How Der Eisendrache Used Nostalgia To Make Something New
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
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Twitter: / whitecliffgames
Shadows of Evil was the most controversial Zombies map to date. Worried, especially because that was their launch map and seemed to be actively turning some players away from the game entirely, the first DLC map the developers released was effectively weaponized nostalgia. But, beneath the surface with all the references and classic gameplay features, Der Eisendrache worked to synergize that old era with the new, to find that perfect balance to allow the mode to keep moving forward.
"A Zombies Retrospective" is a series in which I play through each Call of Duty Treyarch Zombies map chronologically, and analyze its place in the series.
Media:
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Shadows of Evil - Reveal Trailer
Der Eisendrache - Reveal Trailer
Der Eisendrache - "Awakening" Trailer
Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Zombies Reveal Trailer
Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Multiplayer Reveal Trailer
Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Story Trailer
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Reveal Trailer
"The Ice Giants" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons...
This map def required TH-cam to upgrade the bows and pack a punch lol
The bow upgrades sure, but he never said the upgradable goes, he meant the base bow, hence why it’s on screen as he says it. pack a punch is also very easy to figure out on ur first or second game. You just have to interact with 2 broken pack a punches , both in very visible and high traffic areas. It’s not even like you needed to turn on the teleporter. Just explore the map and you’ll turn it on naturally
Within 10 plays you could figure out the bows minus void if you’ve ever done a hunt before
Who tf needed TH-cam to unlock pack a punch in DE lmao
Pack a punch was pretty simple I figured it out the first or second time I played
pack a punch is literally two buttons
A near perfect combination of old features and new mechanics, casual and hardcore gameplay on a map which was large enough not to be simple but small enough not to be tedious. Can you imagine how much more successful BO3 would been if this was the launch map.
'Casual' and 'hardcore' means nothing in reference to zombies players. I'd call myself a hardcore player specifically because I don't try to do the easter eggs every time and prefer going to high rounds, and easter egg hunters would probably call themselves hardcore too, although I don't know why when their EEs give them overpowered weapons and allow them to finish a gamemode that was always supposed to be about surviving. Probably because they have to read guides and consider their way to be 'beating' the map.
Also I doubt the gamemode would be 'more' popular because they kinda traded their old fans for new ones with the overemphasis on easter eggs.
@@KamikazeCommie501I think the big difference in “hardcore” vs “casual” is effort. Casual players don’t necessarily put in the effort to learning a map or some of its intricacies. Think the catwalk on Der Reise or basically all of Buried. Maps where you don’t need to necessarily learn before going far either high rounds or EE. On the other hand Origins is extremely difficult to learn on the fly no simple training spots and wonder weapons are locked behind puzzles. Also, Easter Eggs simply give another aspect to strive for in the game. A survival game cannot last forever so you need to add something to go for. High rounds are I played for hours and did the same running in circles it’s difficult to perfect but the actual actions aren’t hard while doing an EE typically takes planning, if non-solo teamwork and cohesion, as well as different skills besides training and killing, some luck, sharpshooting, puzzle solving. Speed running also give life to a game. Super Mario 64 only lasted this long because of speed running and high rounds are really a good speed running category.
Yea i just cant handle those 5 straight hour runs trying to see how high of a round i can get to. Once ive got a handle on everything and i just rinse and repeat the same train cycle over and over for 40mins im pretty sick of the game at that point.
Kino for example, i dont think ive ever gone down past round 30 without intentionally making dumb decisions in an attempt to make the game interesting or end@Howesitgoing1
@KamikazeCommie501 "Overemphasis"
At no point are you forced, or even suggested to do Easter eggs by the game 😐
@@KamikazeCommie501 Either way the original statement is true, even by your inverse definition both play styles exist on the map
RETURN OF THE GOAT
GOAT is back
What is the _goat_ ?
@@dustinholland6892greatest of all time (GOAT)
@@dzps4743 Yeah, but what is it?
@@dustinholland6892probably the youtuber he was talking about
I played this map a lot on splitscreen with my brother. He'd make the fire or storm bow and I'd make the wolf bow. We got to to round 36 once which was my longest game at that point. One of my favorite maps in the whole series
i have like 200 hours on this map alone and NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT THERE WAS A SECRET MELEE WEAPON, i have to play it again...
