Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 2 impressions — Still spawning in

For all the fanfare of launch, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has endured a rocky first season. With the final move to a unified engine, it seemed obvious some problems would pop up, and unfortunately this reset has proven troublesome. There have been a ton of improvements to be sure, but certain design choices are questionable. The highs are there, but coupled with lows, and that might be the best description of how Season 2 finds itself.

As you may have noticed, I don’t have Warzone listed in the title. That’s because, and for the better, Raven and company have decided to forgo a large content update in order to focus on refining and enhancing the overall experience. I do have to say, my time running around in Warzone has been ten times better as of recent, although tweaking is still necessary. I’m glad to see them taking it seriously, and I hope we don’t end the BO6 cycle by again resetting what works for something new. Moving everyone to the unified engine should help, but right now we’ll have to wait and see.

Continuing into Black Ops 6 multiplayer (although these also are a component of Warzone), three new weapons have appeared on the battlefield. These are the Feng 82 light machine gun, the Cypher 91 assault rifle, and the PPSh-41 submachine gun. With a marksman rifle also coming in an event, this is quite a large weapon crate falling into the armory.

Starting with the most familiar, the PPSh-41 is a great gun in game, but I’d argue to say it’s a bit boring. This is the third time it’s been in a Call of Duty game in the last five years, and while you could argue the MP5 variants are there, the PPSh-41 isn’t much different from its counterparts. I don’t mind seeing familiar guns in my games, but this one is wearing out its welcome.

Even so, it can shred up close. The high rate of fire expends a lot of bullets, but even with a lower damage rate it hits fast and cuts deep. Between that and quick movement with the gun, it’s a great pairing for any loadout, especially in Warzone right now. That said, you won’t want to engage in long range fights as you’ll be at a heavy disadvantage compared to the Jackal SMG which can hang with ARs.

The next gun is the Cypher 91, which is truly an all-around star. It’s quick, it’s agile, it shoots straight and it can three bullet headshot. The only thing holding it back at all is a slower fire rate, which immediately earns Treyarch my respect in how they’ve balanced it. As for comparisons, it makes me think a lot of the Groza from Cold War in handling, even if the Groza shot much faster. In any case, having the Cypher 91 in your loadouts is probably a great thing, especially if you’re more of a flex player wanting to flow between an AR and SMG.

Most of the time you get to the light machine gun and it isn’t close to as good or fun to use as the AR or SMG; heck, any AR or SMG available. That isn’t the case with the Feng 82. It’s more similar to an AR, but slows down your movement speed closer to an LMG. The Feng is still the fastest of the LMGs, and with the right attachments it might be closer to an AR. As for shooting it, I’d compare it to the Tanto, with a slower fire rate that hits hard. This “Fat Tanto” is a lot of fun to use, and I’ve had several stellar matches with it. Its handicaps keep you from using it in close and fast duels, but it’s tough to beat if you square up off a heady.

As for the maps, these fall into a different category than most. There’s fun to be had, but I don’t know that I’d classify them as good. I know Treyarch has fallen away from the classic three-lane design, but as a more competitive player, there’s a lot to be desired. As mentioned in our original review, flow is important with a map, and these have almost the opposite issue that the launch maps did. Where the launch maps were too open and made for tough flanks, these compact and cluttered maps are almost completely flank heavy. I play fast, so I can make it work, but these maps seem smaller than they actually are due to this design choice.

Bounty is a good summation of this. An under construction, fancy, business penthouse, this location is chock full of corners and spots to rat away in. I do love the aesthetic and the outside routes, like the glass windows you can sprint across or the steel beam on the parallel side. Besides this though, I feel like I have to run into danger from the second I spawn, constantly head bashing against my enemies. It's decent for a limited lives mode like Search and Destroy, but respawn modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Hardpoint get chaotic.

Similarly, the slightly larger Dealership has a lot of obstructed views which makes the lanes tough for long range weaponry. The European car lot has plenty of vehicles around several smaller rooms residing inside the building. This is the closest map to three lanes, but the busy assets littering each space means you don’t have a lot of clear sightlines. Masters of omnimovement will be able to perform their ballet through those obstacles until they get close enough to finish you off. Again, this falls into being a fun map, but not necessarily a good one.

Lifeline finishes off the trio that landed at Season 2’s launch, and this one follows suit. It’s admittedly a gunfight map, but for those expecting something more similar to Black Ops II’s Hijacked, you’ll be disappointed. This ship is TINY, seemingly the smallest of all the Gunfight maps. While I can’t understand playing 6v6 on this map, and there’s nothing about it that is even close to competitive, being able to hop off the front of the boat and flank by climbing back on board as it passes is amazing. It’s a popcorn flick, something where you turn your brain off and pull the trigger.

