TF2's Third Annual Scream Fortress Very Scary Halloween Special spews forth, gets our costumes messy

The Halloween spirit is alive and well (or dead and sickly - take your pick) over at Team Fortress 2. Valve has unleashed its Third Annual Scream Fortress Very Scary Halloween Special, treating players to a twisted version of the Viaduct map, and an up close and personal encounter with the terror-inducing Monoculus (cue: organ, lightning, screams, etc.).

Running now until November 6, the Halloween expansion introduces players to the ghoulish Eyeaduct map. Demoman's missing eyeball has come loose and started raising hell under its new identity, Monoculus (cue: more lightning, screams, and a link leading to the Valve's cheeky online comic book explaining the backstory in full).

Other Halloween additions include nine class-specific costumes, loads of spooky loot, new Mann Co. Store items, and a pair of new 'eye-chievements' that can be won by defeating Monoculus and storming 'Loot Island'.

TF2's blog promises this year's Halloween special will not be nearly as scary as last year's event, which it says exceeded their own “impossible high standard of scary”, explaining:

“Long story short, we guarantee you that nothing's going to scare you this year. There will be no ENORMOUS HAUNTED EYEBALL to terrorize you around an island filled with tons of SECRET LOOT, and a GIANT SKULL! There will be approximately zero percent chance of you getting your trembling hands on a spooky costume FOR EVERY CLASS!"

Frankly, we think they're lying about toning it down. Let us know what you think of TF2's big Halloween scare... if you make it out alive (cue: maniacal laughing, wolf howls, the sounds of a joke being beaten to death).

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.