It's Time to Let Raven Software Soar, Activision - An Emergence is Nigh…

It’s also time to potentially look at the Black Ops universe in a different light, and hand over Control to new audiences… with a sole custodian at the narrative and construct helm

Despite Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 bringing in zombie-like droves of Game Pass signeruperers (plus the rest), it’s blatantly obvious the majority of these peeps are here for the Prestige of the game’s multiplayer. We say this because, this writer in particular (who has always enjoyed a Call of Duty: Black Ops universe campaign, regardless of cheese), was dinging Rare Achievements left and right on our Xbox Series X review platform, even more than a week after the game’s initial release, where Campaign was concerned. And I’m talking very low numbers -- in my time with Campaign, I don’t think a single Rare Achievement was above five-to-eight-percent of players getting them, and these were ‘finish the level’-level Achievements.

You know, the cheap ones.

It became a bit of a chuckle point, too. The deeper I got into the game’s Campaign, which also got better and better, the lower the percentage of players who’d apparently played or even attempted them. And I’m not even ashamed to admit this time around, for review and content brevity, I just jumped in at Regular, which is fairly easy. This meant that people were just choosing to ignore the game’s main marketing point -- its timeline and tonal setting -- for sweet, sweet KDR. Which made me wonder… “what were all those ad dollars for?”.

Moreover, it started to grate me because while there are significant leaps and bounds made in MP here thanks largely to ‘Omnimovement’ and other differentials, you still weren’t getting *much* in the way of contrary design to previous outings (check out our “Review in Three Parts” here). And, like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War before it, the Campaign in Black Ops 6 is not only fun and varied, it’s at times inspired. So players were (and likely still are) missing out on some really, really interesting concepts set within the Black Ops game-universe -- and some of this stuff, if they made enough zombie-esque moans and groans about, could one day find its way into the MP setup proper, (grapple)hook, line and sinker.

So just what’s so good, then, outside of MP (and Zombies, natch), that’s got my camo-flavoured Step Ones in a knot?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: Treyarch/Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: October 25, 2024
Classification: MA 15+
Author: Stephen Farrelly
Date: November 25, 2024

No Gods or Kings. Only Man.

When a studio makes a love letter to games that inspired it, it’s normally pretty subtle. Often, even, just baked into the design for people who walk around with IYKYK pins stuck to their pigeoned-out chests to nod quietly in respect to. But not so with the “Emergence” Campaign level in Black Ops 6. Black Ops 6's Campaign, of course, being handled front and centre by Raven Software, sees Emergence drenched in an intoxicating mix of homage, influence and creative endeavour, stirred as a refreshing IP cocktail, finished over ice with a twist of lime.

We like to call it “Mannequin’s Delight”. 

When (not so) hapless hero, William ‘Case’ Calderon, falls to a seemingly ‘drenched’ safety net, alone and vulnerable, he emerges from contaminated water (replete with broken respiratory mask), in an area shrouded in a suspicious gas, coughing and spluttering. His radio to help is all but cut off and it’s abundantly clear we're about to experience something different to the ‘Call of Duty norm’.

"Giant effigies ‘welcoming’ visitors and subjects alike tower before all in the decidedly chic postmodernist space..."

You see, Case has a shrouded history around an hallucinogen dubbed “the Cradle”. It’s why we’re here, but until now we knew little about it, other than its origins are Kentuckian and American. The sequence is set in 1991 when *most* of the world’s current conspiracy theories were (likely) lbeing gestated, so the idea here is considerably apt, especially from a pop culture perspective, and that it comes to light Case was exposed to the Cradle some 10 years before in the 80s also helps things move along. All of this is very quick, but poignant. The Cradle and its creation, however, are about to take over in a very, very meaningful way and it’s the installation in which it was born that truly elevates both the experience and setting, teasing the whole way through at the potentiality of expansion beyond this, and beyond even Call of Duty. 

This is further cemented the moment Case makes his way to the grand atrium of the Advanced Technologies & Applications facility after an unnerving battle with mannequins-turned-zombies, with a hatchet. It’s how we know not everything here is as it seems, but it’s a small introductory offering. When we ascend the stairs to the atrium proper, though; giant effigies ‘welcoming’ visitors and subjects alike tower before all in the decidedly chic postmodernist space. Science and government combine to reach, seemingly, for the beyond and we can now see the fruits of influence at play. BioShock and Prey (2017) are as heavy-handed, visually and tonally (and impactfully), as some others later on. And Raven ain’t shying from shit. If anything, our read here is the studio's own call to our actual feature title, which we really, really want Acti to listen to.

Would you like to know more?
Ringing red telephones, a mysterious inner-voice, violent hallucinations, game-changing upgrades and an overall tone that is horror and intrigue wrapped in stunning design and meticulous world-building, Emergence is a breakfree moment for both developer and series. It is equal parts BioShock, Prey and Control with handfuls of other elements peppered in, and Raven does not shy from wearing its heart its sleeve with even a Mimic from Prey making an appearance in the level experience. But less about those admittedly fantastic influences and more about the aforementioned world-building here, the Emergence level is brimming with opportunity for expansion, beginning with the fact Adler even had a stint working there at some point in his past.

