The Overwatch Halloween event - simply dubbed 'Halloween Terror 2017' - is now live, and players are eagerly opening up their lootboxes like kids going through a hoard of candy collected while trick-or-treating. Among other spooooooky treasures, Halloween Terror 2017 adds eight new skins to the game. Reddit user Yernemm has collected these in a comprehensive post, so let's take a look:
Pirate Ana
Ana was Overwatch's first post-release hero - a sniper who could heal her allies and put her enemies into a deep sleep from afar. I'm not sure how well that fits with dressing up like a pirate thematically, but there's no denying she looks rad. Her stylish boots, bandana, and parrot all give her a cool flair, and I love that her rifle now has a bayonet.
Van Helsing McCree
I admit, I didn't think Blizzard would outright call this skin 'Van Helsing'. The allusion is pretty clear, as McCree's Halloween look mirrors more contemporary depictions of the famed character, but I thought the company would go with something more generic like 'Monster Hunter McCree'. Kudos for giving a nod to literature's most famous vampire hunter, and I really dig his glowy arm.
Jiangshi Mei
Overwatch tends to stay pretty true to a character's national history, so it's pretty cool that Mei (who is Chinese) gets a uniquely Chinese skin. The Jiangshi could be summarized as 'Chinese vampire,' but they differ in a few ways from what we typically think of when we hear the word 'vampire'. A few examples: they hop, they siphon a person's life force instead of drinking blood, and they take decades to be raised from the dead, hence the older style of clothing. There's not many Jiangshi seen outside Asia in popular culture, though Hsien-Ko from Darkstalkers is also based on this myth.
Dracula Reaper
Again, kinda surprised Blizzard went with the proper noun here, though I think it'd be pretty difficult to find a depiction of Dracula that comes close to Reaper's outfit. That said, I like the little details here - Reaper's vest, jacket, and the frills around his wrist give everyone's favorite edgelord a taste of refinement and class.
Dragon Symmetra
All Symmetra needs is a big metal jaw and she'll be cosplaying as one of Blizzard's own winged fire-breathers, Deathwing. Which is kind of funny because the company just gave D. Va a Deathwing-themed skin in Heroes of the Storm. Anyway, I'm happy to see this (in my opinion) underappreciated hero get some love, and the wings functioning as a skirt is a nice touch.
Viking Torbjorn
I admit, I wasn't crazy about this skin. Compared to the others, it's just a bit toned down. At least, that's what I thought, until I noticed that Torbjorn's claw hand is a freaking bear head like you'd see at the front of an imposing viking ship. I'm not sure what use those lights would be on his old-style hammer, but that's the Overwatch aesthetic.
Totally 80s Zarya
YES. I love everything about this. The garish colors, the 'Let's get physical' ripped shirt, the bright neon-and-leopard print leotard worn under Zarya's armor, the headband and metal hair, and most of all, the bunched up socks layered over her massive boots. It's not as frightening as some of the others, but Halloween isn't all about the scares.
Cultist Zenyatta
Another personal favorite, if only because I love HP Lovecraft. Zenyatta's Cthulhu face is cool enough, but then you notice he's got little suckers on his feet (which now look more like tentacles), plus the detailing on his robes, and the fact that his orbs are now inhuman eyeballs all add up to a wonderfully cohesive and eerie look for the robotic Support hero. 'Experience tranquility,' indeed.
What do you think? Who's your favorite?
