When COD Zombies Used to Have Anxiety

[@theWheezy]

If you enjoyed the video, consider supporting me. These videos I am heavily passionate in making, but KZbin doesn't pay well and isn't stable. No need to do so, but the option is there: www.patreon.com/thewheezy

[@QuantumNetwork]

Verruckt has always been my favourite and scariest map. Truly haunting

[@Callofdeath1997]

Your link isnt working anymore, any other way to join? Would love to play some good old zombies again

[@TheKalmGaming]

Even if i choose my shit, bo4 wasnt that much forgiving. They dropped the ball at cold war for me, basically invincible.

[@dawz198x]

Honestly I lost the anxiety in black ops 2. And more so in black ops 3. They made the zombies smaller in black ops 2. They looked less threatening than bo1 and WAW

[@mikeoxlong7139]

its really the map i been playing zombies since bo2 and some maps im still scared to play solo😂

[@fimurr]

It's the charm that old zombies had, it felt liminal, it felt like you shouldn't be there and you were alone, it was Erie and scary to play alone

[@TheYumChannel]

You phrased that perfectly, especially it didn’t feel like you were supposed to be there

[@fimurr]

@TheYumChannel it felt ominous, I feel like bo3 and up kinda lost this charm, it just doesn't have the same ambiance as say town, or five, especially nuketown zombies loading screen, which was actually creepy and that's what made it so fun to play

[@scottjs5207]

@@fimurr I still remember dropping into it on launch day and I was amazed by it! That bell charm slowly dying as the first round began...

[@fimurr]

@@scottjs5207 the loading screens on old cods were perfect

[@uPSIDEdOWN577]

That’s so accurate.

[@samgraffen9212]

It wasn't until bo4 did I feel that zombies lost it's anxiety. The ability to CHOOSE a starting loadout, CHOOSE what perks you had, and CHOOSE where those perks where ruined the survival feel. You were no longer in a bad situation and forced to utilize whatever the map gave you, as you had control from before the game even started.

[@limz13]

I really enjoy current day bo4

[@theWheezy]

For me, it was BO3. Although I think it is my favorite, it just killed a lot of that anxiety with gobblegums, 3 hits without jugg, and the opportunity to load in with RK5s. But the community was peak during this time. The engine looked beautiful, and I actually think BO3 looks like one of the cleanest cod games ever made (from a PC perspective at least). Easter eggs were peak, story was peak, and maps were quite consistent and full of cool wonder weapons. The only thing really missing was the difficulty and anxiety. Everything else was about peak cod zombie form for me

[@rhy45bianchi31]

@@theWheezy im tired of the "eNgINe" from Cod 4 to mw 2019 they used the same fucking engine Jesus fucking Christ every zombies youtuber I see it's fucking ignorant on how a Cod it's made It Always been the same fucking engine and engine doesn't dictate gameplay engine dictate what lightning, texture, sounds, and to cunstruct the data itself Cod Always used the same fucking engine until mw2019 were they changed engine and the eNgINe itself doesn't dictate the game play please before saying engine do fucking research BC of Tim hassen the zombies commiunity think video games engines dictate gameplay they don't stop spreading disinformation

[@abejamie]

i just wasn’t a child anymore

[@hamcheese3532]

Bo4 for me aswell but cold war absolutely killed any form of it because of the health bar

[@NoobyNot]

As someone who's played zombies since the start of 2009, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the easter egg songs made my friends and I all feel like badasses and the fear of dying went away. I love waw and bo1 because they felt like you were actually surviving against the zombies, not doing a quest with the inconvenience of zombies being there

[@hebjdhdhdbbshshshshs9119]

Absolutely waw and bo was the best

[@ChadAV69]

THANK YOU! I used to play BO2 zombies with my friends and they always wanted to do the stupid “Easter eggs” which just boiled down to getting down to one zombie crawling around while you watch and try to replicate a KZbin video for an hour. I hated that shit. I just wanted to actually PLAY THE GAME

[@Gematrinator]

Kino der toten was so good

[@DrippyVisualsLLC]

Agreed !

[@BoopinSnakeBandito]

Ain't nobody dying as long as 115 is playing xD even on high rounds, we'd save that last rock to activate when we needed it most

[@2cent194]

There will never be a gaming experience that can bring more anxiety upon me than completing WaW campaing at 3 am

[@TheYumChannel]

Oooo that’s a killer

[@scottjs5207]

You mean on Veteran? THE GRENADES ARE COMING FOR ME!!!

[@amgvlogs5087]

original five nights a Freddie's was equivalent if not more anxiety.

