The question arises as to whether Overwatch 2 is really a sequel. It's a question that's accompanied the second version of Blizzard's multiplayer shooter since its unveiling in 2019, and one that's been exacerbated when it was announced that it would completely replace, rather than co-exist, the existing Overwatch.
Overwatch 2 as a sequel
It's less of a reinvention and more of an evolution of the intense, nuanced, and brilliantly colorful team-based combat that made its predecessor so entertaining, while still bringing enough novelty to it that it feels like a standalone game.
A public game
The bigger question that arises when Overwatch 2 releases to the public as a free-to-play game is how many of these new ideas are positive changes. After all, different doesn't equate to better, and there's definitely improvement here, just not consistently. The original Overwatch really is one of the most fun video games, so a step down is still something very gratifying. Blizzard just set an incredibly high bar here.
No radical reinvention
Since Overwatch 2 isn't a radical reinvention, it still revolves around the exciting team-based hero shooter gameplay that made the original such a huge hit when it released in 2016. The sheer variety in the character designs of the 35 heroes, the way each of them feels unique, and the charm that oozes from every seam is still evident. All players' weapons still feel amazing to the touch, and the sounds they make and slight visual flashes only add to the joy of combat. The highs and lows of the game, from the joy of making last-second tactical changes to the agony of when a teammate refuses to hit the target at the crucial moment, have not been fully matched by any other game to date. That frenzy was at the heart of Overwatch, but sadly it waned as it became a relatively bland affair near the end of its lifespan due to a lack of new content and an excess of shields resulting in a boring meta. Some of the changes bring new life to Blizzard's hero shooter.
Smaller 5v5 matches
Aside from the fact that Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play game, by far the biggest change coming with the sequel is the move from the traditional 6v6 matches to a smaller 5v5 format. It's only two fewer players in the arena, but it's a major ideological shift and the impact is immediate. Aside from the potential horror of finding out you were the sixth best Overwatch player among your friends and finding yourself an outsider, it's both a blessing and a curse. It completely pulls Overwatch 2 out of the stagnation its predecessor has found itself in for the past few years, but also robs itself of the luster of its satisfying team play.
The team composition
Team compositions now consist of two damage, two support and only one tank character. This means that only one of the now 10 playable tank heroes can be in play at a time, whereas in old-school Overwatch, the tank heroes largely reside in main tanks like Winston and Reinhardt, who control the space and act as a barrier between you and your attackers , and off-tanks like Zarya and Roadhog, whose job it is to be more aggressive and disrupt the other team, were split. That boundary isn't as clear in Overwatch 2, as all tanks are expected to play a more active role in battle.
An active game
Active sounds good, but the problem that arises here is that you still need that defensive anchor when bringing a load home, and so a tank's role is now split awkwardly. When only one is allowed, some responsibility rests on the shoulders of that player, who leads the team and takes the brunt of the damage, although it's also their duty to protect the target. This results in Reinhardt being chosen frequently for being one of the only protectors available.
The "off tanks"
This begs the question of where the “off-tanks” fit in at the moment. D.Va is undoubtedly one of the most popular heroes you can play as, but choosing her in Overwatch 2 gives you a certain guilt because you'll fly off in your neon pink mech to hunt down a Widowmaker, leaving your teammates vulnerable to attack and leaves without protection. This makes Doomfist's transition from a damage tank to a mobile tank even more confusing, as it doesn't feel like there's any place for him in the rotation at all. Simply put, many of the tanks are still designed for the Overwatch of the past and not the Overwatch of the present.
A breath of fresh air in Overwatch 2
On the one hand, this major change in team composition is an exciting breath of fresh air that sets Overwatch 2 apart from its predecessor. It's a real test of skill, encouraging aggressive play and giving 1v1 battles more meaning than before. Reducing the stun abilities that slow you down or interrupt powers definitely adds to the flow of the game, even if it means Cassidy no longer has his trusty flashbang. On the other hand, Overwatch 2 seems to be moving away from the tactical team play that originally made it unique among shooters. It just feels like some of that satisfying, team-centric gameplay has been lost in the switch to 5v5. While that means grueling shield fights seem a thing of the past, moments like perfectly timed ultimate combos, like when a Junkrat RIP hoop smashes its way towards a group of helpless enemies being engulfed in a graviton wave, are now a thing rare sight. The matches often feel more like a series of deathmatch skirmishes than longer tactical battles.
