Mortal Kombat X adds a new challenge tower themed around St. Patrick's Day that includes exploding leprechauns, intoxicating beer, and other fun treats.

Although plenty of video games tend to celebrate the major holidays like Christmas, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day, few recognize the smaller ones. That doesn’t mean all games ignore them, though, like today’s St. Patrick’s Day nod by Mortal Kombat X.

Those still playing Mortal Kombat X will notice a new Challenge Tower called ‘Watch Out Leprechauns’ that features plenty of clever St. Paddy’s Day treats. And if you happen to be…busy on St. Patrick’s Day don’t worry; the Challenge Tower will be live for the next four days.

As far as what tiny nods are included with the ‘Watch Out Leprechauns’ Tower, players can expect to see green rain, a drunken camera operator, and greenish goo that slows down the fighters (a la a bad hangover). But the real selling point of the Tower are the tiny Leprechauns that will occasionally appear during a fight, before promptly exploding into rainbows and gold coins. It really is a sight to behold.

Although the Mortal Kombat franchise has long been known for its brutal violence and vicious characterizations, the series has not lost its sense of humor along the way. From clever Easter Eggs like the Jason Voorhees Chestburster to the always-tipsy Bo’ Rai Cho, Mortal Kombat has caught gamers’ attention for both oohs/aahs and laughter.

If nothing else, the series has found a way to grab the attention of a larger group of gamers with DLC guest characters and viral marketing. It’s true that die-hard fans have maligned the series’ need to replace original stalwarts with pop culture icons, but that’s the name of the game these days. Hopefully, at some point NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. will be able to split the two, delivering both a Mortal Kombat fighting game and a pop culture icon (or maybe even horror icon?) fighting game. Only time will tell.

 

Some may be wondering why Mortal Kombat X is still releasing holiday-themed content after almost a year on the market, but this is actually only a few months in for Mortal Kombat XL. The current-gen exclusive release packaged in all old DLC with four new characters, including the xenomorph from Alien and Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series. So for some gamers this is actually their first encounter with unique themed content for the game.

The larger question moving forward, though, is where Mortal Kombat goes from here. Is NetherRealm going to move back to Injustice for a sequel or will they continue honing Mortal Kombat? Only time will tell.

Mortal Kombat XL is out now for PS4 and Xbox One.