[@Name-vp3ds]

This. I vividly remember that cutscene just after finishing the campaign of the zombie running towards you, scared the shit out of little me

[@cditzler2018]

For fucking real

[@BadSodaProductions]

My buddies and I always had the agreement “no one goes down when the song is on”

[@ElazulKnight]

I've never died while the song is on in Kino

[@aomais_]

@@ElazulKnightcuz when 115 starts playing you get plot armor

[@killianmccluff36]

Facts

[@poolee77]

We saved the song for as long as possible. Playing it usually gave us enough for a boost to make another level

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

@@aomais_ it really feels like that some times , the zombies just can't touch me anymore

[@griffinnunnelee7236]

The old cod zombie maps had a great dynamic where they were fun as ever playing with friends, but then when you tried playing them alone, they quickly became an utter nightmare with you constantly checking every corner not knowing when a zombie might be coming right behind you. Great times

[@hopoff9968]

The worst part is when we were all playing this, we had no idea it was going to be the best they ever did, and that there'd never be anything quite like it.

[@ClixCFC]

Bo3 was the last best for me

[@GIJames]

I felt like I noticed that zombies was going in a more "player friendly" direction when they added gobblegums in 2015, along with the movement speed being increased, player health increase too, and a general story shift too. It felt different at the time and I remember sticking with the older games because they just felt.. well different, and more of a basic "from the ground up" experience the older games give.

[@GIJames]

plus idk what they are doing with the story, can we please link it back to a funny rock and and nazi occultism and science fiction with real history in it, it felt so much cooler to me.

[@kippurthedog]

Wasn’t really player friendly, casual’s thought getting pack on shadows was the EE 😂

[@x52wolf12]

I still thought bo3 zombies was amazing. Tranzit and die rise had the “from the ground up” type experience but they weren’t that good. At least the maps in bo3 were great.

[@chillbizz74]

Black Ops 1 was my most favorite version of Nazi Zombies

[@Deathmare235]

⁠@@x52wolf12tranzit sucked cause the process of going from the ground up sucks

[@Waryfuls]

*I barely wanted to play 'Five' as a kid,* because it gave me bad anxiety! I'd always tell my friends that Kino was better, but 115 gave me eerie vibes and horrible anxiety.

[@triocha24]

Completely agree with you 😂 I was terrified of that map

[@Waryfuls]

@@triocha24 Same bruh, I'd always find excuses not to play Five

[@sonofodin1044]

Yeah the doctor scared me so much I would do the table glitch

[@Waryfuls]

@@sonofodin1044 😭😂

[@silverninja2132]

five was scary man, at the time of my first play through of the campaign, it threw me into five and i was scared because my dad told me not to play zombies because of how scared i got. Core memories man, kino is my favorite. its perfect.

[@universal_wisdom3416]

World at War and Black Ops will always be the peak zombies experience. No flashing lights and instant gratification with choices amidst the chaos. Nothing but pure uncertainty, and reliance on your skill.

[@lazyvoid7107]

No

[@Settiis]

@@lazyvoid7107Yes

[@akpade]

Bo2 too

[@MSaleh-vy8rr]

Fr bruh. These late Gen z and Alphas just don’t understand.

[@Wonde3fr0]

The vanoss, "dude I'm not scared" lol

[@Hikuria478]

I personally felt like waw and BO1 did it best. But at the end of the day, WAW did it the best. The time line, locations, and the movement of the zombies, felt real. If you were playing alone, you felt like you were against all odds. You’re stuck in an abandoned location, that not to long ago, was controlled by evil.

[@nickthompson1812]

This might be the nostalgia talking but I 100% agree with you. New zombies tries to hard to keep innovating and giving you new tools. I just need a 1911 and a couple of good buddies.

[@Okami400]

100 %

[@ragingstormgaming7829]

I think most creepy and anxious was waw and bo1. I personally think funnest was bo2. Played them both!

[@BungieStudios]

I didn’t like WaW for the same reason I don’t like BO2. The knifing has a lunge mechanic rather than a swipe. Not only does it miss, it pulls you in to get double swiped. The movement system was wonky in both games.

[@Balls1335]

Y’all remember the zombies in Verrückt? That was the scariest map in the series, one of the gameplay reasons being the zombies’ sprint speeds and another being tight corridors and separate spawn sides.

