Summary
A lot of attention is being given to the Zombies experience ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6in the run-up to its release, with Treyarch making it clear that the franchise is finally going back to basics when it comes to its popular undead survival mode. It is true that Zombies has suffered in recent years thanks to sweeping and controversial changes to its core gameplay formula, but Treyarch is confirmed to be taking things back to classic round-based survival with its upcoming title.
As a testament to just how important Zombies is going to be forCall of Duty: Black Ops 6, a comprehensive reveal for the mode was showcased on August 8, which shockingly came before any full reveal for the game’s core multiplayer. One of the title’s launch Zombies maps, Terminus, was at the center of this reveal event, with music during the map’s cinematic trailer being directly tied to the iconic Zombies map, Shangri-La. Long-time fans ofCall of DutyZombies will know that this connection must be far more than coincidental, perhaps hinting at some key mechanics of Terminus or the future plans forBlack Ops 6Zombies as a whole.
A Lot Can Be Inferred From the Secrets of Black Ops 6’s Terminus Trailer
The recent reveal forCall of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Zombiesmode shed more light on the new core cast of the mode, as well as how returning features like Gobblegum will work in the upcoming title, but the Terminus map still took center stage throughout the reveal. Treyarch released 20 minutes of gameplay footage for Terminus, with a gameplay trailer also releasing alongside the main cinematic for the map.
The gameplay trailer for Terminusshowcased the main quirks of the map, such as its unique traps, new perks, and power-up abilities, but the cinematic for the map shed more light on the narrative of the map, as well asBlack Ops 6Zombies as a whole. Towards the start of the cinematic, when the main cast of Terminus is being broken out of jail, a song can briefly be heard blaring over the facility’s speakers, with keen fans quickly identifying the tune as “Pareidolia” from 2010’sBlack Ops.
“Pareidolia” appeared as the Easter egg song forthe iconicBlack Opsmap, Shangri-La, with players having to activate different hidden meteorites around the map to activate the song. It is true that “Pareidolia” would go on to appear in some capacity in future Zombies maps, playing upon the player’s death in both Kino der Toten and Call of the Dead, but the song has always remained synonymous with Shangri-La despite its future appearances.
Terminus' Ties to Shangri-La Could Go Beyond a Shared Song
The lore and hidden details of the Zombies franchisehave never been something that Treyarch has handled with half-measures, and so the presence of “Pareidolia” in the Terminus cinematic is likely an indicator of something much more. Of course, it could be possible that Treyarch is bringing back “Pareidolia” as the Easter egg song for Terminus, or perhaps a remixed version of the song, but the presence of the track in the Terminus cinematic could be directly tying the upcoming map to Shangri-La.
From the revealed information about Terminus, it is clear that the map takes place in the same kind of tropical environment as Shangri-La, and there is no reason for the similarities between the maps to stop there. Perhaps the main Easter egg for Terminus will involve the same day/night cycle as Shangri-La, for example, or the presence of “Pareidolia” may even mean that Shangri-La will appear as aBlack Ops 6map at some point during the game’s post-launch life. It already seems thatBlack Ops 6’s Zombies is paying a lot of respect to the long history of the mode, and Terminus' song choice could easily hint at some solid links to Shangri-La in the game’s future.
