Is Overwatch 2 A Good Game?
Overwatch 2 has been a hot topic ever since the cancellation of the PVE event. Although there will still be story missions, they will be limited, and all the progress they promised us since 2019 has been swept off the table. Since Overwatch 2 is controversial at the moment, it’s easy to call it a bad game and move on. However, Overwatch 2 does have some saving qualities that make it not bad or good but rather mediocre.
10. New Content
The new content in 2023 has been consistent—more consistent than it has been in previous years. Although the Battle Pass seasons take way too long and need to be tighter and quicker, at least new content is being added to the game multiple times a year. The problem is the quality of the new content.
New content is not cosmetics. Blizzard is so focused on cosmetics that there aren’t enough innovations or new ideas to keep players entertained. The biggest thing they’ve done so far is Starwatch, which was disappointing because of how unfair it felt and how few heroes there were to choose from. It felt more like a skin promo than a game mode, which especially sucked because of how interesting the concept was.
Overall, it’s a step in the right direction that more content is coming out; however, the content takes too long to get here, and it’s normally disappointing at best. For that reason, the new content drags Overwatch 2 down. Other than a few hits, the new content is generally not the best part of the game.
9. Voice Acting
One thing you can’t deny is how incredible the voice acting is in Overwatch 2. Every actor does an amazing job making their characters come to life. Even unlikable heroes, like Kiriko and Sojourn, have solid actors who do the best with the material they’ve been given. Every performance is unique and perfectly captures the attitude and personality of the character.
There are some heroes that gamers love playing simply because of their voice lines. For example, gamers love Sombra because of how she talks when she gets eliminations. It sounds like a trivial thing, but it adds to the immersion in the game and breathes life into the world of Overwatch.
Although the voice acting doesn’t impact the gameplay directly, it does massively improve a gamer’s love of the game. The cocky voice lines after eliminations, the dynamic interactions between heroes, and the fun personalities you get to see make the voice acting in Overwatch 2 a solid reason why it has the potential to be a good game.
8. Lack Of Care
Overwatch 2 is run by a company that doesn’t care, which has been proven with the recent PVE cancellation. The entire justification for Overwatch 2’s existence was the giant PVE update; however, they canceled most of the interesting ideas in PVE. For the past few years, Blizzard barely touched Overwatch under the pretense that they were devoting all their time to Overwatch 2.
Gamers already didn’t trust Blizzard, but after the cancellation, it’s even worse. The cracks are showing in every aspect of the game. It’s one thing when a developer tries something new but fails, and it’s entirely different when a developer repaints an old idea and ships it. For example, most of the game modes they’ve come up with are reskins of old concepts. This includes, but is not limited to, Battle For Olympus and Starwatch.
The lack of effort is showing, not to mention how long it takes for changes to come in. Roadhog isn’t getting a rework until at least season 7, but he desperately needs it now. It’s like Blizzard doesn’t care enough to speed the project up. Blizzard isn’t a small company; they’re a massive corporation with the resources to make Overwatch a great game, so why don’t they? The lack of care is dragging Overwatch 2 down into the gutter.
7. Hero Balance
There are some heroes who are perfectly balanced, while there are others who are not. The problem is that these heroes have been imbalanced for months without any change. It took Blizzard a million years to rework Brig’s ult. Not her entire kit, not her primary fire, not her healing mechanism, but her ultimate.
There will never come a point in time where every single hero is balanced; considering metas change all the time, there will always be weak heroes and strong heroes. However, the issue is the quantity of heroes that aren’t balanced and how long it takes Blizzard to fix them. Sombra and Roadhog have needed reworks for a long time, and it took Blizzard too long to deal with Sojourn.
Hero balance is imperative to the game’s gameplay. If heroes remain overpowered for too long, it can make the game feel unfair. The same applies to heroes who are not receiving much love. Due to some kits, there are heroes who are going to always be lower on the totem pole; however, that doesn’t mean they have to completely suck. Thanks to that, the hero balance, when good, can make the game great, but when bad, it can make the game suck.
6. Customization
Customization is solid in Overwatch 2. Although they got lazy with skins by the end of Overwatch 1’s run, they’ve done some interesting skin ideas, like the Invisible Man for Cassidy. The picture above, the Infinite Seer, is another great skin and arguably one of Mercy’s best skins (which is saying something).
The mythic skins are disappointing. They’re a cool concept, but the execution is poor. Why bother with a customizable skin if the customization is so limited that there aren’t many big differences? You can change Kiriko’s hair, yippee. Games don’t need the customization to be grand, but having more options would be nice, especially with the weapons since that’s what you see during gameplay.