[@Musxle_Mike]

I still remember WAW zombies late at night as a kid and let me tell the generation who never truly experienced beating the campaign just to see that scary ass cut scene of the plane crash and the zombie coming at you and in real der ris when you’d throw the monkey bomb in the furnace true terror to hear sams voice before we knew what it was i wish y’all could relive that experience for the first time

[@verydaizey7790]

stupid little kid npc

[@Frentictree]

The Easter egg music is plot armor

[@qwerty-cr8yj]

The music starts playing and then you feel like doom slayer 💀

[@xslowdeath420x]

Something to take into account too is the maps themselves and the overall “zombie feel”. I love outbreak but putting zombies on what feels like a multiplayer map doesn’t give me that same feeling that being trapped in an abandoned mental asylum gives off. The torn down, bloody structures, random corpses, they gave off that “zombie” feel. Some of the newer maps have a hard time doing that, it feels like it’s just zombies on a multiplayer map.

[@neckbeardcat6777]

I mean the post launch maps are exactly that, they're campaign and multiple maps that were repurposed for zombies. Outbreak maps were originally meant to be a blackout br map until activision pulled the plug on that gamemode.

[@eastfieldfilms8593]

This is why im really looking forward to MWZ on the new game coming out next month because it looks like outbreak, but with more anxiety and detailed atmosphere to the maps

[@scottjs5207]

It's funny how even Transit could pull off that anxiety to a degree since the open areas were incredibly hostile at times as well. To me though, the more open maps got, the more it reduced that anxiety... also the sound effects, I still think Natch and Verruckt have the most haunting atmospheres in the entire series. (Mob is just overkill and feels like an edgy teen trying to be scary)

[@scottjs5207]

@@neckbeardcat6777 literally all of them are reused assets. However, there's a clear design philosophy with each, they tend to keep spaces tight and slightly claustrophobic as compared to what their Campaign and MP layouts were for the most part. It's like the BO2 Nuketown Zombies Remake which did a fantastic job of making the map far more restrictive as well.

[@lazyvoid7107]

​@@scottjs5207Nah you hating on Mob

[@AramJonghu]

Well said and well timed since the new mw3 zombies got a trailer. Atmosphere is something a game, location, and map need to set in on the player. Something as little as seeing the health bar of a zombie in Cold War removes anxiety and atmosphere since you know exactly when the zombie will die, instead of needing to learn around how many shots you require. Any miscount could mean your downfall which meant you needed to be careful to not fall in overconfidence. Looking at something like Verruckt or Buried, these maps are years apart. While the latter has more features, both accomplish the goal that there is still a certain atmosphere. Something to be afraid of, and everywhere you travel is a choice that can mean survival, everything you need to survive another round, or your downfall. In Cold War as an example, there is no map to me personally that evokes any emotion such as fear, or asking questions such as: who is talking to me, why am I here, what happens when I open this door? The first time I went down the elevator in Five and see the horrific laboratory was a moment that set fear. Or see the pentagon thief running at you, not to kill you. Simply to steal your way of survival for the next round. That era of zombies knew how to strike emotion to the player.

[@theWheezy]

Didn’t intend on timing this with MW3 zombies, but oh goodness has zombies been extremely disappointing for me. Haven’t enjoyed it since BO3 genuinely. BO4 just tried getting experimental, and Cold War just feels soulless to me. Vanguard/MW3 zombies is honestly just disrespectful to the craft. MW3 zombies should’ve been promoted as DMZ and solely that. That ain’t no cod zombies to any real fan

[@SaucY213]

MW3 zombies is just dmz with some zombies on the map i've seen mods with more passion

[@mk-tn8eo]

Will never forget being scared of playing Bo 2 zombies alone, the loading screen music when loading made my hairs go up

[@vincenticeman959]

I remember back when bo1 came out. Never played cod before and I got into zombies because my brother showed it to me. I would be sitting on the floor shaking with fear whenever I played. It lasted up untill bo2 when origins dropped. I really miss those times

[@Easygoated3418]

we all miss some times :/

[@LateNightHalo]

I’m glad I’m not alone in noticing how much easier bo3 was. It felt like a lot of the gameplay charm was lost with the introduction of gobblegums/microtransations. Idk man. Weapon kits, microtransactions, action heavy plots and cutscenes, map OSTs, etc… Zombies just sort of lost the tension it had from WaW-bo2’s first few maps:

[@lazyvoid7107]

Oh yes two boomers who hate on COD BO3 knowing it was peak and now it's dead so cool

[@dr.shrimppuertorico9883]

The last time I felt anxiety was on Die Rise. My first time playing the map, I took in everything. The scenery, the location, the zombies talking to you when you're playing as Stulinger. All the sound effects of the building creaking, fearing falling off the edge. Not to mention the blood everywhere, the sweatshop.. imagining what the place was like before the zombies. Hearing a hidden radio, I felt even more anxiety, knowing that there's people down below that have been massacred. It was a great experience, besides how the map itself plays. The atmosphere was truly great for a first time player.

