As elite athletes from all across the world make their final preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the code wizards over at Blizzard are toiling away on bringing the excitement of the Olympics to Overwatch. The “Summer Games” event not only gives players access to special seasonal Loot Boxes, which include more than 100 skins, sprays, emotes, and other cosmetic items, but also to a brand new game mode dubbed Lúcioball, a three-on-three soccer-style Brawl that evokes Rocket League in all the right ways.
According to the official Overwatch website, each game lasts four minutes and takes place in a brand new map set in the Estádio das Rãs in Rio de Janeiro. Unlike real Olympic stadiums, this one comes equipped with speed-boosting walls and jump pads designed to enhance Lúcio’s abilities and make the game as frenetic as possible. As you may have expected, hometown hero and Lúcioball namesake Lúcio is integral to the game.
“Understanding how Lúcioâs abilities affect the ball is the key to mastering Lúcioball,” Overwatch assistant game director Aaron Keller explained on the PlayStation Blog. “For this brawl, his primary fire has been replaced with a melee attack, allowing Lúcio to punch the ball â perfect for dribbling, passing, and shooting from short range. When you need to launch the ball across the map, Lúcioâs secondary attack emits a blast of sound that gets the job done nicely.”
Keller also clarified in his post that Lúcio’s speed boost will only affect himself rather than his teammates. Likewise, his ultimate ability, Sound Barrier, will pull the ball toward Lúcio.
The Summer Games event is live right now on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Blizzard has promised more events in the future, so consider my fingers prematurely crossed for something spooky this Halloween.
What do you think of Overwatch‘s new game mode? Let us know in the comments below.
Image: Blizzard/PlayStation Blog
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).