Activision said at the beginning of October that Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War will begin “a completely new chapter” of Zombies, with a new setting, new characters, and for the first time in the series, cross-platform play. In light of that, it feels a little bit ironic that the new Zombies Onslaught mode, revealed today on the PlayStation Blog, is going to be a PlayStation 4/5 exclusive for a year.
Zombies Onslaught is basically a two-player horde mode: Players will drop into “locations derived from various multiplayer maps,” full custom loadouts intact, but confined within a barrier created by a “Dark Aether Orb.” Killing zombies will charge the orb; kill enough zombies and the orb will start to move. You’ll take Dark Aether damage if you’re outside the orb, so setting up shop in a good spot isn’t an option: You’ll either move when the barrier does, or you’ll die.
Zombies will attack in “surges” that can include more powerful Elite enemies, although Activision warned that the tight confines of the orb can make even regular mobs dangerous. The goal, as far as I can tell, is simply to kill until you die, get the highest ranking possible, and unlock rewards that can be used in Zombies and multiplayer battles.
It doesn’t sound like the most groundbreaking multiplayer experience ever, and so its absence shouldn’t be a real heartbreaker. Even so, there’s plenty of unhappy reaction on Reddit and social media: Zombies Onslaught will be available on “other platforms” on November 21, 2021, so it’s not forever, but as at least a couple of people have pointed out there will be a brand-new Call of Duty out by then.
Wow I’m super happy for my PS5 friends hope it’s super fun to play! pic.twitter.com/0hC9hx2XsY
— KRNG UDG (@UDG_TV) October 23, 2020