Revamped Characters
Many characters have been successfully reworked to fit Blizzard's new 5v5 vision. One of Overwatch's strongest defensive heroes, Orisa has made the most significant philosophical shift when it comes to how Overwatch 2 should be played by tankers. Her radical transformation from a reliable anchor to a mobile damage dealer is evident just by looking at her new skills, but she's felt even more on the battlefield. The whirling Javelin accelerates movement and encourages lunging at the enemy for maximum damage with an improved primary fire that deals more damage at close range. This is in contrast to the way Orisa was traditionally used; in the first Overwatch, it sat further back and served as an anchor point for other players to barricade behind and rain fire on their opponents. Nowhere is this change in philosophy more apparent than in the removal of their webbed energy shield.
Shield-heavy metas
As more and more barrier fighters were added to the original Overwatch over time, frustration with shield-heavy metas grew. There have been too many moments where you braced yourself for a fun evening only to come across Bastion and a Torbjorn tower safely hidden beneath seemingly endless layers of shields. The early adjustments in Overwatch 2 are clearly aimed at this issue, and the days of multiple shields are a thing of the past thanks to the greatly reduced number of barriers that can be deployed.
New heroes
Of course, along with the reworks, there are also new heroes to join the party. One from each class, bringing the total number of heroes to an impressive 35, especially considering the original started with just 21 heroes. Armed with a rapid-fire railgun, Sojourn, the newest damage dealer, offers a fresh and viable alternative to Soldier 76. Her nimble slingshot and super jump combo combined with her hard-hitting secondary fire can be deadly. Kiriko is a ninja healer who shares some of her moves with the damage-dealing Genji, but the reality is she plays more like Moira or Mercy - sprinting in and out of action to help teammates and picking up a headshot or two to distribute a kunai. It takes a little getting used to, but in very skilled hands it can be very effective.
New additions
The Junker Queen is an aggressive tank. Her skills come into their own when you swing her axe, throw a boomerang-like knife at someone, and take them down with a shotgun. All three heroes are designed as well as one would expect from Overwatch 2 and are packed with character, from their distinctive looks to their vibrant voices.
No shaking of Overwatch 2
None of these new additional heroes change Overwatch 2 in any groundbreaking way, but they're all definitely fun to play. In fact, the roster seems pretty well balanced at launch, which is quite an achievement when you're juggling 35 different, powerful characters, each with half a dozen abilities. It's rare for a single hero to dominate an entire match, and each shines in different moments. However, some things are inevitable, such as Genji, who still makes his way to the games of the game on my screen six years later.
The push mode
Aside from the switch to 5v5, a big addition to the sequel is the introduction of a brand new mode: Push. It's essentially a tug-of-war of sorts, with a Baymax-like robot pushing a barrier through a map for the team closest to it. It's a bit like Overwatch's signature escort mode, except here each team tries to push the robot to the other team's spawn point, rather than one team constantly defending and one team attacking all game long. This centralizes the fight very well as both teams focus on a common goal. Like a true tug-of-war, push is all about momentum, so it's very hard to recapture victory once it's not going in your favour. However, on the rare occasions that you manage to turn the tide, it feels like a true team effort. It's a thrill that's so on par with Overwatch's other modes.
The cards
The maps that accompany Push are all well put together, with the traditional mix of winding roads and tight chokepoints that Blizzard has always effectively built into its arenas. They are all lovingly designed, with art and sound in harmony to create small details that add up to a charming whole. With a few exceptions like Paris, map design has always been something Overwatch has excelled at. The six new maps coming with the sequel are no exception, with the Rio de Janeiro-inspired Paraíso. The charming, carnival-themed map that takes you to Lucio's Club shows just how much fun Overwatch 2's maps can be when they combine both gameplay and character.
