Black Ops 6 brings round-based Zombies back to the fray, with two exciting launch maps and more expected to arrive through seasonal updates.
There are so many iconic Call of Duty Zombies maps that players have poured hundreds of hours into over the years, and Treyarch isn’t opposed to resurrecting them, as we’ve seen in the past with BO3’s Zombies Chronicles.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a classic round-based experience, so with Black Ops 6 bringing the fan-favorite format back, here are all the maps I want to see return with it.
“Five” (Black Ops)
ActivisionFive saw players take control of political figures in the Cold War era.
Kicking off the list strong is Five, a Black Ops I map that became notorious for being one of the hardest to survive on, not only thanks to the Thief who would teleport into the map and steal your weapons, but also due to its tight spaces.
Five threw you into the shoes of four American political figures during the Cold War: John F. Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Richard Nixon, and Fidel Castro. The map was set in the Pentagon, tasking the historical figures to protect the US Military Defense building.
It has not been seen since the original Black Ops, so with Black Ops 6 set around the aftermath of the Cold War and featuring many political figures like Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Colin Powell, and Saddam Hussein, it seems like the perfect time to bring it back.
Buried (Black Ops II)
ActivisionBuried hasn’t been seen since Black Ops II.
Set in an underground western town, Buried became a fan-favorite thanks to its spooky charm and friendly NPC Arthur, also known as The Giant.
The map’s Wonder Weapon, the Paralyzer, was also very popular. This weapon had unlimited ammo with a cooldown mechanic, and as well as slowing and eventually killing zombies, you could also shoot it at your feet to ascend. This mechanic allowed you to fly over barricades and reach high places easily.
Buried also introduced players to the Ray Gun Mark II, a powerful evolution of the iconic Wonder Weapon that fires in three-round bursts.
There was a lot to love about Buried, from its haunted mansion with jump-scaring ghosts to its complicated map design that made it difficult to survive high rounds. It hasn’t been seen in full since Black Ops II, as only a small section of the map was featured in Revelations (Black Ops III), making Black Ops 6 a great time to remake it.
Shadows of Evil (Black Ops III)
ActivisionA map with a strong Lovecraftian theme.
Shadows of Evil was Black Ops III’s launch map set in the 1940s fictional Morg City. The 1940s setting and Lovecraftian horror theme gave the map a lot of charisma, with memorable music, characters, and overall art direction. It was a unique map that also introduced new enemies in Margwas and Parasites, with the latter returning in Black Ops 6.
The antagonist of the map, the Shadowman, added to the mystic atmosphere – not to mention the giant squid in the sky that resembled Cthulhu, a fictional cosmetic entity created by H. P. Lovecraft.
Shadow of Evil also introduced players to Widow’s Wine, which became a beloved Perk, and GobbleGums, which are making a comeback in BO6, so hopefully the map will too.
Der Eisendrache (Black Ops III)
ActivisionDer Eisendrache was a large map with lots to discover.
A personal favorite of mine, Black Ops III’s Der Eisendrache was a phenomenal map set in an Austrian castle with an excellent layout and one of the most fun Wonder Weapons of all time, the Wrath of the Ancients.
This was a bow and arrow that could be upgraded into elemental versions similar to the staffs from Origins. Upgrading the bow kept players occupied and gave the map a lot of replayability. The map also features the Ragnarok DG-4, which were gravity spikes that did massive AoE damage.
The map brought the Der Wunderfizz machine back from Origins, as well as the Panzersoldat enemy type, creating difficult gameplay moments. On top of that, Der Eisendrache also had a great Easter egg with a challenging boss at the end, which was always fun to try and defeat.
Zetsubou No Shima (Black Ops III)
ActivisionOdd experiments were being done at the facility on the abandoned island in Zetsubou No Shima.
Another Black Ops III map, Zetsubou No Shima was set on an abandoned island in the Pacific Ocean, creating a mysterious and eerie scene. It felt like a sequel to the iconic Shi No Numa, featuring Japanese Zombies and outside sections with water and floral overgrowth, which gave it extra brownie points.
There were many unique features, such as the KT-4 Wonder Weapon, swimming for the first time in a Zombies map, a new buildable Gas Mask for protection against toxic spore clouds, the Thrasher enemy type, and Spiders that replaced Hellhounds.
Speaking of these arthropods, there was also a hidden Giant Spider mini-boss that players could complete to get an upgrade material for the KT-4 and Widow’s Wine for free.
Nuketown Zombies (Black Ops II)
ActivisionNuketown is arguably the most iconic Call of Duty map of all time.
Lastly, I have chosen Nuketown Zombies, which is the most likely to return on this list since the iconic map has already been confirmed for multiplayer.
It was last seen in Black Ops II and is simply the multiplayer map reinvented for Zombies. It was basic yet fun to survive on, as while there weren’t any elaborate Easter egg or Wonder Weapon steps, it was a small and familiar map for players to enjoy the challenge of reaching high rounds.
It’d be great to see it return in Black Ops 6, just to give players a small and simple map to enjoy, which is reminiscent of the mode’s origins.
Black Ops III maps mainly dominate the list because these have never been remade, whereas the majority of Black Ops I and II maps have been brought back in some capacity.
Maps that have been remade more recently such as Call of the Dead (Tag der Toten on Black Ops IIII) and Nach der Untoten (Die Maschine on Black Ops IIII) were also ruled out of this list.
Terminus has many parallels to Mob of the Dead, while Liberty Falls seems to take inspiration from TranZit’s Town map, so I decided to exclude them from this list.
