This year’s mode isn’t bad, but it feels like a leftover piece of something once bigger.
After two weeks wandering through the highs and lows of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s Zombies mode, I’ve emerged with mixed feelings. All the classic elements that make Zombies fun are here: a smartly constructed main quest, an interesting map, the emotional rollercoaster of the Mystery Box, and Call of Duty’s reliably satisfying gunplay. But even though these staples return, they don’t shine the way they usually do. The trademark Easter Egg quest this year is oversized, overly time-consuming, and messy in ways that make it difficult to fully recommend. It’s not a bad mode overall, but it’s frequently frustrating—enough so that some players may give up early.
A Brutal Confession
Before going further, I have to admit something that forms the heart of this review: My squad—battle-tested veterans who completed Black Ops 6’s Zombies mode and many before it—has not beaten Black Ops 7’s flagship map, Ashes of the Damned, as of this writing.
Our attempts eventually broke the group apart.
One teammate quit after a crushing failure, taking with him a wealth of experience and skill. Another was briefly banned from our Discord server after our most hopeful run. We were close. Painfully close. And we still didn’t make it.
You might reasonably wonder: Why write a review if you haven’t finished the Easter Egg?
There are a few reasons:
- We always try to discover the map and its steps on our own, just like most players would.
- Our failure reflects an experience many teams will likely share—and that’s essential to evaluating this year’s design.
- I’ve seen nearly everything the mode offers except the final cutscene, and that’s enough to understand what Ashes of the Damned is:
- a very good map,
- that can also be relentlessly aggravating,
- especially for players relying on matchmaking,
- and one that often doesn’t function as smoothly as it should.
