Call of Duty: Zombies 🧟‍♂️

“When Shooting the Undead Feels Like a Group Project That Never Ends”


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Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers, shall we?

Not a True Zombie Game

As much fun as Undead Nightmare is, it’s worth pointing out this isn’t really a “zombie game” in the traditional sense. It’s a game mode built on top of Red Dead Redemption’s base — the cowboy world, gunplay, and open landscapes are still the star of the show. The zombies are an expansion skin, not the foundation.

That doesn’t make it bad — in fact, it’s one of the better “zombie add-ons” out there — but it does mean lumping it in with franchises like Resident Evil or Left 4 Dead feels off. It’s still a cowboy game first, zombie playground second.


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Non-Spoiler Plot Overview
What started as a goofy bonus level in World at War somehow became the Marvel Cinematic Universe of undead horde modes. You’re dropped into a map — maybe a bunker, a theater, or heck, the moon — and the undead keep coming until you’re dead. That’s it. That’s the loop.

But Activision looked at this silly little arcade distraction and said, “Print it. Print ALL of it.” Suddenly we had ray guns, perk sodas, hellhounds, time travel, celebrity cameos, and lore so tangled it makes Kingdom Hearts look like a children’s book.


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Character Rundown

The Zombies – Fast, slow, glowing, exploding. COD cycles through undead like it’s picking toppings at a frozen yogurt bar.

The “OG Crew” – Dempsey the loud American grunt, Nikolai the drunk Russian, Takeo the samurai stereotype, and Richtofen the mad German scientist. Over time they became gaming’s most dysfunctional sitcom cast.

The Guest Stars – At some point you could play as Jeff Goldblum, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and even freaking JFK. Because why not?



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Pacing / Gameplay Flow
Round one: slap a zombie with your starter pistol. Round twenty: sprint in circles screaming because 300 glowing corpses are chasing you while your buddy is yelling he’s out of ammo. In between you spend 20 minutes debating whether to open “that door” or not because Chad wants to hoard points.

It’s repetitive, but that’s the charm. You know exactly what you’re in for: chaos, screaming, and eventually rage-quitting when the crawler bites you while you’re trying to reload.


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Legacy: From Goofy Bonus to Cult Obsession
I’ll give it this — COD Zombies became a phenomenon. It turned a late-night throwaway into a culture-spanning juggernaut. Entire YouTube channels exist just to explain what the heck the “Apothicons” are. People get tattoos of the perk soda logos. Kids in lobbies treat “Kino der Toten” like holy scripture.

But here’s the kicker: this is still just a mode. The main dish is Call of Duty. Zombies is the weird side salad that somehow became the entrée because fans wouldn’t shut up about it. To lump it in with actual zombie games (Resident Evil, Dead Rising, Left 4 Dead) is like saying the McDonald’s McFlurry deserves a Michelin star.


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Pros

Pure chaos with friends.

Maps like Kino, Ascension, and Mob of the Dead are genuinely legendary.

Ray guns and Pack-a-Punch never get old.

Probably responsible for half the sleep deprivation of teenagers in the 2010s.


Cons

Lore became a parody of itself — alternate universes, time loops, elder gods. Chill.

Way too repetitive without friends.

Easter eggs turned into PhD-level homework assignments.

Still not a “real” zombie game, no matter how many glow-eyed Nazis you throw at me.



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Final Thoughts
I respect Zombies. It made late-night gaming with friends legendary, and it spawned some iconic moments. But let’s be real — it’s not the zombie franchise. It’s a COD gimmick that got out of hand. And the way fans elevate it like it belongs in the same league as Train to Busan or Resident Evil? Nah.

It’s fun. It’s dumb. It’s iconic. But it’s still just COD playing dress-up.


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Rating
6.5/10 — Fun chaos, but a clown show compared to real zombie games.