Call of Duty: Vanguard Season One is so barebones that it adds basically nothing to the game's Zombies mode, but is there a new easter egg?
Call of Duty: Vanguard does feature a Zombies mode, but it may as well have just left the entire mode out. The barebones experience we received at launch was an embarrassment to Sledgehammer Games, who had to employ the help of Treyarch to even get a Zombies mode out at all. Now, Call of Duty: Vanguard Season One is here, and the promised continuation of the Dark Aether storyline is due to commence... but where is it?
It seems that when Black Ops Cold War dropped its final season, and The Forsaken swept into our homes, the promise of Vanguard's continuation ended up ringing hollower than Sledgehammer Games' attempt at an emotional impactful Campaign. Season One is now here, and we have to be real with you: Zombies isn't fairing much better. Most of the "new content" will be coming later in the Season, with the current offering only providing us a single new Objective and a few more of those inconsequential Covenants.
Now, don't despair – that doesn't mean too much, does it? Well, that's the big question. Season One is adding new weapons that will also be available in the game's multiplayer (the Cooper Carbine and the Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle), as well as a selection of new challenges and rewards, but what about that promised Dark Aether content? What about this Season's easter egg? Well, here are the details...
Does Vanguard Season One Have a Zombies Easter Egg?
There is no new Zombies Easter Egg in Call of Duty: Vanguard Season One, and thus we can't really help you complete it. In addition to there being no new Easter Egg, there is also no new Zombies Map in Vanguard Season One. We were promised a lot, and there's quite a bit in the Roadmap, but nothing has been delivered yet. Honestly, we would be feeling disappointed if this wasn't entirely consistent with Vanguard's track-record so far.
Here's the deal: we're not going to suck up to Sledgehammer Games and excuse all of this by saying "oh, most of the Zombies content is coming later this season". It would be factually correct, but totally misleading. The problem with Zombies in Call of Duty: Vanguard is that it may as well be absent from the experience entirely. EarlyGame's CoD Team sat down to play through the experience at-launch and finished it in about thirty minutes (watch the above video). Subsequent playthroughs haven't fared much better.
Season One was meant to save the mode, bringing the content that was supposed to be there at launch into the game. What we now have is that same barebones experience, with a few minor additions. Perhaps the additional content that's coming later this season will be great, but it is too little too late.
So what is Coming to Zombies Later in Season One?
- Tome of Rituals: Tome of Rituals will allow your Artifacts to grow in power. This will offer even greater Dark Aether abilities, which will in turn aid in your survival.
- Von List's Office: This is a brand new map... section. Not a new map, a new map... section.
- Support Killstreaks: Warmachine and Deathmachine are the two new Support Killstreaks that will be craftable at the Crafting Table.
- More Features: New Unlock Challenges for weapons, Mystery Box weapon upgrades, a pause feature for the whole server and more.
#Vanguard Season One is NOW LIVE! New Maps New Weapons New OperatorsLet's get into it pic.twitter.com/EAO9MBlljp
— Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) December 8, 2021
So this is the crux of the issue: sure, there's the new Tome of Rituals (by the way, why is this being introduced in-season?), some new killstreaks, and a few minor additions, but there is no new map. The biggest addition is Von List's Office, which is a new map "section". This will likely not be particularly impactful, and will not add a whole lot to the experience. We will see, but this is probably the introduction of Dark Aether to Vanguard.
Will there be a Zombies Easter Egg, then?
It is possible that a Season One Zombies Easter Egg will be added when Von List's Office gets introduced to the game. This is clearly where the Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies storyline will commence, despite it not being a whole new map. We certainly hope that there will be a little more to enjoy in Season One than what we've received so far, but who knows. It's not like we've been hugely impressed by this year's offerings so far.