Heroes beware, you’re in for a scare! Although it leaked several days prior to the official launch, Blizzard announced Overwatch‘s second seasonal event, “Overwatch Halloween Terror,” on Tuesday and it looks like the perfect way to add some spine-tingling flair to the mega-popular online shooter. The event—which starts today—will run until November 1 and adds more than 100 new unlockable cosmetic items, as well as a brand new co-op game mode, and adds some minor gameplay tweaks, to boot.
Much like the Olympics-themed Summer Games event, the Halloween update provides players with a plethora of spooktacular new skins, emotes, sprays, and all manner of horror-themed aesthetic upgrades. Considering how much time I spent unlocking the Summer Games skins, I can already tell that this update is going to consume my life. I mean, just look at that Thriller jacket on Soldier: 76! And Roadhog as Frankenstein’s Monster! And Reaper with a goddamn glowing pumpkin head!
The update also delivers a series first in the form of “Junkenstein’s Revenge,” a co-op PvE (player vs. environment) brawl that will pit you and three other players against hordes of robotic baddies. The villainous Dr. Jamison Junkenstein, whose backstory is detailed in a free Overwatch digital comic, is attacking the castle of the Lord of Aldlersbrunn, leaving our brave heroes the only thing between the castle doors and hordes of macabre monsters. Players will take on the role of Ana, Soldier: 76, Hanzo, and McCree to battle terrifying versions of other Overwatch characters like Dr. Junkenstein (Junkrat), Junkenstein’s Monster (Roadhog), a “mysterious witch” (Mercy), the Reaper (Reaper, duh), and a host of shambling Zomnics, which are basically the bastard children of zombies and robots.
This mode is bound to draw comparisons to Team Fortress 2‘s “Mann vs. Machine” mode, which is another co-op horde mode that pits players versus increasingly difficult waves of robotic enemies. Then again, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so go ahead and pat yourselves on the back for that one, Valve.
The patch that adds the “Overwatch Halloween Terror” content is also making some small, but substantive changes to Overwatch‘s competitive mode. The update will allow players who leave or disconnected from competitive play to rejoin anytime while the match is still in progress. It will also allow teammates of disconnected players to leave after 2 minutes have elapsed without incurring a leaver penalty. They will, however, still be charged with a loss.
Competitive mode also will feature in-game leaderboards that display the top 500 competitive players from each region, and a separate leaderboard that pits you against your friends. (According to the patch notes, players will need to play “at least one new Competitive Play match before they will appear on the Battle.net friend leaderboards.”)
The update is available right now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, so get out their, get on those payloads, and have a spooky-good time.
Will you be taking part in “Overwatch Halloween Terror” event? Let us know in the comments below.
Image: Blizzard
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).