Hand Over Control

If we need to spell it out, let’s take this world to Remedy levels. Black Ops, as a game-universe, is perfect for experiential picking. There’s so much here that doesn’t need to be *real* for lack of a better term, certainly not to the levels of Modern Warfare (though we’re happy to poo-poo the future stuff, for now). And with so much embedded throughout the series’ storied history which is all nestled in the ‘conspiracy/clandestine/near-New World Order’ camp, the level of deep-dive available is salivating. And if Remedy has taught us anything, it’s that videogames are ripe for shared universe exploration. 

"Raven’s handling of the single-player side of Call of Duty’s Black Ops timeline has been exemplary (we loved Cold War), and it's clear there’s a vision for exploration..."

Control and Alan Wake, for example, are part of the “Remedy Connected Universe” which allows the studio to explore beyond a core series and into spinoffs and standalones while also keeping everything connected. Control itself is something of a constant tease at plot devices and ideas to likely wind up in the RCU down the track, such as with the upcoming multiplayer offering, FBC: Firebreak. Remedy has also explored (and continues to explore) live-action content and other forms of transmedia for its RCU, much to the delight of fans. And even its other major title, Quantum Break, which the studio has no actual IP rights to (it’s a Microsoft entity), is still riddled with Easter eggs and connective tissue to the RCU (that Remedy openly hopes fans build theory-bridges to and from), so we think Activision could -- and should (as well as the bigger bosses at Microsoft) -- take the Remedy example as a bit of a North Star and look directly in-house at Raven to lead that charge in fun and new and experimental ways.

Part of the reason we say this is because Raven’s handling of the single-player side of Call of Duty’s Black Ops timeline has been exemplary to date, and it's clear there’s a vision for exploration of themes like hierarchical mistrust, backroom deals, shadow governments, rogue agents, sleeper agents, brainwashing and so, so much more.

And that's without touching the mind-altering, abstract and psychological stuff it continues to take to new heights.

So it feels like it's all just sitting there waiting to be made at this point, for lack of a better way to put it. And for us it begins with the exampled Emergence and everything embedded within; the Cradle, the Advanced Technologies & Applications facility itself, its mannnequins motif, the multiple decades represented, *cough* mimics *cough*, and way more. But it can also go as far back as that time both Gary Oldman and Sam Worthington influenced one another in one of the great Call of Duty entries ever, the original Black Ops, alongside everything in between...

A Bathysphere Named Desire

Ever seen the movie “The Men Who Stare at Goats”? It’s a satire, but it pokes fun at the various military and scientific experimentations of the past handful of decades by the US for an upperhand in the warfare stakes. It’s also a good example of how sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction (a fantastic Bad Religion album, by the way), but is also a great way to kick things into gear with an expanded Black Ops universe. By now, if you’re a fan, there’s likely a lot you could get excited about -- Vicktor Reznov’s full background in ye olde times, Alex Mason’s early life and how that might have shaped his susceptibility to brainwashing, Adler (tied to the Advanced Technologies & Applications project) and his shady AF and very, very chequered past. And of course Woods, who at this point just deseres his own standalone... something.

More too, if we choose to look at those now long gestating conspiracy theories. The space-race, weather control, chemtrails, black helicopters, particular disappearances or assassinations (such as old mate, Harold Holt, for the Aussies), predictive programming (in a fun, meta sense) and, of course, the "Deep State", among, well... too many to give more airtime to, to be honest. But they're there and they're brimminging with promise (and predictive programming potential).

"We probably don’t need to keep leaning into contextual ways to bring Zombies into the Campaign/serious side of Call of Duty..."

But it also wouldn’t need to just be about known characters. Advanced Technologies & Applications itself was created in 1962 in the game-universe's timeline, which if we’re to even stop at Case’s infiltration of it during Emergence, that’s still almost 30 years of content and lore to draw upon (plus the reason for its existence in the first place). And some shit went down here. We probably don’t need to keep leaning into contextual ways to bring Zombies into the Campaign/serious side of Call of Duty (which does happen here if you haven't played yet). If anything it should remain separate and even become its own product, but boy does Raven tease us with an embedded history within the wood-paneled walls of this space, and it’s just so tantalising that you know the studio has... ideas.

How all of this would work is up in the air, of course. Various styles of games, different writers, new technology -- all of it ought to be put out there for modest exploration, with nothing off the table. But we acknowledge it would be a risk. As we mentioned in this feature’s opening, it was jarring how few people appear to have thrown themselves into the Campaign stuff with Black Ops 6, so the appetite for more narrative and new ideas might not land. But this is also one of the biggest entertainment properties in the world owned and backed by equally massive movers and shakers, so we reckon it’d be alright. 