While you might be able to turn your brain off for that map, you can’t turn it off when you play Gun Game. I may not always appreciate waiting for a mode to drop as seasonal content, but Gun Game is always worth the wait. The intense Free-For-All mode is simple, kill someone, get a new gun, repeat. There are seventeen random weapons you’ll receive, always ending with a knife to finish the cycle. My friends and I love jumping into private matches in this one, and it’s a blast every time.

Overdrive is something new for the series (although similar to Havoc), involving in-game challenges that earn you enhanced movement, reload speeds, and more. Things can get extremely chaotic as these modifiers kick in, and smart players are going to wreck lobbies. I don’t think it’s a mode I’ll play a lot, but it’s good for blowing off steam.

On to something somewhat unexpected; the Zombies update didn’t wait for Reloaded. The Tomb was available right at launch, and it’s one of the more interesting packages compared to the first three maps. Taking place in a dig site with a lot of Roman-era artifacts littering the landscape, it’s clear something nefarious is up concerning the cultish doors you’ll immediately have to open. Oh, and the undead trying to kill you. That too.

The Tomb is a mix of both Citadelle De Morts and Liberty Falls. The size is a lot smaller, even when you add in the Dark Aether section of the map. That said, the level of difficulty dwarfs Liberty Falls easily, putting it in the stratosphere of Citadelle and Terminus. Throngs of zombies chase you through tight corridors, small bends keep you from escaping, and the main quest is quite grueling even in early steps. I had thought it may be a bit more casual being smaller, but that is far from the case. Directed mode is certainly becoming more and more appreciated.

I do love the ice staff however. This weapon is iconic, a homage to the Black Ops II Zombies Origins map staves. Given we’re more than ten years removed from those, this ice staff is much more intricately designed and looks incredible. In its base form it’s not the best, but there is an upgrade path available. I am a bit annoyed it’s an actual quest as opposed to hitting the Pack-A-Punch, but with this not being as huge of a map, it does add extra flair although with more difficulty attached.

Overall, I do think this is a great zombie map, especially with outstanding aesthetics that make this map a vibe. The only thing that is a bit disappointing is the boss fight, which is just horde survival. The new zombie is also a retread, with the mimic returning with shock abilities. I’m certainly curious where the story will go from here, as the ties to other parts of the narrative are coming into play heavily with The Tomb’s conclusion.

If you’d like to take down Zombies in style, the battle pass and new bundles will offer plenty for you. Although we’re still waiting on the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collaboration – which I’m extremely excited about – there’s a lot to enjoy as you peruse the store. Almost all the battle pass weapons have some great blueprints in the store, and the Terminator bundle is immaculate, with both an Arnold and T800 skin. I feel like Treyarch have always been amazing at crafting some ridiculous designs, but the mastercraft and ultra skins and blueprints in Black Ops 6 have truly been their best work.

I’m not sure the same holds for the main battle pass skin, although the blueprints have been good. Nocturne is just not a great looking operator. Every other skin hits, but this one looks kind of dumb. Making up completely for it is the Boneshard Jackal blueprint, which has an insane inspect and a ton of aura. While I’ve watched the best saved for BlackCell, that hasn’t always been the case, but it is for the Boneshard.

Although I like the cadence for the live service events in Black Ops 6 and Warzone, and the parity of challenges have been done well, I’m still not finding the same level of dopamine I did in Modern Warfare III. Almost every week there were Aftermarket Parts, and closing out the season we’d see operator skins and camos that made your grind feel worthy of the effort. There are quite a few cool items that have been received from recent events in Black Ops 6, including Shadow Hunt’s TR2 marksman rifle, but to a degree it’s felt like some additions are simply held from the rotation to be event rewards. Maybe I’m crazy, but if we could somehow separate these items to feel like they’re only in the events, like the AMPs were, it could alter the perception.

Season 2 feels like it’s still a part of a reset. Finding your footing can’t be on a deadline, and all of the teams on Call of Duty deserve the respect for pressing towards resolution for different problems Black Ops 6 and Warzone have encountered. Will Season 2’s Reloaded be the breakthrough? Will we be waiting on Season 3? Is Verdansk’s eventual return going to drop before these issues are resolved, or could it usher in the resurgence of Call of Duty? I think there are a lot of questions that don’t have answers for the franchise at the moment, but I believe in the incredible talent and teams to find answers. The largest question that looms is when that will be. Until then, reload and get back in the fight.