There is still five months to go before Call of Duty: WW2 is launched, but Sledgehammer Games has made it clear that the upcoming shooter will feature several changes that will shake up the Call of Duty norm. Thanks to some new information from Sledgehammer co-founder Michael Condrey, fans will be pleased to know that elements of Call of Duty: WW2 will draw inspiration from one of the studio's most critically-acclaimed titles, Dead Space.
In a new feature piece on the upcoming historical shooter in Edge magazine, Condrey revealed that the development team visited many locations around Europe in an attempt to bring a level of authenticity to Call of Duty: WW2. While this proved to be very useful in getting the little details right, such as the weather and terrain, Sledgehammer's Europe trip also helped inform the development of Call of Duty's revamped Zombie mode.
Condrey stated that the upcoming Zombie mode will feature a backstory that's based on real events, but kept his cards close to his chest in regards to what these events were. However, the Sledgehammer co-founder did tease that WW2's Zombie mode will feature stronger survival horror elements than previous games, indicating that the development team has taken inspiration from Dead Space and saying that it will be "unique to [Sledgehammer's] Dead Space signature".
Beyond the new Dead Space inspired Zombies mode and the attention to detail being put into the game, Condrey also revealed that Call of Duty: WW2's multiplayer mode will play differently when compared to the previous Call of Duty title, Advanced Warfare. Since WW2 is grounded in real events and technology, meaning futuristic elements from Advanced Warfare are nonexistent, Condrey states that the multiplayer mode will feel slower paced and players will be required to play more strategically.
Sledgehammer's commitment to authenticity also extends to the map design, something that Condrey says will be based on real-life locations and battles. Not only will the single-player maps have a "transformational" element as players work their way through each level, but some multiplayer maps will feature additional environmental battle fronts that won't be accessible in single-player maps.
Given how Dead Space is ranked high in the pantheon of horror games, having elements of this title influence Call of Duty WW2's Zombie mode is nothing but a positive thing. It remains to be seen how the final product will play out, but seeing as how Sledgehammer had previously worked on a cancelled Call of Duty game that had Dead Space moments in it, it's safe to say that the studio have previous experience in combining Dead Space with Call of Duty, and all eyes will be on the studio's take on WW2's Zombie mode when E3 2017 comes around.
Call of Duty: WW2 is scheduled for launch on November 3, 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: Edge Magazine #307 (via Reddit)