[@jaimegarcia767]

Yo same! Idk why but origins just didn't make feel scared just kinda sad :(

[@BoxOfCurryos]

Die Rise is the scariest zombies map no doubt.

[@thechugg4372]

Not sure about scariest but god damn the art design of Die Rise is unmatched@@BoxOfCurryos

[@souldjahovmisfortune9325]

Die rise was the last map I ever played on bo2 it’s been 11 years and I still remember jumping from one high rise to the other and the red dragon me and brothers would fight over playing it. It had a tense feel with how uneven the map was.

[@roronoazoro2970]

@@BoxOfCurryosverrukt from waw says hello

[@PrinceKing58257]

I almost got anxiety the way those zombies was just running up to the screen like that in the intro

[@Magic-dk1xe]

even as an adult that bo1 switch up to the zombies menu gives me chills

[@spoiledsalad1851]

I remember back then I was terrified of zombies. Never would play it late at night. My greatest achievement that my 9 year old self accomplished was getting to round 40 in kino. The entire time I was breathing heavily and the adrenaline running through my veins. How amazing that was. The atmosphere and the liminal space of a feeling that a player should be with me in a solo game. And the screeches of the zombies terrified me. The mystery of how the zombies can form some sort of words. The teddy bear laugher. The ambient noises. The laughter of the “Game over screen.” When I would hear it I would imagine a zombie feasting on my characters corpse while laughing giving it an eerie feeling.

[@ryanmitchell3490]

Still remember queing up for a 4 player game of waw or bo1 on the xbox 360, it always felt more like you had to plan your setup of loadout and perks before it was too late before the higher rounds came or you would end up just anchoring the team

[@roronoazoro2970]

I still play waw and bo1 on the 360 lol

[@sanlorenzo7896]

When it comes to the most anxiety inducing map, I’d have to pick Verruckt from WAW. The perks may have been a great addition for survivability, but the guns themselves still didn’t kill fast enough. Add in the fact that Verruckt sprinters started early around round 6, you’d better hope you aimed for the head and that the window behind you wasn’t open for a sneak attack.

[@Fxrrxt2x]

I also thought it was always very creepy to see those sprinters coming at you from across the hallway with those animations they have 😬

[@ClixCFC]

Agree that map made me feel trapped and suffocated with barely any space

[@georgevirtus]

"Dude Im not scared" - Vanoss

[@ageagile1047]

Verrückt was def the scariest map back in the day because the eerie nature of it being an old insane asylum that all felt closed in was insane

[@ClixCFC]

22 now played it again and i agree😂

[@crossm.2968]

I can still hear the haunting screams and cries of help from deceased patients... all while alone being chased by hordes of zombies in an enclosed space, tight hallways, and small rooms... high rounds are a nightmare in WaW.

[@HeWhoComments]

To this day as a grown man, I still have an irrational fear of playing zombies, especially alone. I think playing WaW zombies as a little kid scared the bejeezus out of me. WaW, Blops 1 and Blops 2 zombies were pretty unnerving compared to what we have gotten since

[@stxncd]

the production on this video is incredible

[@Robby91939]

I agree 100%, zombies from older cods was filled of anxiety and fear of the unknown. And we’ll it always felt like it was hard 2 chose A or B, meaning like ur metaphor with Timmy and jimmy. Newer cods make u feel 2 powerful…

[@johnathoncolman6083]

I miss the old days of zombies so bad. My and my friends would spend hours every Friday night in middle school rotating through all the zombies maps from WaW to Bo2. Those were the days...

[@short5117]

this video is actually so relatable, its sad that its became just a gamemode to play for camos to have in multiplayer 😢

[@thechugg4372]

Not for Multiplayer, camos for Zombies that's all

[@sfazeekcyrall133]

0:35 okay lets set the scene then proceeds to put on the best theme from the best cod ever made (world at war)

[@thelonesurvivor3955]

1:55 that's become a meme between me and my nephew,glad to see someone else appreciates "dude I'm not scared".

[@unclepecos3512]

I remember back in the WaW days when me and my friends would play Nacht and had a blast but then whenever nobody was online and I wanted to play I would try to go in but every time they started increasing in speed I would immediately back out and go play something else lmao. Never would have thought Call of Duty would be a game that I'd be quitting out of fear.