As someone who has watched this series several times all the way through and tended not to watch the actual footage: I just noticed the seamless transition you made at 13:03 with the HVK reload. It was a very slick bit of editing :)
Your analyses of the maps are by far my favourite to watch/listen to
Very well said. I personally believe DE to be the best map in zombies because of how well it bridges the gap between the casual and hardcore playerbases, and it does so without compromising depth. It's approachable and truly has a bit of something for everyone while keeping that intangible zombies "vibe". Great video :)
😂
Technically speaking, between Kino and DE there is another map with a non-English name. Shangri-La is a Chinese name, but it doesn't have a direct translation the way Kino der Toten can be directly translated to "Theater of the Dead," but it roughly means "Utopia" or "Paradise."
its also a common phrase used throughout the english language rather than a specific location name in another language.
@@RonZertnert Words like "utopia" and "paradise" are, but those aren't literal translations of "Shanrgi-La." Those are just the closest words to what it means. Shangri-La itself is a specific place.
@@ClonedGamer001 Shangri-la is not a specific place. It is a descriptor word used for a place of paradise or beauty. It is a phrase commonly used in English.
@@RonZertnert From what I read it's a lost city, much like Atlantis or El Dorado. It's not a place you can point to on a map, but it is certainly a specific place. If anything it's _more_ specific than "Theater of the Dead" since that can refer to any theater that has dead things in it, while Shangri-La is one specific city.
Also it certainly is not commonly used in English. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "Shangri-La" outside of discussing the Zombie map itself. You may be thinking of "Nirvana," which is fairly common in English.
@@ClonedGamer001 It is not a "lost city" it is a fictional location made up for literature whose name has become synonymous with paradise. Shangri-la is a common english phrase used to describe a place of beauty or paradise. "A regular shangri-la." A quick googled search shows already 100s of english hotels and locations using the phrase. With english as your second language, maybe you just misunderstood its use?
Also saying the word is specific is really humorous, thanks for the laugh.
This is probably still my favorite BO3 map ever, and it helps that it has what is definitely my favorite easter egg song in the series. I never go a run without activating the music easter egg, it's so damn good
Just wanted to say I always look forward to your new uploads, and if you ever run out of zombie content I’d happily watch you talk about any other game, movie or comic.
Today was the first day I saw you on my recommended, I am currently binging all of these zombies ‘Video Essays.’ They are fantastic, keep it up!
It’s important to note that nearly all of BO3 zombies is set during World War II, with the 1940s being a running theme connecting the maps.
Der Eisendrache: 1940s Nazi Germany (Austria)
Zetsobou No Shima: 1940s Imperial Japan Territory
Gorod Krovi: 1940s USSR
Shadows of Evil: 1940s USA
I put Shadows last because I think we tend to forget the map is still within that category due to all the Lovecraftian elements, but it’s important to note that DE was not the first map to return to that era. It was that way from the start.
Too bad it doesn’t have that vibe. Especially Gorod Krovi.
I'm a sucker for medieval castles
Amazing Video man!! Im from Bavaria/Germany and Burg Hohenwerfen (The castle its inspired from) is about 45 minutes away from where I live. Been there multiple times already but never realized they took so much inspiration from that for Der Eisendrache. Really excited to go there and look for all the stuff they took inspiration from :)
Wake up honey new White Cliff video
Der Eisendrache was the last map I enjoyed from the Blundel era. After that, I was getting sick of his look up a guide to get everything style.
another great analysis. grateful for the time & effort that goes into just 20mins of our time. keep it up!
4:54 shangri la.
I was literally binging your retrospective series while playing der eisendrache when this came out, clutch indeed
I loved BO3 MP. The advanced movement was amazing, well balanced, and added in a bit of challenge. The campaign I have no clue what happened until recently when gaming wins went over it.
Yeah BO3 had the best gameplay but the worst campaign
@@zacharysilver911 the execution could've been better, but it was still a decent campaign.
@@cobrakaineverdies-i2k Felt like a fever dream tbh. Didn’t feel like I was actually playing the campaign lol. I enjoyed the campaign the first time I played through it, haven’t played it again since.
