As much as I enjoyed unloading magazines into Warzone’s rendition of King Kong that one time, Call of Duty’s limited-time events don’t usually pique my interest until October comes around. This year is no different—Warzone’s “The Haunting” event kicked off this week and there’s a ton going on. New boss fights are littered across the map (including The Butcher from Diablo 4), enemies drop souls that unlock Halloween-themed goodies, and loot boxes will randomly trigger a jumpscare that makes you die a little on the inside.
At least, that’s what it did to me. I hopped into a DMZ match specifically to see how bad the jumpscares are and still managed to get got by a random box I opened to finish a contract. They’re not even sophisticated jumpscares either, just run-of-the-mill ghostly faces with super loud screams that early YouTubers used to edit into innocuous videos of cars driving through the countryside. Simple, but effective.
Potentially irritating, too. There’s a random chance that every loot box you open will come with a scare, and unfortunately, opening boxes is a thing you do constantly. I think most players will take them in good fun, but I understand why some are already asking for options to tone them down or turn them off.
Interestingly, Activision did include an option to turn them off, but only the ones that appear in the battle pass. Better than nothing, I guess, but I wonder why the toggle’s only there for the jumpscares you’ll see the least. So beware: there’s no getting around Warzone’s jumpscare boxes for the next few weeks if you want to participate in the Halloween fun. And it does seem pretty fun: I’ve yet to take on a Haunting boss myself yet, but YouTuber Inkslasher showed them all off in this video. You can fight a swamp monster, mummy, a literal UFO, and even open a portal to hell where the Diablo 4 Butcher is waiting for you. Taking him down will earn you the Butcher’s meat hook as a transmog cosmetic in Diablo 4—not bad for a free event.
The most impressive part to me is that all the Haunting stuff (the souls, boss fights, challenges, etc) is available in both DMZ and Battle Royale. Activision has done a remarkably good job of supporting both modes while keeping them distinct. With all the permanent upgrade paths that were added since the last time I played, DMZ has become a pretty cool little Tarkov-lite extraction shooter. It also serves as a way to experience PvE-focused events like The Haunting without the constant threat of real players.
The Haunting is running for the next few weeks and judging by the in-game timer, will end around November 6. That’s just a few days before the release of Modern Warfare 3 on November 10.
PS: If you look closely, there’s a ghost in this car commercial.
