Junkenstein’s Revenge marks the first co-op brawl in Overwatch. Fighting against waves of zombie robots and holding off the horde is some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing the game.
When I first saw the trailer for Junkenstein’s Revenge, my mind recalled furious matches of Team Fortress 2’s Mann vs Machine mode. This brawl takes the basic formula of Mann vs Machine and refines it by adding a lot of dynamism and some Halloween horror touches.
Players are limited to one of four characters: McCree, Ana, Hanzo or Soldier 76. This combination works out better than I initially expected. No matter who you end up playing as, there is something for you to do. McCree might use his ultimate ability to clear out waves of “zomnics” while Hanzo can focus on the heavy damage dealing “zombardiers”. Matches are full of big moments.
You have to last seven minutes against a mounting sea of enemies, all the while trying to prevent them from breaking through a doorway defence point. It’s a pretty daunting task and many of my matches ended in failure. The key, as always, is communication. Thankfully, there’s an expanded interface that helps keep track of your team’s health and ultimate status. While it might be rough solo queueing or going mic-less, I definitely appreciate that Blizzard has taken steps to help teams coordinate.
The brawl demands a lot of coordination and constantly tosses new challenges in your direction. Things go from bad to worse any time a boss shows up. Deadlier opponents drop into the map, including “Junkenstein’s Monsters” (a reskinned Roadhog) or the dangerous “Reaper” (Reaper reskin, if you couldn’t guess), and they will do their best to kick your arse. High health pools and dangerous ultimate abilities make these foes more than mere AI bots; when left unchecked, they can really bring the pain.
The mode is a little basic and doesn’t necessarily offer anything we haven’t see elsewhere in other games, but Overwatch isn’t an ordinary shooter either. The stress on hero choice and team dynamics, even on a simple four person team, makes for a lot of really fun matches. It’s far better than Lucio Ball ever was.
Junkenstein’s Revenge is a damn good time. I definitely want Blizzard to keep expanding on what they have added here. It makes me eager for a co-op mode that isn’t just a brawl. If Blizzard doesn’t make a dedicated version of this that lasts beyond Halloween, it would be a huge mistake because this is amazing stuff. The Halloween event ends on November 1.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sneak in another match while no one is looking…
Comments
10 responses to “Blizzard Should Make Overwatch’s Excellent New Brawl Permanent”
I’m actually pretty torn about this. The first couple of games I had were fun but with the severe lack of xp and no real hook to come back after you finish it on hard makes me feel as if they’ve missed out on making this something really special.
In their defence though with BF1 next week and COD only a couple weeks away I think their audience on console is about to take a massive hit and they needed some new content out.
Agreed. Maybe if the sequence of events wasn’t so repetitive?
I’m ok with it being repetitive in a sense but it needs rewards to match that. Even if that is only a box for your first win everyday over the course of the event so you have a reason to go back tomorrow. It’s just a little lackluster to me.
Played this 2 times. Was rather bring after the first time all you have to do is just hold the fire button down as it takes no skill at all.
Just felt like going to the training arena and shooting the robots that how enjoyable it was.
If they added something like you get special drops or tickets from winning the brawl which you can spend on the loot boxes that may make it more interesting to play.
It’s the same thing with LucioBall. Overwatch should have options for players to play these special brawls outside of the regular times. Competitive only goes so far. Let players have more options.
To quote the dastardly villain from The Incredible movie, ‘When everyone’s super, no one is’
Basically, theses game modes are only cool because they hang around for a short time. Making them part of reg play is a bad idea, as it would thin out numbers in the other game modes. Its one of the biggest problems with games theses days, is that they have to many game modes (battlefront) and then expect everyone to play them all, when that’s never going to happen.
However, with Overwatch and LoL, both games have had a few modes that only pop up every now and then, witch keeps the game mode fresh and fun, as its something different from regular play.
Look at games such as WC3 and CS / CS Source
The custom game community was thriving. There were hundreds, if not thousands of different community made custom games and maps. The custom game scene, especially WC3, without a doubt contributed to what the franchises are today. Many people, myself included, played the custom maps almost exclusively.
I mean, the game you just referenced (LoL) was born out of the custom game scene in starcraft/warcraft.
its fun for a bit, it just shows much this game needs pve. but gosh the loot box crap is still the same. five loot boxes and all were three greys and a blue. and more than half with copies. there is not one single shred of delight left when opening them now. you pretty much just know there is always just going to be that set combo of mehness
As some others have said, the mode is fun and i love how it’s narrated and plays out, but with no real incentive to play it, it tends to get old quickly. I’ve finished it on hard and gotten all achievements for the event and now I really have no reason to go back into it. I honestly think they should gate something behind it, like skins or seasonal event items. Or like others said a simple loot box for first game won each day.
The event is definitely cool, but with little reason to revisit it, i’m already back playing comp mode.
Actually, some of the best experiences I’ve had have been with solo queuing. There’s nothing quite like when you find the right combination of people and personalities who know what they should be doing and understand or are open to learning that it’s teamwork that actually wins the game. When it has clicked like that, it has been extremely rewarding, especially when it came to working to get the Hold The Door achievements.
But yes, communication or at least a keen awareness of your team and where you’re at in the game have been key on those occasions.