I’m so glad he’s still posting my guy had me worried he was gone for a sec
I blame my dad or I would if I knew him
its so interesting to here this veiwpoint on the bo3 launch, when things went so diffrently for me and my group of friends. when we got the game on launch day, we all had so many crashes, issues with lag and load times- but we loved shadows. the pap steps, once we learned them, were pretty understandable- bit i completely get how its waayyy to much for a player not knowing about how zombies maps have secrets/ees. it makes me apreciate SoE and DE's development even more. (also leroy will always be his name lol)
My biggest gripe with BO3 Zombies is that we have to use the B03 weapons mainly. I just hate the weapon designs.
true
On one hand, the BO3 weapons are stupid, nonsensical futuristic slop, but they are at least well-balanced and customizable.
I like the weapons
Rlly ngg?
@@sixbases6793ngg???
Its 2 words how hard is it to type them properly.
FUnny you posted this on the day I completed the EE for the first time!
One of my favorite serious to binge
Man i just love these videos, pls keep up with great work i love it bro 🥺❤
Man, I love your videos, keep the good work!
I’m learning about the Panzer Helmet just now from you.
This video is amazing.
Because you brought up the campaign I want to point out a really interesting fact about it. Your character actually dies after the first mission while you're doing the tutorial bits in the second mission and everything after that point is everybody else's memory is bleeding into yours because you're all interfaced and you having a wild fever dream as you die. This isn't even a crazy theory that's unproven the scrolling text at the start of each level actually contains the information that explains this is what's going on. I actually really enjoyed the campaign both from a gameplay perspective and a story perspective once I found out what was actually going on. You also didn't mention the remix of the campaign they did with zombies that I still defend to this day
Just realized it was based on all the final maps of the first 3 games. Der Reise on WAW, Moon on BO1, and origins on BO2
How? Not trying to be rude genuinely curious sry
@@aidanwhite2894it’s a 935 facility with a “dg” wonder weapon, like der reise. It’s got the mpd like moon and you literally talk to the moon during the Easter egg and end up blowing it up at the end, and it’s like origins with the elemental bows, and the panzers.
7:04 "They wanted to bring the old and the new.... *proceeds to keep talking about the old things* "
It was a half ass attempt at nostalgia bait and pandering to get old players to convert to the new zombie style.
The entire map is a wash, the people like me who hated the borderline mandatory 20 step quest on every map didn’t like this map for obvious reasons.
The casual players got confused at what was going on and looked it up, then ether gave up or brute forced it.
And the players who like super complicated quests got a half baked map that treated them like children.
People don’t have to fight over staffs, there’s also four staffs in origins. Der eisendrache didn’t re-introduce max ammo rounds since they’re in the giant and shadows, and every other map in bo3.
I watched this already and then I watched all the other ones up to this point so I might as well rewatch it
How did I go my entire life without knowing about the plunger
Absolutely love these videos man keep it up
Really good take on Der Eisendrache
Ayeee, hes back
As somebody who loves H.P lovecraft, SoE has quickly become one of my favourite maps. But DE was totally worth it
YYYYEEEESSSSSS BEEN SO EXCITED FOR THIS
Just stumbled upon your channel.
Really enjoying the content, keep it up!
While this map is fantastic, it does one thing that still rubs me the wrong way. Not counting bonus maps like Nuketown or The Giant, this is the first time since waaaaayyyyy back in Shangri-La that we didn’t get a new perk with the new map. Origins kinda gets a pass since it introduced Der Wunderfizz, but still, it was something that helped define a map’s personality for me. Maps like Mob or Buried would feel off without Electric Cherry or Vulture Aid respectively. It’s a small thing, but I was still a little bummed.
100%, that's absolutely worth mentioning; after Widow's Wine, Black Ops 3 didn't introduce a single new perk! I think they started to feel constrained by the 4 perk limit and decided that the perk system was overburdened. So, they tried to add new features in new ways, putting that functionality in different systems like specialist weapons or other buildables. I 100% agree though, trying out the new perk was always one of the best parts of a new map for me so I was sad to see that go away from here on out.
Gobble gums kinda took all the perk ideas, they even had banana colada as a perk
1:11 very very true. I hated Shadows at launch because it was “too different to be considered zombies.” Yet having played it probably 1000s of times, and using it as a way to introduce people to the mode, I do believe it’s a crucial addition to the entire collection of maps.
Edit: 10:11 whenever I helped people attempt the EE I would do the wolf bow. Simply because I loved the backstory and the quest so much (and others thought it was the weakest lol) so I always claimed it. So many good memories of using that weapon.