[@savatar360]

1:50 the Vanoss reference😂

[@Garori]

Thx 4 making me remember the good old times mate, ur work on the cod zombies is amazing and all the data u used being in the description is a +! Keep working like this pls 🙏🏼

[@ricardoacevedo7556]

BRO THE VANOSS SLIPPED IN IS SO GENIOUS, I WATCHED THAT VID LAST NIGHT AND I GET THE JOKE UNFATHOMABLY

[@nicholasmoreno2906]

Hearing the wunderwaffle as the screen was pitch black put the biggest smile on my face, very well put together video!

[@AllPsychh]

great video... ur absolutely right

[@WhiteVipor]

This video is perfection. I remember when nacht came out, my friends and I struggled to get to round 10 even. It was the most fun I’ve had in zombies, when it was actually challenging (granted I sucked back then) Oh what I would give to have a new zombies game with bo1 mechanics, zombies that run just as fast as you, more zombies on the map at a time, with bo4 type Easter eggs I can hop on any zombies game after bo2 and get past round 100 without trying, it’s just not challenging anymore :/

[@Fxrrxt2x]

BO3 mods do that: only super sprinters, more zombies at a time, etc.

[@Zuudoh]

you really capitalized on a big factor that made zombies fun. great video and it definitely speaks truth

[@jonathanmackay9458]

Love your content, Bro. I struggle massively with nostalgia, especially when it comes to zombies so its awesome to have stuff like this to put that at ease every once in a while. Zombies is unrecognisable now. Especially after having seen the MWZ reveal. It just aint it man.

[@jackosharkpie3892]

0:40 - 1:56 describes me during the WAW era. I’ve only played zombies on my own once in my life. I was 9 yrs old and I’ve never tried to play on my own since.

[@SaintBacon_]

In WAW-B02 did I feel this. In bo3 after losing the 2 hit down system, it started to get much easier, and with the gobblegums too easy. Bo4 really made a dent with being able to choose a load out instead of starting with a pistol and letting us use specials so much. When Cold War came out, we lost 4 base characters we could grow attached to, and got actual full load outs making zombies not even a challenge

[@joshuathonplays2571]

I remember when I was 6 or 7 and I was playing bo2 with my brother and my dad and we kept playing farm for some reason and the only perk available was quick revive and we could only get to about round 14.

[@zippy2470]

As a WaW vet, it hurt seeing the ppsh being traded for the ray gun 😭

[@Goodguyako]

3:00 “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHĦHĦIHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” That shit was scary😂

[@kennypowers1945]

I haven’t felt fear in a zombies game since I first started. Once you know what you are doing (even in WAW and bo1) it’s easy and not scary. It was only scary in the beginning because you didn’t know where to go and what to do. With newer games there is no anxiety or fear because it’s not grounded in somewhat reality like the old zombies was

[@Davidvanzutphen]

And for some reason glowing objects are flying around in the newer maps instead of having a more realistic map with old or decayed buildings

[@virtualrob7360]

Honestly starting the video off with the lab from five perfectly captivated that scary claustrophobic feeling of OG zombies bravo 👏 I also believe B03 was that turning point for the direction of zombies.

[@carlovazquez9659]

Everything about this was very well done and analyzed. I had fun watching this and reminiscing about the past and how horrifying the older games were.

[@harrisonwoolf6883]

Ok who in their right mind would ever trade a PPSH for a Raygun at 5:18????

[@beelzebub7221]

THIS. I've always been searching for the right way to phrase why i prefer the first two games, then you come and put it all down perfectly! The original games just felt.. Grim. Dark. Like a place you don't belong, where your choices never truly mattered and the only control you have is of whether you survive til the next wave. The maps were designed to be.. sick and evil. I remember spawning into kino the first time, and immediately it resonates that feeling that you should not be here. Something is wrong, cursed, like you are always being stalked and are just waiting for death to appear out of nowhere. The new games simply do not share this feeling. Ever since BO3, they've been focusing on the eldrich side of zombies, margwas and weird undead mages that suck your soul out of your body. The zombies of the new games just feel like they have been summoned into an otherwise peaceful world. Their only goal being to kill you before being sucked back into the aether forever. The old games didn't do that. It actually felt like a dying world, collapsing societies. A place where you will simply become part of the design, whether it be sooner or later. Also, when you started talking about the value of music in the games, I'm a bit surprised you didn't go for the *LEGENDARY* 115 Kino easter egg. Once that song came on, I think everyone can agree that it was like activating godmode..

