Overwatch 2 – The lies and false promises of a toxic ex | TierraGamer: news and entertainment about anime, series, video games and technology

It’s been 8 years since Overwatch was crowned “Game of the Year” at the now-popular “The Game Awards.” For the sake of context, it’s worth saying that this was Blizzard’s triumphant return, after years of not having a new franchise and surviving with old games like Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo.

Overwatchfor many of us, was a breath of fresh air in an industry that was plagued by first-person shooters and zombies (just remembering it makes my eye twitch). Of course, this game based on its heroes gained recognition not only for its charismatic characters, but for its proposal as an online game and the construction of its world based on incredible cinematics.

However, like any online game, and despite having received gradual support, it did not deliver innovative content throughout its life cycles: we had two heroes per year, and even if we were doing well; it was rare to see new maps, much less new modes. Little by little, Overwatch and its 6-player dynamic evolved into a complicated experience, and with the addition of new heroes it lost some of its dynamism and fluidity, becoming a festival of shields and mobility effects that could leave you vulnerable in seconds.

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Overwatch 2 is the friends we made along the way

6 years after its original release, Overwatch 2 It arrived and launched with proposals that amazed all the players and that, unfortunately, faded away over time.

And here we are. 2 years after the launch of Overwatch 2a game that, according to the user base, has not at all fulfilled what was promised at the time of the announcement. A game that, after being received with applause and praise for its various changes, among one or another controversy, now suffers a return and little by little reverts its changes to become Overwatch (1) again in a desperate attempt to return to the glory it had.

The positives: There’s no doubt that the game received a considerable graphical upgrade on next-gen consoles, and a much better lighting system. To deny this is to fail to understand the game’s artistic style, which was intended as a title that could endure for years thanks to its cartoonish character designs, which many of us at the time compared to Pixar.

Bringing new game modes allows the game to have more replayability, so that it doesn’t feel so monotonous after 8 years on the market. Likewise, and thanks to this, bringing new maps and even modifying them according to how they work, allows players to create compositions and adapt to the changes.

The change and evolution of existing characters (and this is a point that will bring some controversy). Overwatch 1 It is made up of nostalgia, a powerful and effective tool; and even people who came and left the game miss the fact that Mercy revives everyone, that Symmetra places a teleporter or that Orisa has a shield. However, the change in its characters has managed to maintain and give clear roles to each of them. Anyone who experienced games where Mercy hid only to revive everyone after a “Team Death”, or who saw how poor Symmetra went back and forth between roles until she found a place in the world, will understand that these changes were achieved to make a much more offensive game, which, mind you, does not mean that there are no strategies as many claim, but rather that they propose different situations and how to react to them. Except for Doomfist, we all know that making him a tank was a mistake.

And if we notice, all of these have factors in common:

• Does the game look the same as before? Nostalgia, your mind remembers it differently.
• What Mercy brings back to life? Nostalgia, and you were probably that hidden Mercy.
• Bring back point capture maps? Nostalgia, but justified. I hate you Hanamura, but you didn’t deserve to die for our sins.

And yet, what Blizzard has been doing with Overwatch 2 It worries more than one player who has already invested his time in getting to know this world, its characters and its gameplay. His biggest mistake, and one he still drags around with, is wanting to make Overwatch a competitive game, hoping for a similar response to League of Legends Worlds, something that even Fortnite hasn’t been able to replicate. Could the game be that? Yes, but there was never any real interest from anyone involved and it just left us with unnecessary changes.

Not even my ex lied to me as much as Overwatch 2

The first of these, and the one that got all the players mad: removing the story mode. After receiving a couple of story mode missions, I have to admit that I was concerned about the way it was being handled. They were fun missions, but they lacked the essence of the game. While it allowed you to see the characters interacting and set up an interesting plot, the fact that you had to consult cinematics, books, and comics to find out how we got to see the heroes at this point, caused people to lose interest.

The result: The cancellation of the story mode, a game mode that people have really been longing to have since the last installment and that was the flagship for this sequel.

Let’s assume it’s not the end of the world for gamers, but it is for Blizzard’s ranks amid so many layoffs after the Microsoft acquisition. However, we add to that:

• There would no longer be level growth with skills for characters, whose system sounded purposeful and interesting.
• The cancellation of Hero Mastery mode, which no one played but will now exist incomplete as a reminder of its failure.
• We haven’t received any more story cinematics beyond when a character is introduced with their introductory story.
• Even something as simple as weapon inspection can now be obtained if you spend enough money to get it in “Mythic Weapons”.

The cataclysm of Overwatch 2 It is a class example of “How NOT to announce a game”, since users create expectations that never come true and, despite the fact that the game is now free, it causes a wave of comments and a negative perception in the community that has kept the game alive for years.

Is there a solution to get players back?

Now, Blizzard has been caught between a rock and a hard place and has decided to reverse one of the most controversial changes to the game: Initially, Overwatch (1) It was a 6v6 player game, starting Overwatch 2 The game became 5v5 players, removing the tank role, allowing for a more offensive game to be created again, wit
hout the need for so many shields or status ailments.

My personal preference? I enjoy the offensive game more. Overwatch 2 And having only 10 players in a game does give you better visibility of what is going on, as the 12-player game permeates the experience with visual contamination of everything that was happening at the time. However, I am aware that this has brought to the table a crucial factor in that people who play as a “Tank” have to be constantly changing characters to adapt their strategy and counter the opponent.

In part, the game is like this: You should always choose characters that counter the enemy and their abilities. The fact that there are 2 DPS and 2 Support gives them the possibility to complement each other and create synergies that the Tank has lost, turning the role into a central point on which the entire team depends and, if this does not change to counter the enemy, the team is lost.

Should Blizzard really bring back 6v6 mode? Yes. Even though this will be seen as another setback in Overwatch 2and it will bring both applause and complaints, the company has to stop seeing the franchise as a competitive game and treat it as an experience that players want to live and enjoy for its characters, its world and for what it all offers together.

It’s going to be hard to regain the trust of all the people who played, and their monetization system doesn’t help (Except for the Season Pass, which is usually very accessible… Except on PlayStation, which still pays in dollars for some reason). More collaborations, skins that are truly interesting (and that they stop charging real money for recolors of old skins), continuing to give the focus to the characters and making a more fun and less competitive game could turn around the resurgence of Overwatch as a franchise.

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