On the other hand, they could merely be small expansions of the Archives seasonal events where you traverse across bland environments doing battle with generic robots until the objective is reached. These events are... fine, but they aren’t that exciting, lacking the competitive edge of multiplayer that makes Overwatch so wonderfully thrilling to play. If a sequel does anything, it needs to overhaul how we engage with it over a long period of t
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
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
Overwatch 2 isn’t the only game with expensive cosmetics (have you heard of Pokemon Unite? ) but it might be the only one that’s ever taken previously earnable skins and charged $20 for them. Maybe if you compare Overwatch 2 to similar f2p games like Apex Legends and Fortnite you’ll see that it’s prices are right in line, but no one is comparing Overwatch 2 to Apex Legends, they’re comparing it to Overwatch. The justification for a sequel already felt weak, now it just seems like Overwatch 2 only exists so Blizzard can charge more for skins. It’s a dark day when I find myself nostalgic for loot boxes, but that is the free-to-play reality of Overwatc
Seasonal events in Overwatch became major occasions to look forward to. Christmas, Halloween, Chinese New Year, and several others were transformed into virtual celebrations that had our favourite characters donning gorgeous new outfits and performing charming emotes and victory poses that I couldn’t wait to unlock. It was a game I spent hours upon hours with in university, playing alongside my housemates to earn loot boxes and praying we got the skins we wished for. Spoilers: We never
We’d hop on Discord and inevitably talk about the state of Overwatch, sharing timid excitement for the sequel and how we’d hope it might shake up the subdued nature its progenitor had adopted in the years since its release. The world and heroes have so much potential, taking the foundations first established here and building them into showcases that aren’t afraid to grow this universe in bold, meaningful w
Despite my praise for the designs, Overwatch is not a game with in-depth characters - it’s all skin deep. Any attempt to flesh them out usually comes through fine print in the lore, promo reels, or external material like comic books. I understand why fans want these great designs to be built upon further, and I appreciate that a hero shooter all about utilising powers and fast PvP play is not the ideal genre for deep, interconnected stories. Overwatch has two queer characters, which is more than most triple-A games, but it’s hard to give it too much credit when their queerness has been so completely downplayed. It’s often lauded for its diversity - it even once had a GLAAD nomination - but that fact is its two queer characters are white, cis, and straight passing, while there are more playable animals and playable robots than there are playable Black women. That’s not too much of a stretch though, given that there are zero Black women in Overwatch’s heaving roster right now - Sojourn will join in Overwatch 2 walkthrough|https://overwatch2fans.com/ 2, but that feels too late for a game with playable 32 charact
Implement multiple seasonal events into a single battle pass, rewarding players for completing activities and levelling up their favourite heroes across both casual and competitive playlists. You could ensure that the most beloved skins are making a return on a frequent basis, much like seasonal events provided us with multiple chances to earn distinct skins on a yearly basis. Skins, sprays, emotes, voice lines, and other cosmetics could be brought into fray at w
The benefit of a battle pass, compared to a loot box, is you get to see what you’re buying. You know exactly what you get for your $10 before you buy the premium tier - though, you still don’t get to choose what you’re buying. If there’s a specific skin, victory pose, or voiceline you’re after, your only option is to buy Coins with real mo