Black Ops 6’s Reckoning Splits the CoD Zombies Community: Here’s My Take

Absolutely huge spoiler alert for BO6 Zombies’ Reckoning map, just saying!

Alright, so Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 5 wraps up the Zombies storyline, and honestly? Reckoning mostly holds up. They’ve got some cool lore bits—like figuring out the announcer’s origin, plus Grey’s reaction to Samantha’s situation is surprisingly well-acted. The layout of the map? Fresh, like really fresh, compared to what we’ve seen before. But hey, it’s not all rainbows. Some stuff felt rushed, like Panos’ fate. And the Gorgofex Wonder Weapon? Kinda underwhelming. Still, with multiple endings and some boss fights that are pretty entertaining, overall, it’s a win. But man, that ending? Divisive is putting it lightly.

Depending on your choice, SAM or Richtofen snags victory. If you roll with SAM, you end up taking down a mech-suited Richtofen, who can’t save his family. SAM gets her human form but still keeps her powers—wild stuff. Richtofen’s path? It’s way more upbeat, defeating the wild AI and reuniting with his family. But none of this is what’s splitting folks—it’s the dang teaser. In both endings, some shadowy versions of the OG characters step out and say, “Hey there, Terminus crew, welcome to the party.” Meh, didn’t exactly get my hype levels up—odd, since Terminus’ finale had me buzzing.

So, the OG Aether storyline—it was a glorious mess. Loved every moment! I’ll never forget diving into theories and piecing bits together from all those scattered radios. Felt like a communal treasure hunt. And come on, the official timeline didn’t drop until Black Ops 3, so until then, everyone had their own spin. Those were the days! But Black Ops 4 wrapped it all up, and while I wish we’d gotten the epic showdown with Dr. Monty or the Great War map, now they’re bringing these guys back? Feels wrong and I’m not thrilled. If anything, I’m kinda bummed.

Why do that? Well, to be honest, Black Ops 4’s ending with a cheesy slideshow didn’t do justice to Primis and Ultimis. Budget cuts, right? But those moments by the campfire, building up to enough closure—it all meant something. Richtofen’s keep-us-in-the-loop schemes in Black Ops 3, the heartbreaking reality that the only way to send off the undead threat was the ultimate end. Nikolai made sure of it. Ugh, it was deep, the whole Primis and Ultimis story. Samantha Maxis ending Primis Nikolai? Heartbreaking! Seeing Sam and Eddie stroll into a new universe, hearing out what those four would’ve been in their dream worlds—it struck a nerve. Felt genuine finality. Now, reversing that? Yikes.

Call of Duty’s nostalgic spin is nothing new. They’ve been milking maps like Shipment and Nuketown forever. And hey, it worked for Blackout, right? But now, out here’s this revival stunt with no real explanation. It just feels like they’re undoing Nikolai’s sacrifice, as if it was all for nothing. The story feels messy, and for Treyarch to dig deep into this would take some explaining. They gotta wrap BO6’s storyline, tell us what’s up with Panos’ benefactor… so many loose ends.

Another snag—they recast Samantha in BO6… so you bet folks will lose it if they swap out Tom Kane for someone else as Takeo in BO7. That stroke he had back in 2020? Real shame. Switching actors always rustles up the fandom.

Now, this whole “greatest hits” deal with Black Ops 7? It’s weird they’re digging up the old gang when BO6 Zombies did pretty well. They could’ve dialed into the Chaos story, picked up on that Ancient Evil cliffhanger, or fleshed out the Terminus crew more. There’s potential there, especially Carver, but not sure they’re even going to try now. With the OGs back in action, they’ll probably grab all the spotlight in BO7, leaving side characters like Weaver to take a back seat.

Weirdly enough, die-hard fans are getting a kick out of the classic crew’s return—but new ideas, guys! I love ’em too, but we need fresh air in these stories, not recycled plots. Sure, it might not be the same characters exactly, but jeez, where does this cycle end? Just feels like we’re stuck on repeat with these guys.

Dark Aether was finding its groove, treading new paths with only a nod to the old, but here we go again, backtracking. If Tom Henderson’s reports are true, some bold map stuff might at least keep things thrilling. Still, seeing old New York City nuked oughta be a spectacle. Often, CoD Zombies’ narratives matched the gameplay for me—let’s hope I’m not stuck with just the shooty-blasty bits moving forward.