I’ve been playing Overwatch as soon as the game launched in 2016. As a Blizzard fanatic, the game gave many things I looked for in that perfect play. A shooter, but nothing too crazy serious. Team system that rewards teamwork (for sure) that also allows for a little movement from a few solo pushes. Quick play for the causals, competitive mode for the beasts (competitive matches introduced after launch). Not to forget the nice, simple rotations between slightly deviating objective modes. Blizzard definitely went a little too far with the ‘cartoony’ graphics style of the game; however, it does add more of a fun vibe over the war zones one finds in Call of Duty, Battlefield, and others. This was all amazing, which was reflected in the dramatically larger than expected fanbase. Therefore, it was a complete shock to fans and prospective players when Blizzard ruined all of that. The gaming giant had cancelled a StarCraft first person shooter, a game I love more that Overwatch (I would think to be true to most).
Rumors started to swirl in mid-2019 about a sequel to come for the overwhelmingly popular. As one would expect, fans went wild and waited for the release date to start the countdown. A successful game with fans who seem to want to throw their wallets at you, how could someone possibly f-ck this one up? Before BlizzCon 2019 took place, Overwatch 2 was simply an internet rumor, yet one that was within the realm of reasonably expectable. During the convention, Overwatch 2 became reality. The now-embattled Jeff Kaplan was the one to confirm the games ‘in development’ status to fans. Players were able to play laughably limited demos. Now in January 2020, the Playstation’s Brazilian Twitter had said that OW2 were coming to all consoles at some point that year. A German Gamestop had listed Overwatch 2 as a physical release to come in 2020.
After angering silence from the company, BlizzCon 2020 was canceled. A meaningless virtual event replaced the event that fans travel from far and wide, and spend a lot of money, to attend. To try to mend the situation, they announced in February 2021, or a half-decade after launch, that both Overwatch 2 and Diablo would not be released in 2021. Their only comment on Overwatch 2 was that they hadn’t developed any new characters, except for one. Now we are here with the Overwatch 2 beta available for $40, after a long waiting process paired with multiple teases and a disgusting multi-layered sex scandal.The graphics and game modes were improved slightly. There are new fun colors and sounds, wow. Every character you’ve already played with (plus a few new ones) but in the new console graphics if you own one.Overwatch 2 does not offer anything different or more compelling over its peers in the FTP scene. In fact it only seems to get worse. 6×6 was changed to 5×5 to put more responsiblity on the individual, rather than the team. Most players suck, so that did absolutely nothing. Role queue is still a thing. The GUI updates are so simple it’s offensive it took this long. The most significant change would be the second name change for McCree. It further clarifies that the Overwatch franchise has a very limited space in the gaming world. After spending $40 and too much time with the game, I strongly advise all prospective buyers that you don’t. Your money and time would be far better spent on a good game whose parent company actually cares about their work.
This game doesn’t necessarily mean the end of Overwatch, but its future is certainly bleak.