Not every map in Overwatch 2
Unlike the heroes, who all exist in one form or another, not every map made its way into the sequel. That's due to the elimination of Assault, or Two Points of Control, mode. They've had their issues, but it's more sad that the locations are disappearing than the mode itself, and the fact that these maps aren't even available in quickplay is a bit disappointing. Many players associate many fond memories with places like the Temple of Anubis and Volskya Industries. It's a shame to think of the balconies of Hanamura, now lost to time.
No loot boxes
Loot boxes are also a thing of the past in Overwatch. The long-controversial gamble mechanic has been replaced with a more modern Battle Pass system. It costs 1.000 Overwatch Coins, which is about $10. Each nine-week season brings with it a new set of stages that you must work your way through to unlock a variety of cosmetics, from speech lines to sprays, while earning experience points. This model is now very familiar to fans of battle royale shooters, and it's undoubtedly fairer to players than loot boxes, although a tiny part of me will miss that little serotonin boost of a legendary skin flying out of a plastic box.
A new schedule
Blizzard has set out a schedule whereby each subsequent season will bring a new map, hero, or sometimes both, to Overwatch 2, at a pace not too different from its predecessor when it launched came. Now that we've had a sneak peek at the upcoming themed seasons, there are definitely some characters, locations, and even ambitious new modes to look forward to as some of the team's most ambitious ideas to date have come to fruition. It really feels like an exciting time to be an Overwatch fan again.
Coming Heroes
However, there are some upcoming heroes that are part of the premium Battle Pass tier and are not immediately available to everyone. When a new hero is introduced that is particularly powerful or important to the evolving meta, someone can choose to buy their way up the Battle Pass tier, something that happened with Activision and the launch of Call of Duty -Weapons in Warzone accidentally or not happened. However, the fact that each hero isn't available for competitive play for the first three weeks of its existence is fair navigation for this issue.
Something for casual gamers
On the other hand, it gives the casual gamer something to work towards and a reason to keep playing alongside the consistently enjoyable action. This sense of progression is emphasized even more for new players because while all the heroes of the original Overwatch game are free for them, it takes about 100 games to gradually unlock them without paying. That's an approach that's inherently bad, as a roster of this size can be overwhelming when you jump right in, and any relief on the learning curve is welcome.
Seasonal Content
Granted, some seasonal content won't be out until 2023. Those are the story-centric PvE modes. The promise of more Overwatch history is what got me most excited since the sequel was unveiled, and what could really set it apart from its predecessor. A steady stream of story-driven missions that build out a world that Blizzard so impressively laid the foundations for years ago is an enticing prospect, far from digging through comic books and animated shorts for background information. It's a shame none of this appeared in time for launch.
An entertaining game
If the question to ask about Overwatch 2 is simply whether it's an enjoyable game, then for now the answer is yes. It's still an overall great hero shooter, just one that might not be acting at its best right now. Perhaps that greatness will be regained over time, as the community feeds back through our many victories and defeats, and as Overwatch 2 delivers on the promise of its newly built foundations.
Conclusion
Overwatch 2 breathes new life into what was once the world's hottest multiplayer shooter, before it was severely deadened by Blizzard's shift in attention. The shift to smaller 5v5 matches heralds a new brawler era for Overwatch, where individual duels take precedence over tactical team play, and crucially all but a handful of shields have been knocked out of the arena. The new heroes and maps hit the mark, while Push is a mode that could become a fan favorite over time. The foundations are in place for Overwatch to shine again as it once did on the multiplayer shooter scene, and the future definitely looks bright with what's to come over the next few months. Overwatch 2 is a very fun, team-based FPS, packed with charm and love for the world it's set in, and one that you can't wait to lose hundreds of more hours of play in. Overwatch 2's shift to a 5v5 format breathes new life into what was once the world's hottest shooter. It just hasn't quite regained its former glory.
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