Since its release in November 2022 Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 has faced immense scrutiny from the community due to its rocky start. Warzone 2.0 with numerous missing features that have wiped out much of the goodwill gleaned during the life cycle of the first game, and while it still has a long way to go, it’s heading in the right direction, thanks in part to the recently released Ashika Island -Map.
This little Resurgence card doesn’t fix all of the game’s problems, but it certainly brought me – and many other lapsed fans – back to battle royale thanks to its more focused, faster-paced experience. There are many reasons the map performs so well, but it mostly comes down to its design, along with the Resurgence mode included on it, which makes the most of its smaller scale and tighter spaces by using much of the Eliminates downtime typically associated with larger cards. This makes each game feel balanced and digestible, especially when compared to Al Mazrah, the main game Warzone 2.0 Battle Royale Map.
Al Mazrah is fine. It’s not terrible, but it does have a litany of issues, made worse by some of the flawed gameplay design choices – like lots of open space between POIs that leave players wide open to attack when rotating. Likewise, even for the limited 150-player roster, the map feels too big, leading to far too much downtime. Combined with the game’s slow motion, this practically guarantees that you’ll go several minutes at a time without encountering enemy combat.
Ashika Island, on the other hand, offers a lot more cover between POIs – be it in the form of small buildings, rocky terrain, or objects to hide behind. It encourages movement and brings games closer to the fast pace that the series is known for. There’s never a dull moment on Ashika Island as the player count is just right for the map size, keeping the engagement flowing consistently.
The flawless design of Ashika Island
Speaking of POIs, every major hub on Ashika Island is a blast, from the densely populated residential area to the multi-storey Tsuki Castle to the nearby Oganikku Farms. Activision and High Moon Studios have done an incredible job creating POIs that are all fun to explore and fight enemies without being repetitive. Ashika Island has something for everyone, whether you’re someone who prefers to take it slow or a seasoned player who loves to refine the environment and use it to your advantage.
The subterranean area full of water is also a nice touch and gives players another opportunity to turn away from potentially hot zones. The less experienced can simply hang out in the underground area, which is not usually crowded. This gives newcomers a chance to orient themselves and survive, even against more experienced players.
Likewise, Ashika Island doesn’t have choke points or overly advantageous positions like other maps. One of the biggest problems with the original war zone is that certain locations like Prison from Rebirth Island and Peak on Caldera were right in the middle of the map and gave players a significant height advantage. Therefore, it seemed less desirable to inherit other POIs, especially as they were often located at the edge of the map. This is why Ashika Island works so well: There is no obvious position of power that works better than others. Sure, certain POIs are a little more ideal depending on zone movement and your playstyle, but overall Ashika Island’s layout is well balanced.
One of the best areas are the residential buildings southeast of the Oganikku farms. Here are two tall buildings, each with several floors, which can all be reached from the opposite building. This gives players multiple entry points and rewards those who enjoy outsmarting their opponents. One of my favorite gameplay moments was flying a chopper at a team to distract enemy players and then jumping out before taking out multiple enemies in one fluid motion. Outmaneuvering an opponent is war zone at its best, all thanks to Ashika Island’s amazing design.
Back to action, soldier
Beyond the card’s design, I can’t praise Resurgence mode enough. By default, it can be difficult to get into battle royales on traditional big maps, as it often takes more than 30 minutes to finish a match. You usually spend more time looting and preparing for battle than actually fighting other players, which gets old after a while.
But Resurgence throws that out the window; Instead, it takes place on a smaller map with a maximum of 52 players (as opposed to around 150 on Al Mazrah). More importantly, it allows players to continuously respawn as long as at least one teammate remains alive, giving plenty of chances to get back into the action.
That means you won’t be penalized as much for aggressive play, resulting in hard-hitting and fun matches that are easy to pick up and play – even if you get your ass kicked. When Resurgence matches last between 12 and 15 minutes, it’s easy to get caught in the “one more match” loop, and you’re less likely to give up in frustration knowing you can come by, get into a firefight, and win faster back when you can find a weapon in traditional battle royale. While Warzone’s gameplay itself still needs a bit of work – like implementing a slower kill time and faster animations across the board – its quick return to action almost makes up for some of its core gameplay flaws.
Ashika Island’s excellent design, along with the faster, less punishing Resurgence gameplay, equates to an immensely fun experience that feels a lot more like it call of Duty than the conventional BR mode. It’s fast and intense, with lots of variations that keep me interested in long play sessions broken up into short bursts. It gets to the point faster and is ideal for players who can’t devote hours to it, as it offers the same thrills as a typical battle royale, but in a fraction of the time. Secure, Warzone 2.0 has a lot of room for improvement, but Ashika Island makes me confident that the game will eventually reach the heights of its predecessor.
