Overwatch 2 Reviews
Overwatch 2 plays brilliantly. It's a wonderful shooter full of depth, with unique heroes to master, maps to learn, and hours of your life to lose all over again.
Overwatch 2 still has the same enjoyable gameplay loop and incredible character design from Blizzard’s original hero shooter. But this free-to-play update is iterative, rather than groundbreaking.
A host of important changes will shake up the meta as Blizzard's hero shooter goes free to play, but it all reeks of desperation to stay relevant, and it might not be enough for many players.
Overwatch 2's core gameplay is an absolute blast, but it mostly consists of content that already existed with annoying progression added to the mix.
Overwatch 2 is so damn good. 5v5 has breathed life into the game, Junkerqueen, Sojourn, and Kiriko are a breath of fresh air, and the game's new high pace suits its competitive nature perfectly. The new maps are insanely fun to play, albeit with some needing tweaking, and the new Push gamemode only enhances Overwatch 2's core experience. The only downside comes from its cosmetic-locked, 9-week battle pass system, which will be costly to continually purchase.
It's not really a sequel, but Overwatch's enthusiastic rejection of self-serious military shooters still draws you in.
Overwatch 2 represents the arrival of the foundational changes Blizzard's hero shooter needed in order to return to its former glory. While it's not perfect — few things ever are — the changes that the game makes to Overwatch's gameplay structure, progression systems, content release schedule, and presentation are absolutely stellar.
There is a good game hiding underneath Overwatch 2's predatory shell, one that is soon to evolve into an even more massive headache for players as the game evolves.
This sequel is not revolutionary as the first chapter: it is simply what who wanted a more up-to-date PvP structure needed. The 5 vs 5 gameplay works and is smoother, but in the new era of the franchise seems like there is less space than before for casual or not competitive players.
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Overwatch 2 is not a full sequel in the way one usually is, instead porting over the original game and enhancing it with a bit of new content. It doesn't justify the number at the end, but that doesn't take away from what is still a terrific multiplayer experience. Removing the price point entirely, Overwatch 2 can now be considered one of the best free-to-play games around.
Overwatch as a franchise has always felt like a child taking toys out of a box to hurriedly show you what’s next, breathless through excitement before switching to another. In that sense, Overwatch 2 is a bigger toy box, with a few more action figures and incredible new dioramas to pose them in.
As things stand, Overwatch 2 is not so much a sequel, but more an update of the first chapter.
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That said, none of these additions are net negatives to the game either. Overwatch 2 simply exists in an awkward transition phase between the game it was and the game it wants to be. It's not a revolution by any stretch, at least not how the original game was, but it's still Overwatch and that means it's still a ton of fun.
Overwatch 2 is as fun and fast-paced as the original game, but its free-to-play structure sullies the experience a bit.
Fans who have continued to play Overwatch over the years grew hungry for the new maps, modes, and heroes that Overwatch 2 delivers on. At this point, it feels like the bare minimum fans need to keep enjoying Overwatch. As more maps and heroes are introduced, Overwatch 2 may start to feel more like a full sequel rather than a hefty much-needed update. If Blizzard had charged sixty dollars for what the game currently is, fans would be disappointed. The ten-dollar Battle Pass gives fans lots of content to unlock with the game's improved multiplayer action. Even though it will require some play time to unlock heroes behind the Battle Pass, it's an excellent time for new players to see what makes Overwatch as fun and charming as it is. Still, veteran players anxious for something new may want to wait until Overwatch 2 feels more complete.
I am very pleased with the core gameplay changes and where the game is headed. Game development is a group effort, and although Kaplan is deeply missed, I see these changes as evidence that Team 4 is still capable of magic, and eager to prove it.
Overwatch 2 is a lot of things, but a proper sequel to the original Overwatch is not one of them. Although a few new maps and heroes are welcome, and the gameplay itself remains just as enjoyably intense as it always was, there is nothing here that feels innovative or notable enough to justify that '2' in the title. At this stage, Overwatch 2 feels more like a few updates Blizzard could have pushed to the original release. Couple this with the heightened focus on monetization and the absence at launch of the promised co-op story content, and you're left with an experience that feels like it falls short of the potential it had. As a live service free-to-play game, perhaps time will eventually see this new release grow in fresh and unexpected ways to eventually prove itself a worthy sequel, but the game we have at launch feels just 'fine'. At any rate, it costs you nothing but time to try, and it is just about as fun in a match as it always has been. As long as you're not too bothered by what it could have been, we'd recommend giving Overwatch 2 a shot.
It’s difficult to look back on a game like Overwatch and wonder what it could’ve been if it had been delayed, and released as a complete, full-priced package with none of the extras: no feel-bad Battle Passes, with the story mode and Hero Missions available to all from the get-go. It’s not all doom and gloom of course; I’ve been in denial about the change in direction for PvP, but tens of hours of playtime have convinced me that the new 5v5 format will lead to more exciting experiences going forward. For my fellow lore and character enthusiasts, well, there’s always next year.
While Overwatch 2 adds a host of heroes and features to Blizzard's iconic FPS game, its PvP feels more like a simple content update than a full blown sequel.
Overwatch 2 replaces its predecessor with a similar, yet different experience, but its future feels uncertain as the franchise moves toward a more aggressive monetization structure with little to distinguish itself from every other live-service game.