For example, Kiriko’s skin is fantastic overall. The new voice lines are solid, the highlight intro is cool, and the design is elegant. However, Kiriko has two weapons. Why can’t you change the individual weapon? Why do you have to change both at the same time? For example, there are two sets of weapons: set A and set B. If you like the kunai of set A better than the healing ofuda of set B, you’re out of luck because you can’t mix and match the sets. Why?
5. Variety
If there’s one thing Overwatch 2 doesn’t lack, it’s variety. No matter what type of gamer you are, there is a hero for you in Overwatch 2. There are so many different heroes with unique kits and play styles that you’re going to find someone who fits what you want in a game. Not only are there three classes, but there are classes within those classes, such as flankers for DPS and off-tanks for tanks.
Overwatch 2 does have its positives, and variety is one of them. You can play as a healer, a defender, a classic tank, a damage-heavy hero, and more. Every new hero Blizzard adds brings new kits to the table. No matter what, there is someone for you to play with in Overwatch.
Thanks to its variety, Overwatch has redeeming qualities that don’t make it a bad game. The variety bumps it up more, and as long as the future heroes keep up the variety, it’ll stay a positive thing.
4. Player Environment
It’s impossible to review Overwatch 2 without looking at the player environment. The environment is atrocious at best. If you’re a woman, you’re going to receive nasty comments on a daily basis. Although this is unfortunately true for many PvP games, Overwatch 2 has it worse than others. In general, Overwatch 2’s player environment is extremely toxic, making it not fun to play.
Yes, you can turn off chat and leave the voice channel, but that doesn’t stop you from getting messages from angry teammates or enemies. The reality of gaming is that you are going to meet angry people, but it shouldn’t be to the extent that it is in Overwatch. If you play Overwatch, especially competitively, you’re going to hear toxic comments on a daily basis.
Blizzard has tried to crack down on the toxicity, but they’ve actually made it worse and hurt the possibility of people finding friends. There’s no more time after the match to sit and chat with teammates. Yes, it can end the toxicity early, but it doesn’t matter because gamers are already hearing it during the game. During the game, it’s hard to talk casually, which is why the after-game time mattered so much.
There are more examples of why Blizzard hasn’t done a great job cracking down on toxicity, but that’s one of the biggest ones. Thanks to the toxic environment, Overwatch can be a difficult game to play.
3. Music
It’s easy to complain about the things Overwatch 2 does wrong, but what about music, the thing Overwatch always nails? The music in Overwatch is incredible. Almost every new track is a banger. Even though Overwatch players aren’t big fans of the Midtown map, they enjoy the music when loading in and praise the composer who made it.
You’ll hear great music every time you open Overwatch, which makes you excited to play. Back in Season 3, there was this one slow track I used to sit back and listen to before playing the game. It was calming, almost like a track straight out of Blade Runner. Like the heroes, the music has variety that makes it interesting and fun to listen to.
Overwatch has a very distinct sound with an incredibly recognizable theme song that gives it a reputation. The music is iconic, the new music being added is just as solid as the original tracks, and everyone has confidence that the music will continue to be good. Thanks to the music, Overwatch has an engaging environment you can sit back and listen to.
2. Matchmaking
Here comes the big one: matchmaking. For months, gamers have been complaining about the imbalanced matchmaking. There is no reason for lower-ranked players to be playing in a high-ranked lobby in a competitive match. Even in quick play, it’s unfair. Every game doesn’t have to be perfectly balanced because that’s nearly impossible to do, but Blizzard can’t even get the basics right.
It’s not fair for lower- and higher-ranked players to be matched with each other. It ruins the game before it starts, making it less fun. Video games are supposed to be fun, but the matchmaking problems are dragging down the current state of Overwatch.
When you do get a balanced match, the game is fun. Unfortunately, the matchmaking problems are still an issue and will continue to be an issue for some time. When matchmaking is fixed, it will significantly improve the quality of Overwatch 2.
1. PvP
The gameplay itself is obviously the biggest factor in how good a game is. The PvP in Overwatch, when working smoothly, can be fun. Since there is plenty of variety in the game, you’ll face and play with different team compositions. There are some game modes, like Push, that are pretty rough. However, in general, Overwatch 2’s gameplay is pretty fun.
Unfortunately, the game has to actually work in order to be fun. Server connection has been a big issue for the past few weeks, and it seems as though it’s never going to stop. It starts, then stops for a week, then starts again. PC players don’t have as big of an issue with this, but console players do.
All that aside, the gameplay is fun, especially when you have a game where you don’t have toxic teammates and you get a map you like. Those games are the best. When the game is balanced, there are no toxic players, and you have a stable connection, Overwatch can give you some of the most fun you’ve ever had in a video game, which is why the PvP in the game is overall solid.
