‘Overwatch 2’ Review: A Bold And Exciting Step Forward

Overwatch 2 is finally here! While major steps forward for the Overwatch franchise are long overdue after two and a half years without a new hero, the sequel is debuting at an odd time. The harassment and labor scandals at Activision Blizzard and the company’s pending sale to Microsoft complicate matters enough. That’s before you consider the fact that we’re only getting one side of Overwatch 2 right now.

Blizzard split development of the player vs. player (PVP) side and the co-op player vs. environment (PVE) modes to get the former out sooner. We won’t have a proper understanding of what Overwatch 2 actually is in practice until PVE arrives next year. But the PVP changes are much needed. They form an exciting foundation for the future, while delivering Overwatch gameplay in its most polished and fun state to date.

The decision to drop one tank player per team, despite the reservations that some players have, is one of the best changes Blizzard has ever made to Overwatch. It had to rework many heroes to account for this change, with some getting entirely new kits — Orisa is now my favorite hero. Teamfights are much more fluid and dynamic, with more opportunity for key individual plays in addition to team combos.

The new Push game type builds on that dynamic really well. The action ebbs and flows all over the the map as the robot swings from one side to the other. There are tons of flanking opportunities on Push maps, and the game type is a blast. I’ve enjoyed every Push round I’ve had to date.

Like the rest of Overwatch 2 (that Blizzard level of polish is undeniably fantastic here), the new maps look terrific. Team 4 has given the old maps a revamp as well, by introducing more natural cover that helps make up for having one fewer tank per team. It also vastly improved the lighting, which looks absolutely gorgeous, with the help of the upgraded engine.

The new heroes look great too. Moreover, they’re all great additions to the roster. Sojourn is a solid choice for newcomers, since her kit is one that’s easy to pick up and hard to master. Junker Queen and Kiriko are more complex, but no less effective. The ping system is also a wonderful addition. It’s a big improvement for accessibility (something that the game could use more of, in truth).

In the moment-to-moment gameplay, Overwatch 2 is one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences I’ve had in a long time (for the record, Overwatch 1 is my second-favorite game of all time). However, there are some cracks at the seams.

The monetization strikes me as overly aggressive. I completely understand that the premium Battle Pass and shop are how Team 4 is funding the ongoing development of Overwatch 2. But to increase the cost of Overwatch League skins by 50% (in terms of free OWL tokens) or 80% (if you pay for one outright) is egregious. Barring the cool new Zenyatta Legendary, they’re the exact same skins from Overwatch 1.

It’s also jarring to see seasonal Legendary skins (that until a few days ago players could unlock for free by playing Overwatch 1) suddenly cost $19 worth of in-game currency. Sure, that’s in line with the pricing of premium skins in other free-to-play games, but it’s a heck of a jump for those coming over from Overwatch 1.

While I have some reservations about the business model, it’s important to keep in mind that the store is optional. The premium Battle Pass is optional. You’ll still earn some cool cosmetics for free through the free Battle Pass (and presumably limited-time events). Dedicated players can also earn enough free Overwatch Coins to unlock one premium Battle Pass every other season for free.

Even though it’s better and easier to understand than it was in earlier Overwatch 2 builds, I don’t think the new scoreboard makes much sense. I’m still worried that it could lead to increased toxicity. I’ve complained about the lack of an objective time metric before, but my biggest issue with the scoreboard is how kills are counted.

A Moira can tickle five enemies with a damage orb right before a D.Va bomb scores a team kill. Both of those players may be credited with five kills. That’s completely fine when elimination numbers are private to each player (I’ll happily pad my stats all day long), but on a scoreboard that’s visible to the entire lobby, it creates a false equivalency.

You can’t make apples-to-apples comparisons between all heroes either. Sombra’s utility isn’t best served with pure damage output. She’s often in the backline to strategically take out a support or two. If her DPS partner is a Bastion, they’re not going to be putting up directly comparable damage numbers. Likewise, a flex Support isn’t going to have as much healing output as a main Support.

I get why Blizzard added this scoreboard — it wants the game to feel more like a traditional first-person shooter with the DNA of Overwatch — but it doesn’t really add up.

One of the more controversial aspects of Overwatch 2 is the fact that new players will not have access to all of the heroes from the original game right away. My initial reaction is that it would bifurcate the player base between existing and new players.

But, after getting to try this First Time User Experience, this approach actually makes a lot of sense. Overwatch 2 is a complicated game that will take a long time for new players to fully grok. Prompting them to learn the ropes with a smaller selection of heroes and gradually introducing more into the mix seems like a wise choice.

The grind to unlock older characters isn’t that extreme. However, putting new heroes (starting with Kiriko and going into future seasons) at level 55 of the free Battle Pass seems harsh. Placing them at level 40 would be fairer.

For the sake of transparency, there were a few things I didn’t have access to during the review period. Competitive wasn’t up, so I can’t talk about matchmaking. I don’t play much Comp anyway, but given that matchmaking worked fairly well in Overwatch 1, in my experience, it should be pretty solid here too. I don’t know what’s in the Arcade either, though Mystery Heroes and Deathmatch are now under the Unranked tab alongside Quick Play.

On top of that, I only had access to the PC version. I tried the beta on PS5, but I still have no idea how well Overwatch 2 runs on Nintendo Switch. That’s something I plan to dig into this week.

At launch, Overwatch 2 is a launchpad for something much, much grander. It’s a little rough around the edges, but in the midst of a team fight I ultimately am not thinking about any of that. The controlled chaos of the actual gameplay is right up my alley. Given the live service nature of the game, it’s something I’ll likely re-review every so often. Still, right now, Overwatch 2 is in pretty great shape overall.

Disclosure: Blizzard granted me and other members of the press access to a review build for two weeks. This included access to the premium Season 1 Battle Pass and 2,000 Overwatch Coins, which will carry over into the live game.

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