While the reaction to the new information that Treyarch has released about Black Ops 7 zombies is far from unanimous, it is still highly ambivalent. The developers have brought forth what they call “new intel,” which contains a range of information, from beta changes to the tuning of high-round gameplay, even revealing the origin of the mysterious X52 Resonator gadget. Even so, the gamers are still very much divided over the question of whether the changes to the mode are positive or negative.
A tweet from official sources pointed out the numerous features that are soon to be available—unique HUD themes at launch, cursed mode info, sawblade trap adjustments, and, most importantly, the outright prohibition of manglers (who, by the way, really cared about this??). Furthermore, they mentioned high rounds gameplay tuning and, although it didn’t sound at all bad, there are already some players who are returning their pre-orders.
Armor mechanics complaints were some of the biggest received criticisms. User sloshedAF stated “No removal of armor at all? I already refunded the game during the beta” and that they are going to wait longer even before they start considering a purchase. They think modern zombies is so bad and indeed many other players seem to agree with that. The armor system appears to be a critical issue that players are not satisfied with receiving neglect from Treyarch.
In addition to this, there is the whole controversy on the subject of classic games versus modern games. One of the players, Roberto_CL16, joined a discussion stating that “norma guns were absolutely useless past round 40 in Classic zombies”, which is evidently some players’ preference? On the other hand, some players complain that the new systems make the game too easy and yet less enjoyable at the same time. It’s like they can’t make up their minds whether they want it hard or easy.
User jholland2002 made some pretty harsh comments about the new relic system saying “It should be a default thing not us having to apply things, as then not everyone is in the same boat. Classic zombies we were. Now I gotta say ‘I got round 100 with these relics’ gay.” The idea being conveyed here is that the introduction of the new mechanics results in different skill levels being required as opposed to skill-based classic.
Hold on a second, did I mention the classic mode – oh, yes, countless players can no longer be heard over the cries for a classic zombies playlist that simply uses the old damage scaling and mechanics. JHolland2002 proposed that they should “add a hardcore playlist that is straight-up classic zombies mode, like mp has” and even joked that Treyarch could just copy the code from Black Ops 3 if they’re feeling lazy. But to be honest, it is not the craziest idea considering how much demand there is for Black Ops 3 zombies.
The “just don’t use it” argument that comes up sometimes in reference to new mechanics got thoroughly dismantled in the replies too. User waynocunt retorted to someone who suggested players could just stop using certain features by saying “just don’t use it is such a shit argument when the game is quite literally built around you using it” which is indeed a fair point. If the game balance expects you to be using these systems, choosing not to do so puts you at a disadvantage.
There is also some controversy surrounding sales tactics with user ImfamousWarrior mentioning FTC inquiries and accusing Treyarch of “disgusting marketing practices” such as flying streamers out for exclusive early access. Nonetheless, that sounds like pretty common practice in today’s game marketing which I do not profess to know anything about.
Still some of the players keep their hope alive – KaineRich2555 was wondering about the possibility of Outbreak mode from Cold War coming back which wasn’t that badly received. And only1ozv asked for Power Vacuum gobble gum buffs which, according to the reports, was just giving 2-3 power ups during the whole time it was active in beta. These were just small quality of life improvements but they could make a difference.
However, the general atmosphere seems pretty negative with statements like “No soul in this game anymore” from JackFinnDJ and “Y’all had the tiniest chance to make this mode a highlight in your game for people to buy and you completely wasted it” from Snowii. Ouch! Even the cursed mode which is yet to be released is already getting criticism before the players have even had a chance to experience it, all because of the armor system.
The level of passion zombies gamers have for the matter is unbelievable. We are talking about a situation where people are fighting over damage scaling and zombie health pools arguments at 2 AM on a Friday night! The commitment is undeniable even if the current version of the mode is not working for a large part of the community.
It is clear that Treyarch has a difficult task of convincing the zombies purists back while also attracting the newer players. The feedback from the beta seems to have created more problems than it solved judging from this reaction and with the launch date approaching, they need to come up with a way to balance making the mode challenging without making it feel like a chore. Or, perhaps they will just ignore the complaints and release it as-is which wouldn’t be at all surprising considering the recent Call of Duty history on PlayStation and Xbox.
