Overwatch 2

 

This review has been sitting in the wings for a while because I wasn't even sure I was going to take the time to write one up. I'm pressed for time these days between work and many other priorities (including putting finishing touches on my new book before it goes to an editor) so capturing my thoughts on this "sequel" wasn't a high priority. Instead, I'll meet in the middle and this will - by far - be my shortest game review ever. 

Overwatch 2 is the long awaited "sequel" to, you guessed it, Overwatch, 2016's cartoon shooter darling that took the gaming world by storm. It earned a perfect 10/10 from me; a well-earned score for all the incredible gaming memories I had from it. If you remember 2016 at all, it was an insanely great year for gaming and Overwatch was truly only outshined by the god-tier Titanfall 2.

Fast forward 6 years later and we're finally getting a proper "sequel" to one of Blizzard's biggest successes. I keep putting sequel in quotations because of the perhaps very obvious reasons: in no way, shape, or form, does this game constitute as a sequel. Therein lies the reason I'll be rattling this review off quickly. 

I couldn't even be bothered to take my own screenshots with this one...

For me, Overwatch 2 is a massive disappointment and full disclosure, aside from a pretty strong 2 week stint, I've barely touched the thing. Certain other games have my undivided attention right now, including Modern Warfare II, which is a direct competitor to this. Starting with the launch, there were tons of issues right off the bat which made it a frustrating ordeal. I can often forgive and overlook that stuff if the game is awesome, but it's clear that this is basically just the same Overwatch. Many heroes are the same, many maps are the same, and many modes are the same. Sure, there's been refinement over the years but if you're keeping track at home I'd venture to say 80% of this game is still the same as its 6 year old predecessor! 

This new mode is fun,
but one of the areas where
balance feels most off

Maybe I'm probably being harsh. And I imagine Blizzard was clear about this with their branding (maybe...) but the big "pull" with Overwatch 2 is that it has gone free-to-play. That's all fine and good, but it doesn't amount to much if all you're going to do is slap a "2" on the title and give people the same experience. Rumors of a scrapped or heavily delayed campaign with these memorable characters makes the whole thing far more painful that we could have had more content...but don't for some reason. 

What makes matters worse is that I no longer am enjoying the game as much as I once did. Aside from my learning curve to get back into the game, I'm not enjoying the changes they made for the sake of "balance". The biggest change has been reducing the team sizes to 5, from 6. Additionally, there are limits (in most game modes) about how many of each player type - support, tank, damage - you can have on your team. How each of these factors shows up is hard to describe, but I know how often games came down to the wire with the first game. It was one of my favorite features about it because it was always intense and you felt like you could win at any moment. In this sequel however, I was consistently feeling like I was either doing the steamrolling or getting steamrolled (mostly the latter) which doesn't make for a fun game. I attribute that partially to my skill, fair, but also to the changes that were made. 

As I mentioned, this is a very short review for Overwatch 2. It's not really a new game so it should barely get a new review. In that spirit, I'd suggest reading my review for the original game if it's something you've never played. There's still a lot to enjoy, especially if it would be your first time playing and hey! It's free now! However, for those that played it in 2016 and maybe revisited it a handful of times since, this likely acts as more of a small update/patch than anything close to warranting a "sequel"-defined number. That's a damn shame for one of the most memorable and influential games of the last decade, but fingers crossed this review looks silly in 6-9 months time as they roll out additional content (a campaign?) and better balancing. For now, I'll be playing a bunch of other stuff. 

CONS

• This is not a sequel, plain and simple. 80% of the game contents are from the previous game
• Balancing feels really off. This has zapped much of the fun I remember having
• Lack of new content after 6 years is actually embarrassing IMO. Where is a campaign with these awesome characters?
• Rough and confusing launch
• Graphics haven't taken any measurable leaps forward, even on new consoles

PROS

• The foundation of Overwatch 2 is still a 10/10 scoring game
• Memorable characters
• Fun modes
• Mostly great maps
• Sweet powers and weapons, excellent gameplay
• Sound effects and original music is iconic
• Free-to-play feels right and, at least for the time being, I didn't feel nickeled and dimed once I started playing  

Rath's Review Score | 6/10