lIf Overwatch 2 was a movie, it would probably be called a reboot or a reimagining rather than a sequel. This is the same team-based sci-fi shooter we’ve been playing since 2016, with much of the same characters battling it out with familiar moves. The biggest change is economic: Overwatch is now free to play, meaning you can download it to your PC or console and start shooting without paying a dime.
The game has been converted to work with that infamous talisman from the free-to-play shooter: the Fortnite-esque Battle Pass. If you want to customize your costume and weapons, or play Kiriko, one of the three new characters, you either need a lot of the game, complete daily challenges and work your way through the levels before the season ends… or just buy the Battle Pass. Some cosmetic items are only available if you pay for a subscription or buy them directly from the store. not you need but if you’re a completist on weapon charms and rare suits, your cursor may go to the ‘buy credits’ button.
With new characters likely to arrive regularly, it will no doubt be difficult for casual players to keep leveling up without paying eventually. Blizzard has also said that it plans to rebalance the game each season to keep it feeling fresh. This will all be a nuisance for Overwatch veterans who liked that they paid for the game once, learned their characters, and then competed on an even playing field – but that’s the 2010s. This is the economic reality of online gaming in the 2020s.
There are good new things here. The fresh characters are an interesting bunch. With her automatic weapon and quick scrolling movement, Sojourn feels like an import from Warzone of Apex Legends, while Junker Queen is a behemoth at close range with a shotgun and throwing knife that drags enemies towards her – an extremely pleasing move if you get it right. Kiriko is the star, an anime-infused support character who can climb walls, teleport, and summon a fox spirit that increases the speed of the entire team. She’s a great option for those who like to patrol the periphery of the battle zone, scramble to rescue allies, or take out enemies with critical hits.
All the main characters have been modified, polished and grained in various ways to add tactical variety. Many felt that the original game relied too heavily on characters with defensive shields that would take damage like giant muscle sponges. So Brigitte’s shield no longer stuns enemies and Orisa’s has been completely reworked in a new set of moves, which includes a handy spear that can be lobed at enemies to knock them off their feet.
Meanwhile, supporting characters now heal automatically, making them more appealing to play with, and the new favorite Bastion no longer turns into a stationary turret, but instead summons an artillery strike. Overall, these are really interesting remixes that breathe new life into familiar playing styles. Besides the fact that matches are now 5v5 instead of 6v6, the action feels more expansive, dynamic and varied, with lots of fluid interaction between backline defenders and trigger-happy attackers. With one less tank on each team, everyone has to work harder and move more. So far I’ve certainly seen fewer matches descend into static brawls with rival phalanxes lost in a mind-boggling mass of explosions, shields, and stuns.
There is also a new mode to play. In Push, two teams fight to control a droid that will push a colored barrier across the map. Think of it as tug of war. It’s incredibly fast-paced and frenetic, with teams splitting into separate defensive and offensive units as the action rages across the landscape. In well-coordinated sessions, the last seconds can be really nail-biting.
The new maps offer picturesque remixes of the standard Overwatch architecture of winding alleys, narrow staircases and open arenas. Esperança is a Portuguese city of sloping streets and deadly squares, while New Queen Street is a futuristic view of Toronto with its coffee shops, distant skyscrapers and snow-covered maple trees. They’re not very different from what we already have, but they’re nice enough, with a lot of verticality to sneak and prowl around.
Six years after Overwatch’s initial release, this sequel/sequel/reboot/whatever you want to call it revamps almost every element of what players loved about the original. Even with 35 playable characters, each character still feels unique, and the promise, later in the line, of a story-driven campaign mode will hopefully keep fans engaged with the game’s lively but heretofore largely unimportant lore.
Despite the shift to a seasonal battle pass, Overwatch 2 retains its character, its charm and its individuality. It’s pop culture, dayglow, neon-burnt response to filthy military shooters, and the concentration on bolstering team-oriented players and tactics makes every match feel like an unexpectedly violent buddy comedy. It’s what it’s always been: the shooter for the rest of us, but now there’s more of it and it’s kind of free. Good hunting.
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