[@beansfebreeze]

There really was something special about getting my friends together on kino and going "guys, press the rocks just trust me" for the first time. I know it's not true but to this day i swear it made the zombies faster and more aggressive. Took us from terrified middle schoolers to high octane soldiers in an instant 😅

[@DuDuCoBrA]

Amazing. Your clarity of opinions left me hooked on your video. congratulations bro

[@blakepottebaum8365]

I noticed the Vanoss audio clip towards the beginning and checked the description, wondering if you credited it. Much to my surprise everything was credited and cited and I have to commend you for that. On top of that, this is a concise and well structured video essay. Sub earned 👍

[@rareplayz4821]

I loved playing bo3 just in general. My favourite cod game of all time but I know what you mean about the eerie and dark feeling. Bo3 mainly had little lighting tricks and different types of art that didn’t feel as terrifying. Great video btw :)

[@74midnightrider]

Great video! Really hits home what I was feeling with Cold War. I like Cold War but knew something was up when I started being able to play by myself and get to round 50 by myself on Cold War. I’ve always been the worst zombies player among my friend group and struggled on BO1 and BO2 back in the day. While some of this may be improvement, a large portion is change in difficulty and with that more anxiety in the older games. Also on a side note, did anyone else get 5 ads on this 10 minute video?? Really makes KZbin feel like watching TV. Just like zombies, classic KZbin used to be better

[@biggreen1456]

You sun up how I feel perfectly, that adversity and anxiety is so addictive

[@youmadbroyolo7615]

hello Wheezy outta here

[@theWheezy]

Sup homie

[@current3109]

The music in this game goes unbelievably hard

[@BassFace6969]

Fucking thank you for saying those words about gobblegums. They completely ruined the fun of zombz to me, playing wit h people who would beg to reset cuz they didn't get perkoholics legit made me stop talking to people whose days

[@theWheezy]

Resetting is crazy, they could spin it the next round 😭 Personally, I already got really good at zombies so I never minded it as much as others probably have. I was satisfied enough with consistent maps, cool wonder weapons, and a developing storyline. Plus content was at an all time high and was a really fun community to be a part of, one of the better gaming ones I’ve seen. But WAW-BO2 just hits different and made you focus up until you are comfy with all your needed weapons, perks, and any buildables if any. Different levels of satisfaction there

[@lazyvoid7107]

​@@theWheezyas nobody is forcing you to use them dude

[@joshua7563]

@@lazyvoid7107Well the 3 hit is also just ass Rather have 2 hit like in prior to black ops 3

[@the_seer_0421]

​​@@joshua7563I honestly don't mind not getting killed instantly by a zombie for looking away for 2 milliseconds. And it's not like the zombies aren't super aggressive on bo3. So I'd say it's pretty nicely balanced out.

[@swordierre9341]

Biggest reason i still hold tranzit to such high regard is that feeling of dread when you missed the bus and your whole squad is is screaming noooooo from the bus. You gotta survive 5-7 rounds on your own, but then theres that feeling of relief if you manage to survive when the bus comes back and the whole gang is back together again. Such an under-appreciated feeling.

[@nonametrick1]

I definitely agree about the anxiety being important and the mega gums being cheat codes and I never use them, but personally, I prefer the BO3 style where you can get hit once extra but the zombies swing their arms faster. I feel like it only took a small amount of the anxiety away. BO4 and further, to me, are where it got ridiculous with specialist weapons in your loadout and countless other mulligans.

[@nicotarantino7580]

Five was so tuff lol deadass the hardest map, awkward hallways and shit

[@intuitionedits2.032]

This! This is EXACTLY what's missing from Cold War zombies. The anxiety. Something I always got creeped out from and still do, is the laugh at the beginning of every map Also tbh, I rarely use gobblegums. Something else: I personally think the 2 hit down system is better than the 3 hit down. 2 hit was less bs and also forced you to strategize at least until you got Jug

[@IGLlLl5654]

rose tinted nostalgia glasses

[@intuitionedits2.032]

@@IGLlLl5654 nope. I only got super into zombies last year.

[@lazyvoid7107]

​@@intuitionedits2.032Nah

[@starfishprime23]

Man, you nailed what makes me love playing these older games instead of the crap they put out nowadays. Now, you can just run around without developing a strategy, and that fear is completely gone.

