A recently released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer map could be a great source of inspiration for Treyarch’s next Zombies mode.
Call of Duty’s latest Season is packed with highs and lows. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is finally getting some love, with core 6v6 multiplayer maps releasing alongside the return of Gunfight and the iconic Intervention sniper, so the actual content is worth positivity. Unfortunately, a pay-to-win bundle for DMZ mode has sparked a lot of frustration in the community, with the pricey BlackCell Battle Pass only adding to the negativity.
Monetization issues aside, Call of Duty fans do have access to a fair bit of content they were requesting, with more on the way. One interesting addition is a night map in the form of Black Gold, which sees all players donning night vision goggles in a pitch-black map. Unique and immersive, night maps were a popular feature from the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot that fans are glad to see again and come 2024 it might just be worth using night vision as a CoD Zombies feature.
Night Vision Could Be an Interesting Call of Duty Zombies Gimmick
It has been a long time since Call of Duty Zombies has had a truly scary map, with Verruckt being the last time where it felt like Treyarch was going for a fully scary aesthetic. While features like Five’s Pentagon Thief and Buried’s Ghosts were a bit creepy, and Zetsubou no Shima was unsettling for those with arachnophobia, Treyarch has gone all in on the action over horror with its beloved survival mode. However, a night vision map could change that.
Night vision in Call of Duty Zombies is something that Treyarch has never attempted, but it could serve as an incredible mechanic that makes for a far more unsettling map. Night vision could work similarly to the Dark Aether mode from Die Maschine, with players using it regularly but not needing to have it equipped if they do not want to. Perhaps the only part of the map could be pitch black, or maybe buildings have lighting while outdoor areas lack it. Either way, players could remove and equip the goggles with a single button press.
Alongside an extremely dark map naturally being scarier – especially if enemies like Firebase Z’s mimics are incorporated for jump scares – night vision goggles would create an opportunity for some fresh Easter egg steps. Treyarch could hide ciphers in the night vision goggles if players look at certain areas, and they could detect certain things with the goggles on that they could not see otherwise. Further, they could be forced to enter dark areas without the goggles for certain Easter egg steps, making things even scarier and more difficult. If that was not enough, Calling Card challenges and Trophies could be tied to hitting a certain round without the goggles or getting a number of kills with the goggles equipped.
Perhaps Treyarch could even let players upgrade the night vision goggles, either through the Pack-a-Punch machine or a lengthy quest. Upgrades could target the heads of enemies similar to the target finder optic from Black Ops 2, or they can make it so that enemies take more damage when viewed through night vision goggles. More salvage drops from enemies tagged through the goggles is another option, and there would surely be more over-the-top ideas that Treyarch could come up with as well.
If the map in question is as dark as the woods from Firebase Z’s bunny Easter egg, players could be in for a fright – something that gamers have not been able to say about Zombies for some time. With Call of Duty 2024 expected to have a Gulf War setting, night vision goggles would be a viable tool for Treyarch to play around with, and the studio should consider trying them out in a horror-focused map.
