Round 70: 1 hour 53 minutes 30 seconds

Round 50: 59 minutes 10 seconds

​Similarity / Context

​With these two maps at hand during gameplay, you start to hear echoes of screams and pain inflicted in the area. Small set pieces remind you of a haunting memory of what was done to humanity over war merging with sick minds. My favorite part about Shadowed Throne was always running into zombies eating soldiers after opening doors, which later returned in Black Ops 6; it gave a sense of world building rather than the usual "am I the only one alive" we are used to. It has always shown a sense of vulnerability that that also could be your fate.

​Mechanics

​With World at War being a very bare-bones experience, the two maps also share a mechanic of super sprinters that can even outrun you. This has always been my favorite way of doing anti-camping while pushing the player to be more on the move and paying attention. But that's, of course, before even getting the Sword of Barbarossa.

There is potential for my ZWR debut and the progress of grinding in such a hated game has meant a lot to me . Beat my 70 by 6 minutes from yesterday

Cons didnt really do much but gain points faster to also buy doors without sacrificing stamin up if drops didnt give double points ( AND GET STUCK IN THE F&CKIN OUT OF BOUNDS) and nukes to clear hordes if I had taken the wrong route to get the weapons for the sword

Overview & Context

Pros:

​Misunderstood Gem: The Shadowed Throne is heavily misunderstood, largely due to the intricate mechanics surrounding its Easter egg. Every playthrough highlights its underlying quality despite facing severe resource constraints—operating with a skeleton crew of just 10 developers compared to the 50 who worked on The Final Reich.

​Development History: Evidence of altered plans is clear, such as Jefferson’s muted intro lines, pointing away from the map's original trajectory (rumored to have been set in Egypt).

​Visual Storytelling: While the franchise's use of muted colors is often criticized, this map incorporates subtle traces of vibrant gold. Historically grounded, this contrast serves as a striking symbol of Berlin's profound degradation.

​Pros

​Efficient Mechanics & Loadouts: Offers unique ways to optimize steps—such as using a heavy melee attack with Fully Loaded to regenerate 70 rounds for the Wunderbuss, making Camouflage the optimal ability for the radio step over Freefire.

​Compact Design & High Reward: Despite its small, tight layout, it packs a massive workload with an incredible payoff for completing the sword quest.

​Melee Weapon Gimmick: The implementation of custom melee weapons is phenomenal and missed in later maps like The Frozen Dawn (though the weapon-placement progression layout mirrors classic setups).

​Atmospheric Throwbacks: Features a brilliant theater homage that evokes nostalgia for maps like Kino der Toten and Shadows of Evil.

​Cons:

​Technical Inconsistencies: Interacting with the safe and tuning the radio knobs on a controller is painfully inconsistent, compounded by blurry textures on the radio dials.

​Boss AI Glitches: The boss can easily bug out during phase transitions, failing to enter attack mode unless players get close enough to force a reset.

​Engine & Spawn Bugs: Suffers from buggy, poorly optimized spawn placements and power-ups occasionally getting stuck out of bounds.

​Easter Egg Friction: The quest design is overly tedious for anyone simultaneously attempting high-round runs.

Visuals & Atmosphere

​Console Filter: The console version's distinct visual filter breathes entirely new life into the aesthetic.

​Engine Foundations: Despite sharing a foundational engine lineage with other Call of Duty titles, this game successfully avoids the floaty, disassociated gameplay feel found in entries like Infinite Warfare or Black Ops 3, establishing a much tighter connection to the action.

​Movement Mechanics

​Dolphin Diving: Platform discrepancies affect mechanics; only the PC version allows players to execute a dolphin dive and instantly stand back up without fatigue, provided they time it right without needing Stamin-Up.

​Gunplay & Animation

​Responsiveness: Bullet impact feels exceptionally punchy and responsive—enhanced by the hit markers—creating a level of engagement superior to most titles in the franchise.

​Animation Quality: The animations remain remarkably clean and smooth for a game released prior to Modern Warfare (2019).

​Audio & Sound Design

​Map Integration: The sound design intricately weaves together atmospheric elements, brilliantly mixing techno-inspired sound effects with the grim horror of World War II.

​Standout Examples: Excellent execution can be heard in details like the Shadowed Throne sizzlers or unlocking the hilt in The Final Reich.

Currently typing this while in the same game at 72 hopefully everything goes well should expect atleast 2 hours more if drops are right

With the theories and history of the German soldiers really influenced by occultism its not surprising the finale is something more out there and mythological before ancient evils debut.

Pros: 4 set of unique wonder weapons with different purposes , the aesthetic and spawn room are one of my favorites in the franchise , the easter egg steps make sense and immersive which makes WW2 a bit different from the treyarch formula , the boss fight is well designed without cheesing , and the final part are the puzzles while having no guard rails. The amount of techniques for example shooting the raven birds to help with the shield step is very clean

Cons: The shield is very underwhelming , they should've atleast made it protect you from behind or throw it like captain america to stun/drain the energy off the zombies for a 1 shot burst , the random bugs and noclipping of the zombies, the guides for the easter egg and orb cipher step are very outdated, it is not a beginner friendly map, and least of all they could've done a lot more , but this is said for dlc 1 and above

WW2 has the best survival maps in all of zombies period (only counting bo2 and WW2) , Bodega has always been such a vibe , reminds me of the Midwest a lot

Enjoy

Just a little montage / sneak peak for some non rng runs which do drag compared to crossbow with free fire, enjoy =p

Much much better improvement since the first time of 1 hour 15 minutes with consumables for de lisle , to not bother too much with the rng but no cons runs are very possible

The strat for hitting the round 50 for 47 is basically spamming crossbow at beach or this area with the double tap door closed

Im always happy to share these clips and it encourages me to want to post more and engage 🙀😝

The music might not be for everyone but was really fried listening to chopped amd screwed music and hit a new best

The WR by Randeazy Gaming is 53 minutes , but am happy with what I got as my old best was 1 hour and 15 minutes about a month ago.

Might hit a Round 100 speedrun soon

Got to round 46 in about the 52 minute mark and this is when the meuchlers become almost hard asf to kill without waiting out the fog which is slow.

This game would've beaten my old best of 1 hour and 7 minute by a long shot for sure

This was my first ever attempt at doing a round 50 on the original bo1 but wanted to speed some things up , pretty impressed but can do better. (Forget to get mustangs and monkeys)

Enjoyed being high asf listening to chopped music doing this

Died on 44 making a dumb mistake trying to hit the box lol , but this was my first kino game on bo3 switching from WWII since Chronicles first came out on ps4

Staying by quick revive not opening doors relying on rng and reign drops , optimize the spawn as much as possible

https://youtu.be/55AdvxjnLEQ

Lowkey Groesten Haus seems fun to speedrun , video starts 0:47