Few seasonal events can rally a playerbase as well as a Halloween-themed event, thoughRed Dead Online’sHalloween Pass has been experiencing unexpected issues through its surge of popularity. Having been made available on October 20 and running until November 16, the latestRed Dead Onlinemacabre masquerade’s rocky launch has left many players disappointed.
As divisive as the content pass format can be, usually offering two separate tracks of progression with one that anyone can earn and the other for buyers to receive extra rewards along the way,Red Dead Online’sHalloween Pass has released locking progression for everyone. However, this progression could still be purchased through gold bars, the premium currency ofRed Dead Online.
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What the Halloween Pass does add are a few cosmetics in the form of masks for horses, weapon skin variations, and little more than hand wraps for player outfit customization.New legendary animal huntshave been added, but due to the sudden influx of players these animal spawns are usually overpopulated, making hunting a race against several other players not typically known for cooperation.
During the event, nearly every in-game purchase is discounted and several game modes are rewarding triple experience including this year’s special multiplayer shootout: Dead of Night. A far cry from last year’s well received Fear of the Dark game mode, which pitted players against supernaturally fast and dangerous monsters, Dead of Night is a variant of a typical free-for-all shootout with additional PvE elements in gun-toting zombies. Manyfans ofRed Dead Onlinewere expecting something more familiar.
Long-time fans ofRed Dead Redemptionand its prequel had also been holding out hope for a return of the acclaimedUndead NightmareDLC, originally releasing in 2010. Ten years later,Red Dead Online’scurrent Halloween Pass isn’t the spiritual successor fans were hoping for. While a fun twist on the game’s ever-present multiplayer shootout game modes, this year’s Dead of Night still leaves some players craving the familiar horde survival experience of Undead Nightmare.
A bug in the Halloween Pass progression has already seen a deployed fix, though some players report the problem persists. Despite not living up to the fans' hype. or realizing the potential of a Halloween event with supernatural cowboys and zombies,developer Rockstar Games' seasonal offering does inject enough content to experience and collect to revitalize their community’s enthusiasm forRed Dead Online,if only through the end of October.
Red Dead Onlineis available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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