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies reveal trailer, Der Anfang is not a traditional round-based experience. While leaks have indicated that a “normal” Zombies map called War of the Dead is scheduled to release in Season 1, Der Anfang will essentially be a prequel to that map – with its name being an indication of this, as it translated to “The Beginning.” In this special mode, players will complete objectives in one of three regions: Hotel Royal, Merville, and, of course, Shi No Numa.
While the concept of completing objectives at these locations is fine enough, as Outbreak mode was a big success in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, many have been quick to criticize the location lineup. Hotel Royal is a multiplayer map, as is the Stalingrad hub area (known as Red Star in multiplayer). Merville is pulled straight from the campaign, and Shi No Numa is a remaster of a classic location. As such, nothing is truly “new” about the actual Der Anfang play space, as it is made primarily from reused assets.
Still, the objectives could be where this mode shines, as it may play very well. While Shi No Numa will feature the Flogger trap and the same water that slows down player movement, fans will not be holding off waves of the undead. Instead, they will be escorting a floating Zombie skull or picking up rune drops from the various enemies, completing an objective quickly before teleporting out of the area. As such, players will not spend all that much time in Shi No Numa unless they want to, though they can likely return to complete a harder objective later. Still, with a classic round-based map being remade, it would make sense for Treyarch to do a bit more with that content due to the effort that was put into building it.
The Potential Of A Separate, Round-Based Shi No Numa Map
While the focus certainly seems to be on Der Anfang, Treyarch should consider having an option for round-based fans on day one. While Season 1 will be coming only a few weeks after launch, not everyone enjoys Zombies’ more experimental modes. With Der Anfang being so different from normal Zombies, the mode may not appeal to longtime fans oas much as it does to casual players. Though Treyarch may not have a brand-new map ready to go on launch day, it certainly could have a classic Survival map prepared to satisfy every type of player.
While this is purely speculation, it would make sense if Treyarch included a closed off version of Shi No Numa for round-based fans. A complete remaster of the original Survival map, with small additions like Pack-A-Punch and the crafting system, could make for a neat alternative to Der Anfang. It could help hold players over until the first new round-based map releases, as there would be both a new mode and a classic Zombies Survival map ready on launch day.
Treyarch could even keep this hidden until release, with Shi No Numa used as a post credits reward like Nacht Der Untoten in Call of Duty: World at War or Five from Call of Duty: Black Ops. However, fans should certainly not expect this, as Die Maschine from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a clear example of why expectations need to be kept low. That map featured Nacht Der Untoten in its entirety, with many believing a separate Survival variant would drop so that there was an extra map to play. However, despite all the assets being available to Treyarch, this standalone map never came. As such, though a round-based Shi No Numa does make sense, it is far from guaranteed.
Bringing Shi No Numa To Call of Duty: Vanguard Multiplayer
The other option is far stranger, though it could still end up being a ton of fun. As mentioned earlier, Der Anfang is comprised entirely of reworked multiplayer maps and campaign levels - with Shi No Numa being the one exception. However, there is a chance that the map is not an exception after all. Perhaps Shi No Numa will be brought to multiplayer, with Treyarch and Sledgehammer doing the opposite of what they have done in the past.
Zombies maps being based on multiplayer locations is nothing new, as the iconic Zombies map Der Riese is directly based on Nightfire from Call of Duty: World at War. Verrukt was also based on Asylum from the same game, while Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Forsaken uses assets from the campaign and the Amerika multiplayer map. With Zombies always being treated as the “third game mode” due to its smaller player base, the mode’s budget is likely lower, meaning that these reused assets are a must. Still, there is nothing stopping the multiplayer developers from pulling from Zombies content in a similar way.
While this would be a bit of a shocker, other Call of Duty: World at War remakes will feature in Call of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer. With Der Anfang’s other maps being available in the PvP content as well, Shi No Numa being reworked into a multiplayer map would complete the collection, ensuring that all the locations have been used in the game’s other modes. With Shi No Numa boasting such a unique visual style, this would hardly be a bad thing, and the map’s water making movement sluggish could make for some interesting multiplayer gunfights. Regardless of whether an unlikely multiplayer version releases, or the preferable scenario of a round-based bonus map becomes a reality, Shi No Numa can and should be more than a small section of Der Anfang.
Call of Duty: Vanguard launches November 5 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
