There is a lot of confusion about what Overwatch 2 actually is. Is it a full-fledged sequel? A glorified update? Is it worthy of the 2 added to the title in a seemingly desperate way? Even after the proper reveal in June of this year, many wondered if the game would actually exist. The answer lies somewhere in the middle of all the discussions and conversations surrounding the sequel to Blizzard’s groundbreaking hero shooter.
Essentially, Overwatch 2 is a rework and refresh of the original experience, made free in an era where live service games are becoming more and more accessible to the masses. With a shift to 5v5, a greater emphasis on teamwork, and thoughtful new hero designs, Overwatch 2 makes a good first impression, but in the end it feels incomplete and lacking in substance.
A vast majority of the changes in Overwatch 2 come with changes to the core foundations and overall structure. The change to 5v5 instead of 6v6 is one that feels thoughtful and considered, putting more emphasis on the role of tanks and team building for certain playstyles. It eventually gives way to a faster, more frenetic moment-to-moment experience that feels different from its predecessor, but not to the point of abandoning its core identity. It’s clear that Overwatch 2 is working hard to be a team-oriented game, with its own pros and cons.
While it’s relatively fun queuing up solo for quick matches, the real satisfaction comes from playing with friends, whether you want to coordinate and play seriously, or just casually and for fun. Being able to interact and play as a team has always been at the heart of Overwatch’s core gameplay loop, but it feels even more important here and is all the more rewarding. The downside to this is that the game just isn’t that much fun to play alone, and often feels a bit brainless and mundane outside of a competitive environment.
To adapt to the shift to 5v5, a few of the original heroes have been tweaked, tweaked, or straight-up reworked to better fit the new team sizes. Each role now has its own passive abilities to help them progress, from supporting heroes that gain passive healing after a certain amount of time or tanks that take less recoil and generate less Ultimate charge for healing and taking damage.
Heroes like Orisa and Bastion have changed their skills for the better, placing greater emphasis on their roles and gameplay loops, giving them more identity in what has grown into a large roster. A special shoutout should go to Doomfist, which has been completely reworked into the Tank role, functioning as a sort of hybrid between offensive and defensive heroes. He’s a lot of fun to play and balancing quick aggression with trying to stay alive was consistently entertaining and engaging. There are certainly some heroes who feel lost in translation, such as Widowmaker and Symmetra, that have not been modified to work better within a 5v5 framework, which is even more noticeable in the heroes that have been brought out.
The three new heroes arriving at launch, Sojourn, Junker Queen and Kiriko, have all been a resounding success as well. Each has a self-feeding and flowing kit with obvious strengths and weaknesses. For example, Sojourn is a quick damage dealer with a rail cannon that is charged by its primary fire. She also has a projectile that acts like a vortex upon impact, allowing her to easily fire the railgun. Junker Queen and Kiriko have similar coherent designs that feel like a definite step forward from some of the things we saw in the first game, especially at launch.
Unfortunately, not everything is so consistent when it comes to the game mode, and it’s made even more apparent here with the major changes made to Overwatch’s foundation. In the new game mode, Push, teams will compete over the control of an endearing robot, who will push a barricade towards the enemy’s spawn when in control of either team. It makes for a dynamic and ever-changing battlefield where you have to constantly adapt to new terrain and evolving squad compositions, often resulting in some exciting tie-breakers. The downside to this is that some of the other objective-based game modes like Escort feel archaic by comparison, especially when the core gameplay has potential for so much more.
Card design is also untouched, with a few of the old ones fitting in with the changes and others not so much. However, the six new cards coming at launch feel custom made, so I found myself often more excited to play on those than most of the returning cards. These maps are also set in new and interesting locations that hadn’t been explored before, including Rio De Janeiro, New York City, and Rome.
If all that sounds bare-bones in regards to new content, that’s because it is. Overwatch 2 launches with one new game mode, three new heroes, and six new maps, which is definitely lacking for what’s meant to be an all-new sequel. The most glaring omission is the lack of the new PVE mode due out sometime next year, which one can only assume is why things are so content-light on the multiplayer side of the game. stuff. Still, it’s hard not to feel that Overwatch 2 is more of a glorified content update than an all-new beast at launch.
As with any live service game, Overwatch 2 adopts the seasonal model, with seasons of approximately nine weeks introducing new heroes, maps, game modes, and a season pass. While each new hero is automatically unlocked when purchasing the season pass, players who choose to stick to the free track can only unlock them upon reaching level 55, which is another strange decision considering the number of brand new ones that are already missing. heroes. Battle pass progress is also noticeably slow, even for those paying for the premium track.
There have also been some mind-boggling decisions regarding the new player experience. As a new user, you’ll need to unlock the original cast of heroes from the first game over about 100 matches, limiting the potential pool of playable characters for new players from the get-go. While I can understand the number of options can be overwhelming for some, it’s an odd decision given the emphasis on teamwork and team building, especially with competitive game unlocking at 50 quick play match wins.
However, one thing you can always count on at Blizzard is production values and gloss. Overwatch 2 is yet another excellent showcase of attention to detail with characters positively bursting with emotion and personality, a timeless art style whose quality is only emphasized by the engine upgrades and refined optimization that leaves every aspect of the game feeling smooth and seamlessly. The new heroes, maps, and design reworks are particularly inspired, but even if some aren’t for you, there’s the option to opt for their Overwatch skins as well. Thankfully, all your cosmetics will carry over to Overwatch 2 here too, so you don’t have to worry about precious skins or gold weapons.
THE PC VERSION WAS PLAYED FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW. A DIGITAL COPY OF THE GAME IS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER.
Conclusion
While Overwatch 2 is still a good time, and an improvement over the original, it feels less like a sequel and more like an update. There are some solid changes to Overwatch’s basics, but a noticeable lack of new content, archaic game modes, and balance issues leave a lot to be desired.
Positives
The shift to 5v5 gives the meta a new boost
Inventive and coherent new hero designs + reworks of old heroes
New maps are awesome and push one of the best game modes yet
Has Blizzard’s trademark polish in spades
negatives
Appalling lack of new content at launch
Some heroes, maps and modes feel archaic within the 5v5 framework
Amazing new player experience
Battle pass progress is too slow
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