MW3's latest map ‘ruined’ by new cel-shaded features

Modern Warfare 3's map pool might be the greatest portfolio that we've seen in over a decade of Call of Duty, however, all of that could be about to change in the game's twilight years. 

Whether it be the nostalgic overlords of the OG MW2 designs or Sledgehammer's original landscapes released in the live-service model, nearly every game is met with a fun map (aside from the wearisome Shipment).

The latest Modern Warfare 3 map to be added is similarly brilliant, but players are struggling to enjoy it due to a new cel-shaded overmask.

Modern Warfare 3's Yard map is being let down by its cell lighting

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The new map added in Season 5, named Yard, is typically 'Sledgehammer'. It carries on the theme of chaos as the map folds around its centric chokehold building while offering two flanked lanes that can be accessed through jump-ups.

But the flaw is the lighting from the new aesthetic. After messing around with some unfamiliar looks to CoD through the Vortex modes and the 8-Bit sandbox, the devs have now used cel-shading on Yard, and it's safe to say that players aren't a fan of this Borderlands-inspired revamp. 

Taking to the Reddit post, nearly every comment to sum up Yard said, "Great map, bad lighting." One popular comment said, "I love the map but I hate how it looks. It's just too different from the other map designs graphic-wise. I know some people like cell-shading but I prefer how COD already looks."

Another agreed, saying, "Layout is good. Not a fan of the cell-shaded maps they’ve been doing. They’re not terrible, but I’ve just never liked that art style and it’s pretty weird when the character models and guns aren’t cell-shaded."

A third fan spoke in the same vein. "I don't like the cell shading. It's OK for an event but not for an everyday game."

It's a shame because Modern Warfare 3 has produced some quite wonderful original maps, and Yard could have been up in the same conversation as Rio, Vista, and Stash House if only it had used the same lighting as always.