Discover More Ways to Celebrate Chinese New Year with Facai Traditions and Customs

The smell of gunpowder mixed with something distinctly undead hung heavy in the air. I was crouched behind a shattered counter in a place called Liberty Falls, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. Next to me, my friend Sarah, who I’d finally convinced to try Zombies mode, was frantically trying to figure out which button reloaded her weapon. "Is it 'X'? Triangle? I don't know!" she yelled over the guttural groans of the approaching horde. This chaotic, beautiful mess is what I love about Call of Duty's Zombies, but in that moment, I realized just how steep the wall is for newcomers. It was a world away from the festive, family-oriented preparations I’d been immersed in just hours before, trying to discover more ways to celebrate Chinese New Year with Facai traditions and customs. That contrast—between the structured, symbolic rituals of my heritage and the beautifully chaotic, hard-to-penetrate world of Zombies—struck me profoundly. It’s a gap that Treyarch itself seems to have recognized.

Just last week, the developers announced a "guided" version of Zombies slated for release after Black Ops 6's launch. As someone who enjoys the mode but wouldn't call myself hardcore, that’s an element I’m genuinely excited about. My session with Sarah in Liberty Falls was a perfect case study in why it's needed. Uncovering the hidden aspects of Terminus and Liberty Falls in Black Ops 6 is, as the old saying goes, a whole different kettle of fish. It's incredibly involved, a labyrinth of Easter eggs, cryptic clues, and precise steps that the community pores over for weeks. And it becomes exponentially more difficult when you're just messing around on the maps with friends who aren't especially hardcore about Zombies. We weren't trying to solve the main quest; we were just trying to survive past round 10 without Sarah accidentally tossing a grenade at our own barricades. Bringing in new players is something the Zombies mode has historically struggled with, and this new guided experience feels like a direct, and frankly brilliant, solution to that very issue.

I remember back in Black Ops Cold War—which, shockingly, came out four whole years ago—there was a slightly gentler learning curve, but the core mystery remained. You were still thrown into the deep end. Now, in Black Ops 6, the simple act of fighting and staying alive is more deep and engaging than ever. The gunplay feels weighty, the new movement mechanics add a layer of fluidity, and the atmosphere in these maps is just top-tier. But man, does it still require a lot of dedication to understanding its intricacies and nuances. If you only pop into Zombies now and then, like I often do between other games, you can feel lost, left behind by the veterans who speak in a language of wonder weapon acronyms and map-specific lore. It's a club that's hard to join.

This is where my mind drifts back to traditions, to the ways we pass down knowledge. Learning about Facai, the prosperity salad eaten for luck during Chinese New Year, wasn't something I had to figure out alone in a dark room. My grandmother guided me, showing me how to toss the ingredients higher and higher for greater prosperity. There was a structure, a shared language, a guided experience that made a complex tradition accessible and joyful. That’s what I think this new Zombies mode can be. It won't replace the classic, hardcore experience for the purists, and it shouldn't. But for the Sarahs of the world, for the casual players who just want a taste of that brilliant, co-op survival horror without the pressure of a wiki page open on a second screen, it could be a game-changer. It’s about building a bridge, creating an on-ramp to one of the most unique and enduring parts of the Call of Duty franchise. So, as I look forward to the lantern festivals and family dinners, I’m also genuinely anticipating the day I can load up that guided mode, turn to a friend, and say, "Don't worry, the game will show us the way this time." And maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally see what’s really hidden in the depths of Terminus.