Edit 2 because I’m loving this video: 12:20 especially since in BO3, many double packed guns with double tap would be viable until round 35. If you were going for rounds purely, hitting 25 without building anything was very doable
another 10/10 video, cant wait for the next
I loved soe at launch
Der Eisendrache has always felt like Origins with training wheels to me. im glad it worked for the community at large but even an indepth analysis like this still couldn't shake that feeling.
Yeah but that’s a GOOD thing. It’s a map that everyone can enjoy, casuals and hardcore players alike.
@@tehCostHD i don't think this map does anything for hardcore players but maybe i'm in the minority with that opinion.
not to mention the community buzz around the DE release. hadn't seen everyone so hype since Origins
you can also see dempsey 1.0’s rocket at the spawn after 60 seconds
der eisendrache is personally my favorite map for a few reasons.
I love kino, but find it gets pretty boring after some time as one you get power on there really isn't anything to do.
I hate shadows, as I find making everything locked behind 15 minute quests just makes the game draining rather than fun.
I love origins, but Im not really the best zombies player, so I find it's just too hard for me to have much fun with. I use origins to test my skills.
Der eisendrache is the perfect map. It has a simple layout with an easy, exciting way to get PaP. The map constantly has you hooked, with there constantly being something to keep your attention. Wether it's the panzersoldat popping in to scare the shit out of you and make you run for the nearest place to get away or find a good spot to hunker down and fight. The bows feel rewarding, and i enjoy how simple it is to get the wrath of the ancients. There are many training areas, and many are completely viable, so if you get bored of one you can go over to another and have almost the same difficulty. You are practically guaranteed to get atleast one liquid divinium by the time you get the wrath of the ancients which I really enjoy. It has a pretty low skill ceiling, and if you can get to round 20 or so on kino you'll probably have no trouble getting far in der eisendrache.
Never realized how much of a reference map this map was. Just remember having a blast thanks for the nostalgia and information. I miss old nazi zombies
I've been playing this map ever since it was first released, and I never knew about the free gobble gum or the hat lmao
Btw actually good pronunciation of "Drache" that "Ch" is really hard to pronounce for non natives, but you nailed it! 👍🏻
I thought he stopped posting and I was disappointed great video bro 👍
Bo3's campaign was for sure a trip
good video, subbed
5:00, you took a swing and miss with that one. "No map with a name not in english was released since Kino der Toten". No map except for Shangri-la, mate
Shangri-la is used as a proper noun; it’s not a phrase in another language that translates to something in English, it’s just the proper name of a (fictional) place. Swing and a miss back at ya 😉
@@whitecliffgamesfair enough. On a side note, I like how you go out of your way to pronounce the German names but please remember for the next vids, that german "c"/"ch" should not be pronounced as "k" as it is the case in english. It is more of a huffing sound. Imagine it as a frustrated exhale and your german will improve in an instant
@@whitecliffgames Shang is an actual region in Tibet, "Ri" and "La" translate to "mountain" and "pass" in english
People really don’t remember the weird spot the community was before DLC 1 and esp before ZC reveal! Thank you for bringing that up. It’s what made bo3 so memorable for me and my friends, SoE was so tough and then we played the giant a ton till we felt comfortable in bo3z and we all have ZC and the DLCS(fuck Zet tho😭). I think the devs could really learn from the way BO3 developed for the criticisms of CW and 6LF
As far as the “overpowered wonderweapons” thing goes… I didn’t really mind it. I really enjoy using the RPK, and it’s the only reason I got the EE on this map. Yeah it shreds panzers, but it doesn’t do all the work for you.
Ohhhh you meant the bows…
I think the Easter egg really knocks it out of the park
None of it is tedious
It all makes sense
It’s practical makes use of things you earn in way that’s fun but not too easy without Megas
4:50, now while yes it is the first map name in German since Kino, tha last map in a different language was Shangri-La as it is Tibetan for Shang Mountain Pass.
Why does he sound like Japanese Samurai when he says Eisendrache ?
Yo dude where you been? We missed you.
I really, REALLY want to like Der Eisendrache because there is a lot of cool things to like here (the location, the atmosphere, the wonder weapons, etc), but there is something about this map that just does not click with me. It sucks because I know I'm probably missing out, but I just can't get into it
This map felt like half hearted pandering, the game didn’t play well unless you did the quests.