[@andreberclet3733]

I understand the feeling of Anxiety in old CoD zombies but at the same time i can't understand that someone who played WaW zombies first at launch and experienced all the DLC have the same "Anxiety" feeling when he arrived on Kino, especially when the zombies in WaW were really buggy and stick to the player when they hit you compared to the really easy avoidable zombies in BO1. At the start of BO1 i was already playing way better than i did in WaW and the feeling of fear against the zombie went away completely, of course sometimes i was still dying from a 2 hit in early rounds because i wasn't paying attention but honestly doing a game of Kino in public was like me having 30-50 revives because i was constantly reviving the 3 others dudes that kept dying, at this point i was always going for the upgraded balistic knife for secondary and playing with only 1 weapon. All of that felling is just a big nostalgia thing, and my first game of Nacht will forever be in my mind but my first game of Kino was absolutely not as "traumatizing" as my first game of Nacht.

[@trapboost4841]

Tried BO6 zombies recently, my first time playing zombies on any cod game in over 5 years and got to round 30, had both guns pack a punched twice, all perks. At round 30 I was so bored I just ended the game. I miss the simplicity and challenging nature of zombies.

[@castironrichie1445]

I was 17 when i played this game. The fun/scary feeling I got out of this game was different than any other game I’ve ever played. I wouldn’t call it anxiety though. All my friends and i cared about was finding a place to camp ⛺️ In zombies.

[@ClixCFC]

I was 9 or 10 😂

[@transcendicalamity2543]

Really great video. This video talks more about world at war, but the first game I got into zombies was BO2 and to me there’s still no map that combines the tension and anxiety of tight WAW maps with the more accessible and intuitive gameplay of Mob of the Dead. That kind of horror and claustrophobic feeling the old zombies games gave off is never going to come back because COD is too mainstream of a franchise, and they mainly want to appeal to casuals.

[@maniachd324]

People forget that most gobblegums especially the OP ones didn‘t existed in the first half of the BO3 cycle so on release BO3 was quite difficult if you weren’t a above average player at the time. Just shows how people don‘t have good memories since the BO3 you are playing today is a completely different game from the one at Release especially in terms of difficulty

[@lazyvoid7107]

Duh he is one of those types of Nostalgia freaks

[@frisby7143]

this video is so spot on. i have always found the set up process in a zombies map the most enjoyable part of the experience

[@zaadus2]

*_it's almost like the newer games focused on gameplay instead of story/setting. incredible._*

[@Cynic15]

i never played WAW or black ops zombies (excluding black ops 3) but when i did play black ops 3, my first time was to play nacht der untoten by myself during the evening. it wasn't necessarily SCARY but it was just so... quiet. i quit around round 3 but that anxiety feeling was very much alive during that time. then i played kino with other people to cool off

[@iterationfackshet1990]

Honestly I think the direction they’re going with zombies in MW3 is just going to continue to make the mode worse. IMO sledgehammers direction was interesting and with some tweaking could’ve been the new direction for cod zombies.

[@theWheezy]

They should’ve strictly promoted it as DMZ, cause that’s all it is. They used to have a Warzone event with zombies, but no one looked at that like the true zombies mode. Their marketing made MW3 zombies seem like it was supposed to be the real deal, but surprise it’s just DMZ

[@StrungKrave]

I remembered exo zombies, I suck at zombies but still love playing it. Now exo zombies was intense how it kinda just became choas after the one spot we settle at gets overrun. It was fun

[@tottycapsgg]

lmao okay so this sounds nitpicky but it isn't, you're not using the word anxiety correctly. Anxiety is the effect produced on us by the elements in concert by the game intentionally or not; it is not "the anxiety of the game" it is the design of the game that produces anxiety in us. It's like saying horror movies used to have scared in them. Just, I was super confused by the title and the thesis and I think if you were to make your argument more clearly you could say something like, Call of Duty Zombies lost intensity and intention to scare the player with it's design but again the wording it lost anxiety; that would be like saying it went to therapy and recovered, lol

[@Numbah893]

The older Zombies on COD WAW, Black Ops and Black Ops 2 you had anxiety. Generally for zombies on all COD games, it really comes down to having the strategy to survive. You have to go through more rounds to really get that anxiety feeling you would get sooner on COD WAW on newer COD games. The music from the older COD games did give you the motivation but it also made the game more fun. I've played COD Zombies since the beginning in WAW and I haven't stopped ever since. Its addicting and when you can come up with the best strategy that works for you on each zombie map, you will know what to do first to survive the longest. You build up good habits and do away with the bad habits. Thus putting you at the top with who ever else you play with. Timmy goes down more times and you have to be the hero to go get him up because nobody else had the right strategy set up. Hell there's been times where I had to get everyone revived and help them do better in the game. Eventually thanked me and played more often with me on zombies. Eventually built their own strategies that had worked perfectly for them and did much better. Zombies is just an addiction mode for me and I always practice to do better. The strategies and combos you can come up with never end..

