Overwatch 2’s Diablo event sparkles like new—but it’s really just a well-marketed paint job

Overwatch 2’s season seven, Rise of Darkness, is now live, bringing with it a Diablo 4 crossover event and a new PvE experience that doesn’t really feel all that new.

Everything about the new PvE experience is Diablo-flavored, right down to the sound effects of chests dropping loot, which are directly from the dungeon-crawling ARPG series. But the PvE activity feels quite the same compared to others in the past.

To begin each attempt in the PvE event, the four selected heroes (out of a possible eight) must enter through a portal where they are transported to a dungeon (a spooky version of the final stages of the Blizzard World map). And it’s all Diablo from there.

As the heroes slay hordes of Zomnic enemies, bosses spawn and must be defeated, such as Demon Orisa, Loot Goblin Junkrat, or Shaman Sigma. When defeated, bosses drop loot with Diablo 4’s unmistakable loot-drop sound effects, or even health potions with that same clink-gulp sound players have come to know.

The coolest part of the event is that the loot drops give power-ups, such as attack speed, attack power, movement speed, and more for the players. But unique drops add effects to player abilities, like Reinhardt’s Fire Strike spawning lava on the ground as an example. It’s good fun and the most enjoyable Diablo twist on the PvE formula.

In the midst of slaying demons and bosses, the goal is to summon the two biggest bads, Azmodan Wrecking Ball and Lilith Moira. All of the bosses are larger versions of their normal in-game selves, which makes them even easier to deal with.

Sadly, none are easier to handle than Moira as Lilith. Through multiple runs on Hard and Expert difficulty with random teammates, Moira was by far the simplest boss to handle, which feels pretty anticlimactic. My teammates and I were left scratching our heads as to how the final boss was the easiest part of the mission to handle.

The toughest boss, in my opinion, has been Orisa, who comes with her own Winston-like protective bubble, or as an icy variant who can freeze you or put up ice walls. Sigma, meanwhile, just kind of stands on a balcony, firing off rounds at you while you pummel his headshot hitbox.

Obviously, the challenge increases as the difficulty increases. Runs on Legendary will likely yield tougher results and require a coordinated team. But considering that’s usually the case for other PvE experiences, the event leaves something to be desired.

Perhaps the worst part of this crossover, however, is the fact that two of the game’s coolest Diablo 4 crossover skins, Lilith Moira and Inarius Pharah, are both gated behind the $39.99 variant of this season’s battle pass.

This isn’t all that surprising, but it’s still disappointing that the only items earnable through challenges in the event are things like voice lines, weapon charms, sprays, credits, XP, and a player icon.

Thankfully, Bride of Junkenstein and Junkenstein’s Revenge are also playable for those looking for a different PvE experience. But let’s be honest, none of them are all that different from each other.