The Overwatch blasters weren’t supposed to hit shelves until 2019. But then they got sent out early, just in time for Christmas. In my case, it was shortly after taking advantage of half-off promotions at Gamestop. Now they’re here, and it looks like Hasbro did the perfect job of blending prop-worthy gear and functional blaster. The only question is whether or not you’re willing to pay a premium price for them, or will just wait again for sales.

Larger in Real Life

The Reaper blasters in the set (modeled off the in-game Hellfire Shotguns) and the included mask are painted to match the “Wight” Epic skin. They also come in quite a large box for display. It is a set of props, after all.

The mask itself is a fancy Rival face shield, complete with the same rubber padding on the inside. Nothing too fancy, but It’s at least accurately made.

The blasters, meanwhile, are quite large and front heavy. Each holds eight rounds of Rival ammo, and primes via the loop in the back. Pull back, push back in, and fire. The blaster loads through the top, exactly like you’d see in the Rival Kronos, minus the Kronos’ flip-up loading door. There is plenty of detail in the paint job and the plastic molding, down to the fake wood paneling. The blaster itself feels extremely solid, like you’d expect from any Nerf blaster.

For obvious reasons, dual-wielding these blasters isn’t really feasible. Even if you make a costume and carry both blasters, actually USING them in that fashion isn’t going to happen.

The left side of the blaster features both the blaster’s safety switch and the jam tab. If the blaster does, in fact, jam during use, press down on the orange tab and pull the priming loop back. Keep in mind that you may have to give an extra tug at the end of the priming motion – the internal ratchet doesn’t always glance past the ridges on the moving plunger tube when you’re not priming under load. (The D.Va blaster does the same thing, by the way).

Ghost in the Shell

The inside of the blaster is largely what you’d expect from a Kronos-based blaster. The internal mag bends backwards towards the trigger, and there’s actually room for two more balls, if someone cares to extend the magazine.

If you do decide to open this up, it’s actually easier to prime the blaster first. Otherwise, the slightly precompressed spring wants to push the internals upward and out of the blaster shell, sending parts flying.

Fear the Reaper

In testing, the blasters actually performed better than expected. They advertise firing velocities of 90FPS, but my blasters both consistently hit 96FPS averages. I could also smoothly fire them at two shots a second. For an oversized pistol, it’s very serviceable.

Final Analysis

As a collection of props, the Reaper Wight Edition Box looks the part (necessary toy bits like the orange barrels notwithstanding). As foam flinging gear, the two included blasters work great, acting as oversized Kronos blasters. From both of those standpoints, the box is a great buy.

At this point, whether you purchase it or not entirely depends on what you’re willing to pay. Seeing as these are both working blasters and licensed props, they aren’t cheap ($130 MSRP at Gamestop), albeit they’re probably far less expensive than the time an money needed to make your own props. From a strictly Nerfer-related perspective, sales may be required before you consider picking them up.

Whatever your perspective, the blasters themselves are easy to use and have great performance, and the mask isn’t bad, either!