Dying Light 2's new Balatro costume may be the most cursed crossover I've ever seen

"Are you ready to up the ante and cause a little mischief?" Why yes Techland that sounds lov… oh. Oh no. Hell no.

Dying Light 2 has announced a new crossover with Balatro in the form of the Friend of Aiden bundle. It adds two new quests in the game which, when completed, will grant players the bundle's content for free. But the question is: Do you really want them?

The bundle includes:

Jimbo’s Outfit—No clowning around with this outfit on, you’ve got a job to do: kill some zombies!

Ceremonial Dagger—It’s no longer just a Joker. Grab the dagger and show ‘em you’re not bluffing! Increase your multiplier by defeating different types of enemies, performing finishers and destroying Joker Charms.

Note: the multiplier is reset when the weapon is repaired, so get all you can out of it!

Joker Charm—Which Joker will you get? Who knows! Create a charm, and you’ll receive a random one with a unique gameplay effect. Just like in Balatro, some will be more useful than others.

Flying Blind Paraglider—You might miss out on a few chips, but every poker player has to have an exit plan when the odds aren’t looking good.

I don't usually have a thing about freaky clowns, but Balatro's live action Jimbo is pretty creepy as-is, even when he's just eating a banana (maybe especially when he's eating a banana). The Dying Light version of Jimbo's outfit is just straight-up nightmare fuel, the kind of thing that I'd think would have the zombies themselves running away in panic.

To unlock the content and start the Balatro quests in Dying Light 2, Techland says you should "look for the mysterious posters in the Bazaar and the Fish Eye," promising "devilish riddles that will test your knowledge of Villedor."

The crossover arrives alongside the start of a four week event called UGC Fest: A Summer in Villedor, which puts the spotlight on Dying Light 2 community creations. New bounties will appear weekly guiding players towards activities and maps, with rewards for completing them.

More broadly Techland is gearing up for the release of Dying Light: The Beast later in the year. Curiously enough, part of the marketing strategy seems to be throwing Dying Light 2 under the bus. Techland boss Tymond Smektala now says the game "forgot" what made the series special, but Dying Light: The Beast gets back on track: "For us, this really is Dying Light 3."