Shroud “disappointed” with CoD’s new DMZ mode, claims it doesn’t “come close to Tarkov”

Resident FPS phenom and Twitch mega-star shroud wasn’t all too pleased with his first session in Call of Duty’s new DMZ game mode in Warzone 2. Not only was his experience held back by various glitches, but the overall premise left a lot to be desired from the Escape From Tarkov fanatic seeking a similar challenge.

Months ahead of its official reveal, rumors began pointing toward a new game mode in Modern Warfare 2 in a similar style to Escape From Tarkov. A more hardcore shooter with higher stakes than usual, allowing players to carry loot between games, steal valuable equipment from fallen enemies, and extract with a wealth of items to sell on an open market if they so choose.

Naturally, these rumors caught the eye of many in the community and Tarkov-obsessed streamer shroud was among the first to jump in on this new creation. Now, however, the experience is tied to Warzone 2 and lacks a number of key features in the survival shooter genre.

Obviously, plans can change greatly throughout development and early rumors are just that, rumors. But the launch state of DMZ didn’t quite scratch that itch for shroud as he fought through one game-breaking bug after another in an early play session on November 9.

Early into the streamer event at Infinity Ward’s headquarters, shroud came to grips with just what this DMZ playlist set out to accomplish. It’s not quite in the same style as Tarkov’s more methodical gameplay, where death can be instant, and each movement must be considered. In fact, he’d argue “it’s not even close.”

“This is pretty much a touched-up Plunder,” shroud said on stream. “I’m a little disappointed. I was hoping it’d be more gritty, a little more hardcore. It seems to be… well, CoD.

As a result, DMZ came across like something new entirely, as opposed to a stricter Tarkov clone with CoD’s fundamental gameplay systems slapped on top. With AI enemies scattered across the map, mini-objectives to complete in certain areas, and Buy Stations to exchange cash for upgrades, it’s drastically different from what he was expecting.

“You can’t even say [it’s] ‘Tarkov but casual,’” he continued. “It’s not even in the same realm.”

Not helping his early impressions were the frequent bugs in CoD’s new DMZ mode. Some were more comical than anything, though others forced hard resets and sent him back to the desktop.

One such error was an infinite money glitch, allowing him to generate an endless supply of cash. Obviously an unfair advantage, the game decided to penalize him by inexplicably tanking his frame rate. “It didn’t crash, but it might as well have crashed,” shroud joked.

After closing out of the game and waiting for it to restart, a staff member suggested he take the time to open a care package on his desk. “They probably put more care into this box than they did the… never mind,” he said snarkily.

In another instance, shroud’s trio was obliterated by a batch of AI after they glitched through some terrain. An incoming helicopter awkwardly phased through the ground, forcing enemy bots to bug out, appearing at one spot before instantly teleporting to another.

“What in the world is this? What the f**k is happening?” shroud asked. “This comes out in a week by the way.”

Just one specific moment actually impressed the sharp aimer, and that was the game’s ending. Extracting from a designated spot on the map led to a final gunfight as teams pushed to exfiltrate with their own gear. For shroud’s team, they were the first inside a helicopter and had to defend the vehicle for 20 seconds before it took off.

“This is actually cool,” he said in the chaotic battle. “The best part was leaving, getting out of the game. How you move on the heli, that was cool.”

But outside of that brief positivity, shroud wasn’t all too satisfied with his first taste of the DMZ playlist. “So uhh… this game mode,” he joked to thousands tuned in live. Clearly, he wasn’t too eager to jump back in. But that’s not to say he won’t give it a second chance upon release on November 16. For now though, don’t expect the new Warzone 2 mode to be a constant on his streams anytime soon.