Ranking the top 5 best Call of Duty Zombies maps
Here’s our picks for the 5 best Call of Duty: Zombies maps ever created.
Call of Duty Zombies has been around for almost 13 years now, starting with Call of Duty: World at War’s release in 2008. What started as a small bonus mode after completing the campaign turned into a phenomenon for Call of Duty, attracting new fans and creating a brand new core game mode for Treyarch titles.
This list will be our list of the top 5 Treyarch Zombies map, in no particular order. It is worth noting that both Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have tried their own Zombies modes, with Sledgehammer attempting Exo Zombies in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, then opting for traditional Zombies in Call of Duty: World War 2. Infinity Ward also tried in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, and created a surprisingly fun/goofy experience.
If you’re a fan of those games, don’t expect to see any of the maps on this list, as we’re going to reminisce on some of the greatest Treyarch Zombies maps.
#5 – Origins (Black Ops 2)
Origins set a new standard for large-scale Zombies maps after its release as the final Black Ops 2 DLC map. With boss Zombies, upgradable elemental staffs, and a huge easter egg, the future was looking bright for the Call of Duty Zombies experience. Origins introduced the “Wunderfizz” machine, which awards players with a random perk in the game.
Players were also treated to many map secrets, which included being able to enter the giant robots that roamed the map, and also secret gramophones that unlocked access to a different realm.
Origins also saw a remaster in Black Ops 3 with the “Zombies Chronicles DLC”
#4 – Der Eisendrache (Black Ops 3)
Following the trend for large scale maps, Treyarch set out to make one of the most beautiful and fun Zombies maps with Der Esiendrache. Set in a large castle in Austria, this map had a few callbacks to Origins, with elemental bows instead of staffs and even mechanical Zombies, or “Panzersoldats”.
The easter egg for this map also had an epic boss fight against an Apothican Keeper, which rewarded players with a cutscene once completed.
#3 – Kino Der Toten (Black Ops)
One of two maps included with the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops was Kino Der Toten, a simple Zombies map that took place in an abandoned German theater. This map marked the beginning of the next stage of the Zombies storyline and added the iconic “Thunder Gun” into the mystery box.
#2 – Der Riese (World at War)
Der Riese was the final map for World at War and introduced many huge changes to the Zombies formula, like the introduction of the iconic pack-a-punch machine. Additionally, teleporters were added for the first time, and the first real functional easter egg appeared on this map.
The Zombies storyline also truly took off from here, with the addition of secret audio logs hidden on radios around the map.
#1 – Ascension (Black Ops)
Prepare for takeoff! Ascension was the first DLC map added to Black Ops and set a high bar for the rest of the DLC additions. Players started the game entirely in black and white, only to see color when the power was switched on.
The map had several new amazing pieces of equipment, like the Gersh Device and Russian Dolls. Additionally, the new lunar landers added an extra layer of verticality across the map. Ascension had the first full-length story-driven easter egg in the franchise, which rewarded players with a 90-second death machine.
That’s it for our list of the best Call of Duty Zombies maps! Be sure to tweet us @CharlieIntel with your picks.
