Live from now until August 22
Blizzard kind of came out of nowhere with its Overwatch Rio Olympic celebration, complete with a brand new limited-time mode, as well as legendary skins, sprays, emotes, intros, and player icons.
Let’s take a look at what you’re getting today.
Naturally the main attraction is Lucioball — a new sorta kinda Rocket League gametype that will be available until August 22 as a Brawl. It works exactly how you’d expect, as players are thrust into an enclosed dome with a ball in the middle. Logistically, this is all done by way of three Lucios per team, who have access to a punch, soundwave, speed boost (that only impacts your character), and a vacuum-like ultimate. After a goal, players are shifted around to different positions, indicating who “should” play goalie for that round, but as you can expect people often do whatever they want and things get chaotic. Fun! But chaotic. Having a Play of the Game, “on fire” mechanic, and a voting sequence is a nice touch too.
I’m not really big on the idea that Rio items cannot be purchased with credits though, and even having regular boxes give “one” Rio item feels lame. What difference does it make to Blizzard if people are spending their cash on Loot Boxes or special “Rio Loot Boxes?” Limited-time themed items can be fun, and other games often trot them back out after a certain interval so that they can be earned again. But since there is only one Rio summer games anytime soon, the odds are a lot lower for that.
Plus, throwing in emotes and icon trash-tier items alongside of the good stuff that people really want (skins, sprays, intros) is not a good look. As a whole I’m okay with Blizzard’s pay model when it comes to Overwatch (if we can keep getting more quality characters like Ana, I can deal), but all of the provisos on top of these coveted skins just seems obvious.
I really hope that one day these skins are obtainable again, but in the meantime, we can enjoy one pretty awesome mode. Boot up Overwatch this week — come for the Lucioball, don’t stay for the items.
