The countdown to launch for Black Ops 6 is in the final stretch now, and before COD fans dive into what will hopefully be one of the strongest entries we’ve had in the series for some time, Treyarch has revealed a pleasant surprise for Zombies fans. After suffering from some criticism following its debut at COD Next in the summer, the Liberty Falls map has had a facelift in order to be the haunting battleground that the mode deserves.
With the long-awaited return of classic round-based Zombies in Call of Duty Black Ops 6, fans would have definitely settled with just one amazing map. However, Treyarch is pulling out all the stops for BO6 with two round-based maps at launch. That said, while there was unanimous praise for Terminus, the initial reception to Liberty Falls was much more mixed, with the main point of criticism being that it was too safe and looked like a generic map you’d find in Warzone or large-scale multiplayer modes. So, ahead of the FPS game’s launch, Treyarch has found time in its busy schedule to give Liberty Falls a glow up.
“Since the debut of early gameplay footage at Call of Duty NEXT back in August, the Zombies team at Treyarch has continued to iterate on the look, feel, and sound of Liberty Falls to crank up the map’s creepiness factor,” a new Call of Duty Blog article reads. “Heading into launch, players can expect a moodier visual tone to the map, along with gorier set dressings and new environmental audio to more intensely reflect the chaos of a very recent dimensional breach.
“Additional atmospheric elements related to the map’s Main Quest will also be present throughout Liberty Falls as players begin to solve the mysteries waiting for them in the wake of the undead incursion.”
I’ve got to say, I was one such Call of Duty fan that was a little underwhelmed by Liberty Falls at first. While I’ve got no qualms with making bigger, more open Zombies maps, they still have to have a certain aura about them. Liberty Falls just reminded me of the kind of Outbreak maps we got in Black Ops Cold War – fun to play, but lacking in atmosphere, freakishness, or horror.
Of course, all we’ve seen of the refreshed Liberty Falls are some screenshots in this new blog post – we won’t truly know the extent of the makeover and if it will hit the right note until the Black Ops 6 release date arrives in just a few days’ time. However, just hearing that Treyarch has already acted upon that COD Next feedback in time for launch gives me plenty of hope that both Terminus and Liberty Falls are going to be amazing Zombies experiences.
As well as the visual changes to Liberty Falls, Treyarch has also revealed that the Zombies HUD has been updated and improved as well to better show all of the information you need throughout the course of the match.
Before things kick off, make sure you’re up to speed with all the Black Ops 6 system requirements and make sure you bookmark our best Black Ops 6 loadouts guide, as we’ll be updating it soon after launch with the top class setups.
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