Do We Miss Verdansk Or Do We Miss The Idea Of Verdansk?
Alright hear me out here...do we miss Verdansk or the IDEA of Verdansk? Let's start by trying to figure out what the fuck I'm actually talking about.
So first, everyone (myself included) misses Verdansk and the way Warzone used to be. But, I don't think we truly miss Verdansk. What we actually miss is what Verdansk represented and the state of gaming at that time.
Gaming, like many things in life, goes through massive ebbs and flows. A new game comes out, the entire world wants their hands on it, they wanna watch the best players play and can't seem to enough time to watch and play said game. Then, after a certain period of time, the game loses its lust. Could be hackers, could be kids getting too good, or sometimes people are just craving something new.
Early days Verdansk felt like gaming euphoria. Every single night, the boys and I would be running squads for 4-5 hours a night, forgetting about all the bullshit of the real world and just vibing. That is what gaming really is at its core. It's an excuse to forget about everything crazy going on in the real world and just focus on this fake, virtual world with a group of friends. it connects you with your friends while providing hours upon hours of entertainment.
The only thing is, Warzone hasn't been in this state for close to one and a half years. Eventually, hackers go to a point where it made the game unplayable, or there was some game breaking bug happening in every lobby.
Just as reminiscing typically goes, we always look back fondly on the good memories, while we choose not to think about all the negatives. Now I loved Verdansk - I thought it was a great map, but it had some flaws. Like whoever designed Downtown needs to be fired immediately. No second chances, don't pass go and don't collect $200. The verticality of Dam was annoying and the open space while trying to cross Airport was a disaster. Especially when cowards were camping in the ATC tower.
The fact that Caldera is absolute cheeks, also doesn't help us not long for Verdansk to come back. Initially, I defended Caldera because I liked the change of pace. However, I quickly came to realize how stale the map could be with too much verticality and bushes for campers to hide in.
So my fear is that Activision brings back Verdansk for a few weeks and initially, everybody is LOVING it. But quickly, the same issues that Warzone has will begin to present themself. Then, we're back in the same cycle - over and over again.
Now, I'm waiting patiently for that next big game to come back into the gaming landscape and captivate us all. Will it be Modern Warfare 2? Will it be Warzone 2? Will it be Starfield? I have no fucking clue, but it can't come soon enough. Right now, one of the most fun games out there is Multiversus - hopefully this can hold us over until the next big one comes!
If you wanna keep reliving the Verdansk days, checkout some of my old YouTube videos and clips below: