Cosmetic skins have become a major part of theCall of Dutybusiness model. From comparatively inexpensive weapon skin bundles introduced inCall of Duty: Black Ops 2in 2013 to cosmetics bound to the randomness of lootboxes inCall of Duty: Black Ops 3andCall of Duty: Infinite Warfare, paying to improve an in-game avatar’s style is nothing new for fans of the Activision FPS franchise. However, the recent Armored Titan bundle, a mashup betweenCall of Duty: Vanguardand theAttack on Titananime series, has some fans frustrated.
In January 2022, roughly two months after the game’s release, developer Sledgehammer gamesintroduced a Levi Ackerman skin toCall of Duty: Vanguard. While a bit goofy and unmistakably out-of-place, it represented a unique collaboration between two very unlikely parties. However, the Armored Titan operator, a part of the new Armored Titan Mastercraft Bundle, is far less recognizable and even more incongruous with the game’s setting.
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Redditor user u/ChiefAnarchy took to theCall of Duty: Vanguardsubreddit to voice their displeasure, citing how ridiculous the hulking creature looks when sliding and using certain weapons. Others have shrugged it off as something of a gag, and some seem to prefer when others use it, as the operator is significantly easier to spot from a distance. It may not be quite as ridiculous as theoperator based on rapper Snoop Dogg that’s reportedly coming toCall of Duty: Vanguardin the near future, but it’s still unquestionably uncanny.
Another chief concern from theCall of Dutycommunity stems from the fact that an increase in anachronistic inclusions and an influx of skins based on fictional characters lessens the impact of the setting. PreviousCall of Dutyentries approached World War 2 with an adequate level of respect, but, in the minds of some players, adding immersion-breaking cosmetics may be more appropriate when paired withskins based on the Green Goblin and other Marvel crossovers in Epic Games’Fortnite.
It’s important to note thatCall of Duty: Vanguardisn’t the only live service video game to suffer from this dilemma;Battlefield 2042players were outraged when EA and DICE saw fit to introduce a Santa skinto the game during the holiday season. Many felt that it flew in the face of the hyper-serious tone typically adopted by theBattlefieldfranchise, and, when compared to games likeBattlefield 1—which, despite the aggrandized weaponry, displayed a clear reverence for the real-world conflicts on which it was based—the cosmetic felt downright silly.
Call of Duty: Vanguardis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One.
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