Would you like to know more?
Raven had another moment in time where it wanted to flex its creative muscle, also centred around themes not too dissimilar to those explored throughout Black Ops’ expansive timeline. Singularity was a first-person action-adventure title that looked to play with time-displacement and echoes as gameplay tools (very Remedy vibes, equally), while also tapping into Cold War elements and aesthetics. However, development of the game ballooned which saw it delayed and eventually seemingly pushed out the door. It won some people over, and we were certainly in the group of those in love with its concept, but at the end of the day time stood too still for it to ever truly reach its potential. A great idea and setting though, and one that could still be utilised as a Sliding Doors moment to right the missed opportunities and concepts of the past…

Insert Title Here: “_________” - A Black Ops Universe Game

Truthfully, though, we’d want genuine expansion of the Black Ops 6 universe and not only bite-sized add-ons for the Call of Duty vehicle proper. In addition, there are some other great studios that work alongside Raven that have had narrative hits in the past. High Moon’s Transformers: War for Cybertron, was a nerd revelation and helped scratch an itch every kid of the 80s had had when it released in 2010. In 2020 Beenox helped give us the incredible Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (alongside the now Blizzard-shifted Vicarious Visions who was lead), but has also had moderate success with multiple Spider-Man games prior. While Sledgehammer Games’ formation is still tied to devs that worked on such critical hits as Dead Space (despite these days being more a Call of Duty support studio). All and sundry could have a hand in that expanded universe, and maybe also their own moment in the sun.  

"This is one level in one location that has created a groundswell of love and want for more from many others, not just us..." 

Treyarch created Black Ops, of course, so it would be a unique setup; would that studio oversee handling of said “expanded universe”, or could it confidently hand over the reins to Raven, focusing instead on being the number one Call of Duty team in Activision’s very large stable? this feature tells you we want the latter because Raven’s own track record is actually good and in some instances, experimental and ambitious. 

(Check out our “Would you like to know more?” box outs for… MORE!)

Which brings us back to Emergence, briefly and finally (we know you’ve got things to do). In short, play it if you haven’t. If you have, play it again and explore the facility. Seek out the influences caked into its very fabric, they're there and obvious for a reason. Then look at all the intellectual stuff; the content ripe for picking and just consider -- over Call of Duty: Black Ops’ long history, this is one level in one location that has created a groundswell of love and want for more. And it's not just us.

So now, try and imagine what all of that could look like in the right, erm... talons.

About the author

Written By Stephen Farrelly
Stephen Farrelly is a veteran journalist and editor with more than two decades experience in the worlds of gaming, entertainment, lifestyle and sport under his belt. He is a proud pug dad, loves art in all forms but particularly street and tattoo culture, and is the director of Swear Jar...
More from this Author
  • + Star Wars Outlaws Now Available via Steam, Title Update 1.4.0 and the Wild Card DLC Also Released
  • + Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Review

    • explore more in pop culture

    While Season Two wows viewers on Netflix, relive Season One in a way you currently can't via the streaming platform through Blu-ray. This release takes the series' visuals and audio to new heights replete with Bonus Features!

    A new animated series featuring Chinese mythology and folklore as well as the supernatural, with an all-star cast, is coming to Netflix next month. And it looks fire!

    Awkward... Well, certainly to a degree. Secret Level gets a new sizzle video, but reminds us, maybe too soon, of the shut down of Concord and its developer, Firewalk Studios.

    Marvel Animation has released the first official trailer for Season Three of What If...? for Disney+, which the platform and creators are promising is the final season, at least with this series of stories. And it looks good...

    Marvel Studio released two new trailers for upcoming MCU projects dropping in the early part of 2025, and both are very, very different in tone and identity, yet both look as fun and engaging as one another. Plus, Red Hulk... 'nuff said.

    If you grew up in the late 80s or early 90s, there's a huge chance you were, in some way shape or form, impacted by a quartet of mutated turtles who loved pizza, haded cheese graters and thoroughly enjoyed bashing in brains... specifically those names Krang. Now a new exhibition celebrating 40 years of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is headed to Melbourne!

    We have a fresh update on that original and hopeful idea of when we *might* have been enjoying Deadpool & Wolverine from the comfort of home or on our device of choice, via Disney+...

    Check out the official teaser trailer for Squid Game season 2, hot off the Netflix presses. Returning cast and characters, new fodder but the same sense of greed are what's in store for what looks, so far, to be exactly the continuation we've all been hoping for...

    Just. One. More. Game.

    Fancy a deep-dive into the development journey of one of Australia's most beloved locally-created games? Untitled Goose Game through Boss Fight Books was penned by Aussie games journalist and wordsmith extraordinaire, James O'Connor. We sat down and spoke with him about his own journey writing this love-letter to a fantastic game and team...

    Deadlier than a monkey paw, Stephen King's musical toy monkey from his 1980 short story "The Monkey" is a death-dealing wind-up curse just waiting to be unleashed on an unsuspecting small naighbourhood, as all good King joints are. Check out the new red-band trailer teasing its cinematic debut early 2025...

    Comment

    Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.