[@fripppels9860]

You're making this way more dramatic than it actually is. The reason why we all were very anxious during the early COD zombies was because we were young and or new to the game....

[@theWheezy]

Not really, yes people get used to it but it can still easily be scary. I played some verruckt alone today and I was pretty goddamn terrified. Situations get intense, and audio with headphones on is nerve wrecking. Not trying to be an ass in response to you, but seriously go try out verruckt by yourself at night. Have some headphones on and keep the game volume where it is by default. Have an open mind and see what you think

[@lazyvoid7107]

​@@theWheezyHe is not wrong tho. When I was young I was scared of BO1 zombies but when I got experience with the maps it wasn't not scary even in solos but would agree that verruckt is still one of the most hunting maps even in BO3 I got scared once from the banging

[@thetypicalgrape9898]

@@lazyvoid7107 🤓

[@Neyara281]

I am really surprised that someone mentioned this again. You explained this so well. As someone who never played a lot of multiplayer zombies, I never used chewing gum in bo3 so the anxiety was still there. But then again u tank 3 hits in bo3.

[@CamdenNotThePlace]

The vanoss clip of “dude I’m not scared” was elite

[@therealwetwizard]

3:07 typical Olympia user M14 gang for life!!!

[@hyun-kyunshin3713]

cant wait for you to hit 1 mil subs you're hilarious

[@removebeforeflightgamingth9923]

I would say once BO2, they featured the bank feature. Now it wasn’t about survival it was about getting to the bank. By bo3 you had the gobblegums and the by bo4 the elixirs to make it super easy if you were willing to go that route, in addition it went from 2 hits to 3 also removing the fear.

[@zantania1150]

man, i was absolutely terrified playing zombies by myself. i HAD to have someone else playing with me. the more people i had with me, the less scared. but that didnt mean i went off on my own, lol. i loved how challenging and scary zombies was back in the day. my first ever east egg was on mob of the dead and we were so locked in i forgot about feeling any fear. havent felt that kind of joy in ages

[@-Rogue_]

The intro reminded me when I used to play Bo2 zombies when I was younger. It brought me back to when I would try to play solo and tell myself "alright, time to go for a high round game" and get on transit, only to get scared after round 5 and ride on the bus for the rest of the game. good times.

[@pavloskypraios]

What a great video man Missing on old maps

[@dumbentertainment1]

Here's a weird thing. I used to have such high anxiety and PTSD and getting hit in zombies would physically make me jump. But after time I found that weird gamer spot and everything was calm. I found the eye of the hurricane. Sounds dumb but zombies helped me overcome a lifetime of abuse

[@michaelorozco7489]

Music while your mowing down a hoard while getting chased down by dogs is such a badass feeling in zombies

[@stefanos1679]

my brother you 100% correct with this video, I always struggled with the Five map when I was younger, because everytime I went to the lab level I always died, and I was so stressed progressing in this map

[@teslamodhammer]

Thank you you’re speaking what can only be felt by a soul

[@pungkutspapowinisumpuvtuku195]

I love how you summed up my first experience playing zombies when I was 10 years old. My cousin got black ops 1 only 3 days after its release. I remember playing it by myself on Kino scared shitless. Pausing the game and thinking if I should keep playing. I was only 10 years old lmaooo. Great video man!

[@Texan8005]

The Vanoss “Dude I’m not scared” made me laugh so much

[@djspit8929]

'Five' despite not having an established easter egg like the greats of bo2, is still my favorite map to this day. It STILL gets my blood pumping running around those claustrophobic halls

[@metallitero]

It's such the anxiety that those classic games bring, that I wasn't able to watch this video in fullscreen.

[@taxzgames]

This video is incredibly well made and shares a lot of the criticisms I've ranted about in my own vids and streams. I'm glad there's still some hope in this community that the sane ones are still out there.

[@Dusty_CA]

WaW and BO1 zombies were the iterations that gave me the most anxiety during 2008-2011. At the time, Zombies was new and it was pretty challenging at the time as you mentioned in the video. While Zombies doesn't give me the same feeling today as it did back then, I do have to credit a lot of that not to just the way Zombies caters to comfort, but also, I'm not a kid anymore. I was only 9 years old when I played WaW zombies for the first time and the anxiety and fear I had of being chased by a horde of zombies all alone on Nacht.

[@wesleymaster1233]

I love the older zombies songs and remember the positive impact that they caused my gameplay, but on bo4 there were some really fun songs that pumped me up a lot as well.