What Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Outbreak Easter Egg Needs To Get Right
On May 20, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies fans will finally be able to experience the Outbreak main quest. Hyped up shortly after the open world mode made its debut, fans have been patiently waiting for the chance to play the content for some time now. While Treyarch has kept details scarce as to what the easter egg will entail, as only a teaser image of a blueprint has been shared online, the very nature of the quest ensures that it has a lot of potential.
With Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War finally giving Treyarch the chance to make a massive Zombies mode, the studio no has more play space than ever before to work with. More interesting objectives can be seen, a more unique boss fight can be included, and the story could pick up in a big way. With past easter eggs showing Treyarch what to avoid and what to do again, there is serious potential for Outbreak’s main quest to knock it out of the park. With the next Survival map right around the corner, too, Treyarch needs to set the stage for the next story beats properly.
Thus far, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s easter egg hunts have been incredibly brief, with both being solved in a matter of hours. While Treyarch has intentionally made main quests easier, as few gamers finished the harder easter eggs of the past, there is an argument that they are a bit too simple. As such, Treyarch should work to find more of a balance with the Outbreak main quest. While steps should not be as hard as finding a needle in a haystack, as some older games’ steps have felt too obscure, Treyarch should not make things too obvious for players — with a full day’s hunt being the sweet spot.
With characters constantly on the radio as they talk to Requiem, Treyarch could use this dialogue to give hints to fans. While pointing to the exact location of the objective would not be wise, each step could have a series of hints that play as gamers search through a region. Treyarch could also specify which map the next step is in, ensuring that players do not waste their time looking where they should not. This way, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies fans would not need to scour every map for the next puzzle piece, instead having some idea of what to do next.
Aside from making it clear where players should look without handing them the answer, getting a variety of different steps would be nice to see. With Outbreak currently feeling predictable due to its six objectives, making sure that the quest does not include similar tasks would be a wise idea. Further, there should be no tedious puzzles like the morse code from Blood of the Dead, as gamers should not have to look up a guide once they have finished the quest once. As for what should be included, something entirely fresh would be great, with the Mimic-catching sequence from Firebase Z’s main quest being a solid example. Giving players previously unseen mechanics to make use of could instantly make the easter egg more fun.
Similar to how Outbreak’s main quest objectives need to avoid feeling too much like regular Outbreak missions, the easter egg should surprise players in a few ways. First, the inclusion of a new Wonder Weapon would be great to see, with the device seen in the trailer possibly serving as a step toward this addition. Currently, Outbreak lacks an exclusive Wonder Weapon, with the RAI K-84, Die Shockwave, and Ray Gun filling the role instead. Such an addition would instantly liven up the quest, giving fans a reason to want to do it.
Another way Outbreak can be improved by the easter egg is through the addition of new regions. Thus far, all of Outbreak’s regions have been brought over from multiplayer, with Fireteam maps repurposed into the mode’s play spaces. This easter egg could change that, though, with a surprise area added that has not yet been seen in Outbreak. The quest could shock fans with an unexpected teleportation to a new area, making the easter egg worth repeating. At the very least, though, Treyarch should open unexplored parts of the current maps, opening areas like the blocked off Golova sewers to add some depth to the regions.
While a lengthy hunt, new Wonder Weapon, and fresh region would be neat, it is even more important that Treyarch nails Outbreak’s boss fight. With Firebase Z’s Orda well received, and the Megaton being a well-balanced foe, Treyarch should try to continue this streak in Outbreak. With more play space than ever before, making a gigantic boss is possible. At the same time, Treyarch could go smaller, with an agile enemy chasing players throughout the regions. Still, making use of the scale seen in Outbreak’s regions would be wise, while Zombies fans could also teleport to a fresh region after every phase of the fight is complete. Battling the boss across the entirety of the Ural Mountains could be a lot of fun, as Voyage of Despair showed that a tough, multi-phase boss battle can work inside Zombies.
While nailing Outbreak’s quest from a gameplay perspective is important, Treyarch also has to deliver on the easter egg’s narrative. While the new bits of Zombies intel have provided context on figures like the stranger, the story needs to move beyond some strong lore. It has been a long time since players rescued Samantha Maxis in February, and fans are more than ready for the page to turn to something new. As such, having Edward Richtofen come back now could be a wise idea.
Beside’s Sam, “Eddie” is the only surviving character from the original Aether story. While writer Craig Houston has teased that the character will show up in the future, he has not said when, though now would be the perfect time for him to appear. With Outbreak’s easter egg confirmed to set up Season 4’s Survival map, there would be no quicker way to get fans excited than to reintroduce the fan favorite character. With the lack of Survival maps seeing the mode’s popularity die down after launch, Treyarch needs to ignite the spark in Zombies fans once again — and this comeback would do so.
Further, with Richtofen previously being from Germany and the next map rumored to be set in Berlin, now is the perfect time for his comeback. Intel has teased that he could be a villain, giving Sam a character to face off against as the story goes on. Their past would instantly make for an emotional reconnection, while seeing them fighting on opposite sides could leave fans on the edge of their seats. While fans should lower expectations and expect the mysterious “R” on the teaser image to be for Ravenov, it is hard not to hope that Richtofen is shown as well. Even if he only appears in the outro cinematic of the easter egg, seeing him in action would make the hype for the next map skyrocket. While Outbreak’s quest could simply see Requiem continuing to experiment so it can catch up in the arms race with Omega, a major story development would be far more appealing.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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