Overwatch 2 Review – An Old Friend Returning Home

Overwatch is something special. It brought together all manner of heroes, races, sexualities, and cultures into one well-polished first-person shooter. It was quite frankly, a game you could play for many hours, learning to master. Overwatch 2 takes a small leap into the future with a few new characters and stages, and while it’s the same amazing gameplay we know and love, it’s hard to call it a sequel.

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Release Date: October 4

A More Polished Experience…with a few hiccups

Overall, Overwatch 2 feels like a slicker experience. The UI has been redesigned to make the player more informed on the action around them and looks modern for a 2022 audience. For example, with Zenyatta, the game now tells you which characters are receiving the orbs of Harmony (healing) and Discord (weakened defense). Cases like these show that Overwatch 2 have improved user feedback across the board.

Playing Overwatch 2 on the PC is marvelous for someone who played the original game primarily on the PS4. Each shot of the weapon or swing of a hammer gives an incredible sound, making the shooting exhilarating while the camera is so smooth to control. As someone who isn’t phenomenal with the mouse and keyboard, I really felt like I was in the driving seat due to the impressive response time and well-tuned controls.

Despite all the positives of the overall experience, there have been some negatives. Connecting online during the launch of Overwatch 2 was a lengthy experience, with almost 30 minutes to an hour waiting in a queue. If Overwatch 2 is following a season structure, the developer and publisher, Blizzard Entertainment, needs to be ready for an influx of players at the start of every event.

In addition, Blizzard had a strange bug that locked half of the character roster for a day. As the game has gone to a free-to-play model, we hope we don’t lose our progression and characters in the future.

As of October 13, many of the connection problems have been fixed, and hopefully, the troubling launch won’t be a mark of things to come.

On the bright side, the cross-play implementation of Overwatch 2 has been rock solid. Through the use of Blizzard’s Battle.net website, I could easily connect multiple console accounts like the PlayStation Network and Nintendo Switch Online to it. Once Overwatch 2 has been booted up on your PC, Switch, and PlayStation systems, all of your items and unlocked costumes will be combined into one account. You can also invite your friends to your game, no matter what system they own, which is a huge positive.

 

Is Overwatch 2 Actually Fun?

Overwatch 2 feels like a small step of progression from the first game. The UI looks better, and some of the heroes, like Orisa, have been overhauled with new abilities, but overall, it feels very similar. It has the same stages, but they’ve been changed from day to night or vice versa. Most of the characters have the same moves that they utilized before. What will keep us coming back?

Well, I’m glad to say that Overwatch 2 is still a thrilling experience overall. New characters like the super agile Sojourn and the kunai-throwing healer Kiriko offer refreshing new gameplay styles. There’s also a new game mode called Push, which has you escorting a mech from one point to the other. The twist is that it moves back and forth, so it’s an exciting tug-of-war that will keep your heart racing from beginning to end.

Maps like New York’s Midtown and Toronto’s New Queen Street are very exciting as they’re designed beautifully and replicate the original cities’ atmospheres well. Seeing a fire truck becoming the objective with a signature horn to push is a neat implementation of NYC’s respect for that division of the workforce. Meanwhile, Toronto’s many Canadian flags, hockey player statues, and curling rink signify some of the country’s pride and best pastimes.

With that slight aside, I can confirm that Overwatch 2 has brought back my love for the original game and will likely bring you back as well if you haven’t played it for a long time. The addition of cross-play lets you team up with your friends much easier than before. Actually, I stopped playing the original Overwatch as all my buddies ended up jumping ship to the PC, leaving me behind.

Honestly, the shift to 5v5 is a controversial move for many Overwatch players worldwide. But it indeed does work. Having one tank on the team instead of two is a godsend as you don’t have to take down two behemoths in a row. In addition, it accentuates the importance of each role on the squad. Rather than an offensive tank, they’re now forced to be more protective of the team for success, making their role more present. It’s too bad for the eSports players who got let go, though, due to one less spot on each team.

 

How Does Overwatch 2 Hold Up Graphically?

Not much has changed for Overwatch 2’s graphics. The cartoonish visuals of the original game still hold up, and the stages are each filled with so much background lore and intriguing art.

It’s neat to see how the characters have changed since the events of the first game. Most have new hairstyles, costume choices, and quirks to them that show the years between the original and the sequel. We may be mistaken but there have been some effects added to the animations of characters as well.

 

The Microtransaction Model

Overwatch has been the epicenter of controversy around microtransaction systems. The loot box system was a topic of much criticism from fans and, most importantly, government agencies. Many labeled it as gambling, and Blizzard has opted this time to offer a seasonal battle pass instead for Overwatch 2.

This is ultimately a positive change as we now know what’s being offered. However, there comes a major negative too. Similar to other free-to-play games like Fortnite and MultiVersus, you’ll now need to pay for premium skins, and it gets expensive. For example, the Cyber Detective Sojourn costume bundle costs 2,200 Overwatch Coins. This amounts to around $20 of currency. That’s super pricey for just one skin. At least with a loot box, you had a chance of getting skins like this for free, but that isn’t a possibility anymore.

What would improve this microtransaction model is to drastically increase the rate of Overwatch Coins provided by in-game challenges. Otherwise, it will take many hours to unlock the costumes players desire.

 

Overall Thoughts on Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2 is like an old friend coming back into your life. You remember why it was so fun to be around them, and you realize how they’ve learned over the years. Each of the new heroes is exciting to play, and the 5v5 switch from 6v6 allows for greater tactical gameplay. The new UI is also impressive as it gives better player feedback than its prior form.

Despite some connection issues, Overwatch 2 is one of the most fluid-feeling shooters in gaming today. However, the microtransactions within the game will be more expensive than you would hope, and the lack of a loot box, even though it’s problematic, makes it more difficult to get the cosmetics you’re looking for.

Overwatch 2 is currently available to play on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Switch.

Review Disclosure Statement: A code for the Overwatch 2 Watchpoint Pack was provided by Blizzard to the writer for review and guide purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.

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