Overwatch 2 Review
Ali Hasan October 9, 2022
Overwatch 2 presents a peculiar case in its release. For a game on the decline and one that has been constantly overshadowed in the past few years despite its incredibly popular launch, releasing a new entry makes total sense but how little it does in setting itself apart from its predecessor, and in many ways even taking steps back, the 2 at the end of the title makes no sense, the game constantly begs the question: is Overwatch 2 a sequel? Or simply just a glorified update?
Overwatch 2 is an excellent game but in some ways hurts the legacy of the original, the high octane over the top yet whimsical combat returns but is marred down by not nearly enough changes to truly set itself apart from the original along with a terrible monetization system, that will hurt the game for a very, very long time unless it’s addressed.
Overwatch 2 Adds a Fresh Coat of Paint to the Aging Original
We have seen other games adopt the free-to-play model several years into their lifecycle. A prime example is Rocket League which went free to play in 2020 and adopted the highly popular battle pass system from Fortnite. The game didn’t undergo any major changes however and was simply made free for everyone. Overwatch 2 takes it one step ahead however and adds a ton of balancing changes, cosmetic and UI changes, and as expected the implementation of a battle pass system.
All characters from Overwatch 1 return with slightly altered looks. Bastion’s color scheme has been slightly altered and the character now sports a hat, Genji now features a completely new outfit while D.Va’s outfit has been modernized. The changes vary from character to character, but for the most part, are very subtle.
All Heroes Have Received Balance and Abilities Overhauls
What isn’t subtle however is the hero and role balance changes and updates. From changes to role passives to reduction and/or complete overhauls to hero damage output, health, and abilities, Blizzard has gone all in to streamline the overwatch experience. For example, Doomfist has been moved from the damage class to the tank class with increased health and the removal of his rising uppercut ability in favor of a new power block. Additionally, D.Va’s canons have been made more accurate while her base health has been increased. It’s clear Blizzard was aware of the balancing issues in the original game even though there were constant balance updates. Pretty much every hero has received some form of change to their arsenal or their passive abilities.
This presents a unique opportunity for returning players to re-learn their new characters or maybe even switch over to new ones. As someone who used to be a Junkrat main the changes to D.Va has made that character more viable for me and I’m sure this will be the case for many characters. More players will branch out instead of sticking to their original mains which in my opinion is a major win for Blizzard and will certainly widen the skill gap a bit.
The hero roster now stands at a whopping 35 characters across three roles (tank, damage, and support) with the addition of Sojourn, Junker Queen, and Kiriko. There is definitely a great variety of characters to choose from and if you’re a casual player whos looking for hours of fun, Overwatch 2 will keep you occupied for a very long time.
The Addition of New Maps And Modes Will Keep Players Engaged For Hours
All maps from Overwatch 1 return with the addition of six new ones, they all feel very similar to what we’ve come to expect from Blizzard and Overwatch map design, allowing for close-quarters skirmishes near the middle of the map and plently of flanking routes and verticality. Fairly standard affair as far as the maps are concerned.
Blizzard however has reduced the team count from 6v6 down to 5v5. In my experience, this didn’t make a ton of difference but I also think this was a unique opportunity that Blizzard could have exploited to give us different types of maps, more niche, more suited to a certain playstyle to add that extra bit of challenge to the game and it really is quite disappointing that no effort was made here.
However, the game does add a few new game modes my favorite of which turned out to be push where you help guide a robot to push your objective to the finish line, and the first team to do so wins. There is plenty of variety on display here and is sure to keep players engaged but I just can’t help shake the feeling that it feels more like an evolution of the Overwatch formula than the revolution I was hoping for.
Also Read: Modern Warfare II Multiplayer Details Revealed
Overwatch 2’s Microtransaction System is a Slap In The Face of Fans
Perhaps Overwatch 2’s biggest downfall and in my opinion, what lets this game down the most is the monetization system. The sequel has removed the loot box system and opted for a battle pass system instead which is a welcomed change but how this battle pass is positioned makes me worried for the future of the game.
Blizzard laid out a massive road map going into 2023 about the different seasons coming to overwatch 2 in the near future. Each battle pass will contain new heroes and they will be locked behind the premium pass. This adds a certain pay-to-win element to the game and risks exorbitant spending in the overpriced item shop post-season for people who did purchase the battle pass.
Black Ops IIII the worst offender when it comes to player exploitation offered new specialists as free tier 1 unlocks for all players so for Overwatch 2 to go in the exact opposite direction makes no sense to me. Furthermore, the skins in the item shop are quite expensive running upwards of $20 per skin, while cosmetic items aren’t really a problem and this is a free-to-play game at the end of the day it still begs the question of how farther they will take this.
Fallout 76 for example offered cosmetic items in the item shop at first then quickly turned to provide scrap kits and repair kits that offer a significant gameplay advantage to players who purchase these items. it really feels like Blizzard was going in the right direction but fumbled at the finish line.
Verdict
Overwatch 2 is an excellent PvP shooter that is at the top of its class at the moment. The lack of innovation, however, one that we expect from a sequel (especially considering the title adds a “2” at the end) is simply not there. It plays great with its high-octane twitchy combat but in the end, ends up feeling very similar to the original (for better and for worse) The current microtransaction system is something that needs to be ironed out, especially locking new heroes behind premium battle passes but it remains to be seen whether this will ever truly happen.
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