As the years moved on and seasonal events began to repeat, I fell out of love with Overwatch. I returned following the surprise debut of Archives, which promised a more intricate delving into the lore behind my favourite operatives, but it was a surface level exploration of narrative elements that simply didn’t do enough. A few skins caught my eye, tempting me to indulge in free loot boxes and to grind for a couple alongside friends who returned for similar reas
ItsSliker admitted to scamming over $200,000 from his followers for his gambling addiction, sparking platform-wide controversy on Twitch. Gambling has long been a problem for the streaming site, becoming the latest in a long line of ‘metas’, and now several high-profile streamers have called on Twitch to ban them en ma
But for those not planning to pick up the premium battle pass or aren’t already cemented in the Overwatch 2 skins|https://Overwatch2fans.com/ ecosystem, some new heroes are locked behind progression in ways that actively discourages the experimentation this game is all about. Kiriko - the new fox girl support hero who I am totally not simping for already - is available immediately to premium battle pass holders or existing players of the original Overwatch, while everyone else must grind to Level 55 in order to unlock her. That’s a big time investment for a hero in a hero shooter.
In total, I’ve probably played less than ten hours in Overwatch. That’s a pretty pathetic return for an online shooter that’s been out for five years. In fact, ‘an online shooter’ barely does Overwatch justice. For a while, it was the biggest hero shooter in the world, and despite increasing competition, it arguably still is. I know people who have hundreds, if not thousands of hours in Overwatch, and I’m still in single figures. Yet it’s a game I’m always thinking ab
Meanwhile, the whole meta has stirred up behind-the-scenes drama, with TrainwrecksTV calling out Mizkif for allegedly covering up sexual assault for his friends . Why didn’t he speak up before? It’s a messy situation - calling out gambling is good, but Stacey argues that it takes the right circumstances for streamers to take action, all in the name of good pr
Tracer and Soldier 76’s sexuality were confirmed in comics and other supplemental materials, and you’d struggle to see them mentioned in the game itself with the exception of a few small inclusions. Emily, Tracer’s girlfriend, is an optional spray, and the time-zipping agent will mention her briefly in a piece of dialogue in King’s Row, but beyond this it’s slim pickings for the gays in Overwatch. With the sequel set to focus on narrative to a significant degree, I sincerely hope Blizzard does a better job of embracing its queer characters instead of treating them like a dirty little sec
There was a time only a few short years ago when Overwatch was untouchable. Blizzard’s hero shooter was a fresh, energetic entry in a genre that was slowly but surely growing stale. The beloved developer saw this gap in the market and pounced upon it, delivering a diverse multiplayer experience that would hold our attention for years to come. Fast forward to 2021, and the picture appears infinitely more bl
With a sequel, major characters will likely be reintroduced for a new audience, especially the likes of Tracer and Soldier 76. There’s no need to scream and shout about being queer from the rooftops, but just make that aspect of these characters clear in their history, and how it matters beyond a tick in the diversity box. I care about the relationships and dynamics of queer people, especially when I can see it in games like this, so the last thing I want is to see it shoehorned in and immediately shied away from whenever the situation calls for
This is a result of Blizzard gently touching on the queer nature of its characters before running away and never mentioning it again. Fans are forced to draw their own conclusions, and the post-launch announcement that some characters are gay simply feels like performative nonsense. Was this the plan from the start, or did it seem like an easy diversity win when writing the next co
I don’t really need an Overwatch story mode or an Overwatch spin-off to exist; I’m happy believing I’d love them if they ever came to life, and I don’t need to test that theory. A single player futuristic Western revenge drama with Ashe and McCree as the leads? Yes please. A Netflix adaptation of Overwatch’s main story with Maisie Williams as Tracer? Sounds amazing - please never make it. The idea of literally any genre of solo game with Mei or Mercy sounds fantastic, but it would never live up to my expectations and I’m much happier in my ignorant hope than in cold, hard real
For that reason I know that Kiriko is right up my street, and I’ll be playing her with a passion when launch rolls around, but knowing that potential to experiment is no longer possible unless I decide to grind my life away or make an investment kinda sucks, and takes away the free cadence of content I’d grown used to with the first game. This may be the price to pay for no loot boxes and a modernised progression system, but this feels like a teething pain instead of the game Overwatch 2 really wants to be. Perhaps I’ll be proven wrong and the payoff will be worthwhile, but right now I’m not so sure.