Blizzard Entertainment fails to watch over gamers as release creates online logjam, techno frustration

The newest release by Blizzard Entertainment has proven quite divisive, to say the least. Overwatch 2 offers up a rebrand of the original Overwatch, a critically acclaimed title with a score of 8/10 from IGN and a 7/10 from Nintendo Life. How effective has this rebranding proven? Has it improved the formula of Overwatch?

Originally revealed at Blizzcon 2019, Overwatch 2 showed a glimpse of what was to come with a new map and game mode. The game would be stuck in development for several more years, however, and wouldn’t get its first beta until April 2022. It was also revealed later that the game would make the switch to free to play, meaning more people would have access and could skip over the preexisting paywall. 

Although the game was announced to be in development in 2019, it has been theorized that it was worked on prior to that. Going into the initial redesign, developers knew that they had to change multiple aspects. In the previous installment, Overwatch held a prominent fanbase until things fell apart with a character, Bridgette, that led to the downfall of the original game. The developers, learning from their mistakes, decided to highly downgrade Bridgette and also made some changes so the game would be more well-rounded. The biggest of these changes was the decision early on to switch the competitive and quick play setup to one with a single  tank character instead of two. When it rolled around to the betas, this was seen as an exciting new change and definitely helped garner excitement for the launch of the game.

On release day, the public was excited to finally play Overwatch 2, but things soon took a turn when few would actually get that opportunity. While trying to get into the game, players were put into queues of nearly 50,000 people. Many weren’t even able to get into the game, and those who did get in would be kicked out after a match or two. Another problem was DDoS (or Distributed Denial of Service) attacks that were rampant. DDoS attacks occur when someone uses multiple accounts that are controlled by bots to overload a server and cause it to experience severe traffic that could slow down or even crash the server. These problems made it nearly impossible to play Overwatch 2 on the first two days of its release. 

On top of that, players coming from the original Overwatch were trying to merge accounts so they could transfer gear from the first game to the second, but several players were having issues. These issues caused Overwatch 2 to get very negative reviews right out of the gate because people couldn’t play. Thankfully, after a few days of working on the game and being put in periods of time where the servers were shut down temporarily, the developers were able to get the game to a state where players could actually, well, play it. 

For the title itself, Overwatch 2 is very similar to the original in terms of gameplay. Now, this isn’t necessarily bad, as the original had a very well-designed gameplay that was fun and interactive, so the fact that not much was changed isn’t very surprising. 

So, if the gameplay wasn’t really changed, what was? Graphically, the game got an overhaul and altogether looks good, appearing even better when compared to the original. The new game also gives each character (not including the newer ones) a redesign. Some of these redesigns kept classic features for characters like Cole Cassidy, Ana, Winston, and Mei, while other characters like Bastion, Reinhardt, Lucio, and Junkrat sport a different look. 

Yet, that was not the only change made: multiple characters got reworks and new elements added to them. One of which was Bastion, a robot made to fight but who defected to follow his curiosity about nature. Bastion no longer was able to become a stationary turret, but rather a turret on wheels. This also led to his ultimate (an ultimate being the character's strongest move that is charged up throughout the match) being changed with it now being Bastion shooting up to three artillery shells from the sky. The developers also gave Bastion a grenade to replace his healing abilities. Another change was to Doomfist, going from an offensive character to a tank, causing his health to increase quite a bit but his damage being reduced. The final character that got major changes was Orisa; Orisa is now much more offensive with her move “halt” (the orb of energy that would grab enemies together) being replaced with a new energy javelin that she throws at her foes. 

Besides the changes the game makes to returning characters, Overwatch 2 also has added some new characters. Some of those aforementioned new characters include Sojourn (who was a member of the group Overwatch at one point before it ended), Junker Queen (the Queen of Junkertown, which is the same place the characters Roadhog and Junkrat are from), and Kiriko. When it comes to gameplay, each of these new characters bring something never before seen to the world of Overwatch to the table. Sojourn has a railgun that fires very fast and builds up a meter for her high-impact shots that do big damage against enemies, Junker Queen uses an ax that causes a bleeding effect to those she hits it with, and Kiriko’s gameplay is split into two different parts: her Ofuda, which are papers that heal allies, and her kunai, which she throws at enemies.

All in all, Overwatch 2 is a very enjoyable experience. The issues that plagued the launch were not particularly amazing, and there are still some issues that torment the game like server errors and failed connections, which could be seen as reasons not to play it. However, the game is still, at its core, Overwatch.

The game is as, if not more, fun than the original. Yet, it still gets bogged down by some of the more technical issues that plague the game.

Grade: B

By Jacob Stinski

Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue II

October 31 2022