Call of Duty’s campaigns have never cared too much for realism. You go into them knowing to expect balls-to-the-wall gunfights and jaw-dropping set piece moments on an epic scale. And, with each installment, the developers continue to push the envelope when it comes to how off-the-rails the action and story can be. 

Despite that, the franchise’s premier single-player mode has rarely ventured into the realm of the weird and unsettling. 

That’s perhaps why the Emergence mission in Black Ops 6 threw me completely off guard. It’s a surreal trip unlike anything in the franchise’s long history. 

In case you haven’t played it yet, let me set the stage for you (minor spoilers ahead): 

After securing a sample of a mysterious biohazard weapon, the game’s protagonists trace it back to its origins — an abandoned research facility in United States soil. They go and investigate, but surprise, surprise: your character falls down an elevator shaft and is exposed to toxic gas. Now, you have to find your way out of the lower levels of the facility alone, while battling the effects of the gas. 

At this point, Emergence shifts from your average Call of Duty corridor-shooter to a horror thriller. 

The mission essentially plays like a shorter, more condensed version of Zombies. Only here, the undead hordes are hallucinations induced by the toxic gas you’ve been exposed to. That change, however, doesn’t make them any less threatening. They’re just as relentless as their counterparts from the round-based mode and can spell trouble for you in large groups. 

Some of the mission’s scares are also more psychological. There are, for example, these terrifying mannequins in a few areas of the facility. They don’t move when you have your eyes on them, but the moment you turn your back, they creep up behind you. Next time you turn, you’ll find that they are now in different poses and positions as when you first saw them. 

After the first time it happened, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I was being followed. I slowed my pace down, checking behind me every few steps or so to make sure no mannequins were there. You know, I wasn’t even sure if they were indeed following me; it’s just the mission builds tension so ingeniously that you can’t help but question your own instincts. And you would never expect that from a Call of Duty campaign mission. 

Your goal is to escape the facility. To do that, you’ll have to venture and collect a keycard from each of the four branches: Administration, Advanced Combat Research, Cognitive Research, and Joint Projects. 

Each of these divisions deliver up its own brand of chills and culminates in a unique boss fight. Personally, I think Administration is the best among them, using that same scare tactic with the mannequins to great effect. 

I enjoyed Emergence so much that after finishing it, I immediately went online and checked people’s thoughts about it. Apparently, among fans of the franchise, the reception to this mission has been somewhat mixed. Some have praised its daringness to switch up the Call of Duty formula and take it to places it’s never been before. But others also think it’s too weird and different to be a Call of Duty campaign mission. 

Honestly, I think the mission is the best showcase for the inventiveness of Black Ops 6’s campaign. I’ve played about five missions so far, and I’ve been loving how each one has some unique mechanic or gimmick which keeps the gameplay fun and fresh. 

Is it the best Call of Duty campaign ever? I wouldn’t say so. The original Black Ops and the early Modern Warfare installments are hard to beat. What I’ll say though is that Black Ops 6 — from what I’ve played so far — gives fans plenty of reasons to be excited about the franchise’s campaigns again. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is out now on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. – Rappler.com

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