Hell I’d say it tried to kill you at several points as punishment for not doing the quests.
New White Cliff Banger y’all 🚨🚨
HE BACK
Man I love these videos! They’re the best!
This is best map in the game for me. It excels in every way.
A minute into the video so far, my first M-Rated game was WAW and I was a HUGE zombies fan from day one (I loved the campaign too), when Advanced Warfare came out, I enjoyed it, appreciated the new movement system because it was different from the last 10+ years… black ops 3 I LOVED
First time hearing about the panzer helmet, what in the heck
The fire bow was the easiest to do, there’s plenty of guides that’ll show you the exact place to aim and you’ll hit the target every time
He’s backkk 🎉
Arthur i thought he was called Leroy
Der Eisendrache was the only BO3 map that I feel like actually hit the mark. Didn’t play much of the other maps outside of the super Easter egg. Now I just play chronicles.
While I personally disagree (I felt like BO3 hit the mark across the board), I think the speaks to what White Cliff was saying- DE is the only map that bridged the gap so that casual players could have something they could enjoy just as much as the complex players would.
Starting this vid, you talkin bout infinite warfare then mentioning BO3 zombies as if its part of IW made me have to rewind this a few times cuz i was confused.
More confused when you said ppl were not moving forward in shadows of evil, day 2 there was already full guides on what to do in the map..
The modern weapons in ww2 maps is my only complaint with zombies. I understand it saved space using the weapons from MP/SM. I wanted a mystery box similar to BO2.
For me, Der Eisendrache is the perfect Map. I honestly can't name a single thing about it that's even slightly "meh", let alone bad.
Cold War and bo6 could never do this
Woawoawoaoaaahh White Cliff new post
The best nap oat
I bought BO3 just a few years ago and only really played the ZC content. I'm a bit of a "zombies boomer", and never really cared for the more complex quests and buildables. I'll have to give the main BO3 maps a shot, and based on what I'm seeing here, this map looks like a good place to start.
If people stuck around for bo4 we would have never had the modern zombies problem (Cw vanguard mw3)
And bo4 even with the budget cuts, for me at least, is the second best zombies game
Bo3 zombies was the beginning of the end.
They started making a story puzzle game with a few zombies running around inside of a zombie game with a cool puzzle
In my opinion I haven't really played every single COD campaign but Black Ops 3 campaign by far is my most favorite and fun campaign I've ever had since God of War❤
Leroy *** not Arthur
train go boom
I wish they would release the BO2 zombie maps, I miss mob of the dead :(
More like this
The series continues…
DE is not a map I love but I think it should’ve been the first map for BO3 it felt like a perfect transition point from BO2-BO3 then Shadows probably would’ve been received as well at launch as it is now. Like DE was the perfect map to transition us into what BO3 maps would entail. Keepers and aliens don’t really appear heavily until the end of the EE or if you paid attention to the statues. Storywise yea I get why SoE was first but I think they could’ve released SoE second to last and we would’ve been like “oh ok so this is a prequel to everything we’ve seen in BO3 so far” but maybe I’m weird in thinking this
What’s the song that plays at the end?
It feels like a on disc map, it really should have been one. SoE should have been swapped with this
i always see people harking on the fire bow. the upgrade quest is too hard or complicated its not good enough blah blah. honestly, i dont get them. i think the fire bow is the most fun bow to upgrade (maybe because im on k and m). its also a very good bow to use, just requires some training to make very good use of it, as a charged shot can remove a full train. the only silver lining is that i dont have to fight over what bow to get (because no one else wants fire!)
Aether story and characters started off ok but kinda became bad it was the cash cow they loved to milk but never feed.
Black Ops III is an overall GREAT game. The campaign sucked, but the multiplayer was solid overall. Supply drops weren't great, but it was still a good mp. Zombies was and still is wonderful.
WHITE CLIFF RETURNS
IVE BEEN WAITING WITH BATED BREATH
Amazing
Bo3 is the best cod we’ve had since then the new ones that came after that just don’t hit anymore
Bo3 the best cod we had by FARRRR
Is that actually how der eisendrache is meant to be pronounced? If so I've been pronouncing it wrong all this time 😂😭
Ahhh the good old days, when there actually was a dislike button
4:19p.m. 5/12/2023
Im excited