Overwatch 2 (PvP) Review - Blizzard FPS Doesn't Bring Cavalry

I've been itching to write a review of Overwatch 2 ever since Blizzard announced that their mainstream first-person shooter was getting a sequel. With an Overwatch tattoo and a passion for all things Widowmaker, the game has become a huge part of my personal and professional life, providing me with my first "big break" in gaming media. So, my expectations for Overwatch 2 are pretty high - not much different from the rest of the community.

Overwatch 2 will eventually contain a PvE game, but it won't arrive until 2023. For now, we will only be able to play a PvP game, and that's all I could get for it. review too. For me, PvE will be a major part of what Overwatch 2 makes or breaks, so I feel a little like I'm only looking at half of what the game has to offer. Until then, if you're after the wild thoughts of a once (almost) semi-pro player and avid Overwatch enthusiast, here's our Overwatch 2 PvP roundup.

The bigger, the better

Considering we haven't had any new heroes since omnic DPS Echo hit Overwatch 1 back in 2020, Overwatch 2's three new characters have brought attention to some of the game's other features.

Kiriko, a brash Japanese support hero who intertwines with the duo of Shimada Genji and Hanzo, is the first tier in the battle pass, so it's easy to unlock upon release. She is a lot of fun to play, especially as a main fighter. Her healing is very similar to Moira's; you hold the left mouse button and fire a series of healing tokens at allies. Right-clicking allows you to throw deadly ninja stars that can decapitate enemies with two shots, which is solid damage for a healer.

However, her ultimate is even more fun. Beautifully animated and incredibly powerful, Kiriko throws a stunning turquoise fox that races through a series of traditional torii gates, speeding up players and boosting their reload speed. Running into sites and bulldozing enemies has never been so much fun, so I can say that I will play lot Kiriko. She adds much-needed variety to a rather meager support pool - rejoice healers, Blizzard has listened.

There is one new map: Esperanza, a stunning Portuguese village nestled among forested mountains. Unfortunately, the map didn't show up in my pool at all during my limited play windows before release, but it looks promising, with tons of nooks and crannies as well as balconies and raised platforms perfect for snipers.

The future is now (sort of)

The other big addition to the game is the aforementioned Battle Pass, a series of unlockable rewards that give you everything from new heroes like Kiriko to a trendy new mythical skin for her fellow stealth master Genji. The Battle Pass is a decent price in my opinion considering how good most of the rewards are, but it doesn't do anything groundbreaking compared to any other. This should help prevent the content drought that ruined the first game, but battle passes have been a staple of service game monetization for several years now, with Fortnite popularizing the idea in 2017/18. Overwatch 2 brings the base game into the modern age of live services, but there's not much else to say beyond that.

It's a similar story when it comes to UI updates. You can now press Tab to see a scoreboard with kills, deaths, and assists, replacing the frustrating player cards at the end of Overwatch 1 games that simply tell you how many kills you've made without providing a full breakdown. There are also a lot more pings now, so you can quickly signal allies, just like you could in Apex Legends when it launched in 2019. It's nice to have these features, but again, there's nothing groundbreaking here - they just elevate the game. to speed up with your competitors.

PvP in Overwatch 2 usually looks like this; these are small tweaks to the base game that could really just be a major content patch. These are certainly nice changes, but nothing significant to really grab your attention.

Anyone with five stacks of DPS?

What grabs your attention is the fast-paced game - mostly because it's literally the only queue that unlocks from the start. Yes guys, you can't play the role queue until you've played five games in the open queue. While it doesn't seem like too much, the fact that you can't just dive in is a little annoying - I count the intent is to introduce people to the game gently, but this risks defeating its own purpose of providing a soft entry. There are no assigned roles in QP, so players can play however they want - you can have a team of five supports, five tanks, or five DPS. While it may sound funny, facing five stacked teams that are actually already playing their OTP roles is a nightmare and you'll be wiped out pretty quickly.

Then comes the flame - "you should have chosen Mercy rawr" and all that. If this was your first time playing Overwatch 2, I would forgive you for unplugging it from your PC and being done with it. Forcing people into an open queue only makes it more likely and I can't see what the benefit should be. This is an unwelcome change for old and new fans alike, and seems to completely defeat the purpose of the game. Blizzard's role queue forces you to think about which combinations work, which healer works best with Genji, or which tank works best with Eichenwald. Quick Play is a free mess and overall seems like a strange way to introduce you to the basics of the game.

I admit that the 5v5 change is a huge plus, especially for a DPS player. They force you to be more aggressive, but also ensure you're more strategic, especially as the new scoreboard will let your allies know if you're feeding. For healers, this presents more of a challenge than just pocket healing the tank, as they will take a lot of damage, but so will your DPS players. In addition, you will need to duck and dive in order not to accidentally get a head. It's a bit of an adjustment for tanks, but a lot of changes to both new and existing characters make the role powerful. There's nothing better than unleashing Junker Queen's ult on a group of unsuspecting DPS players - trust me.

Overwatch 2 in its current state is not bad, but not great either. An improved UI and battle pass puts it on par with rivals like Apex Legends and Valorant, and the addition of Kiriko adds much-needed spice to a long-forgotten supporting role. However, other than that, little has changed.

Overwatch 2 in its current state is not bad, but not great either. An improved UI and battle pass puts it on par with rivals like Apex Legends and Valorant, and the addition of Kiriko adds much-needed spice to a long-forgotten supporting role. However, other than that, little has changed.

In our first beta impressions, we said that Overwatch 2 felt more like a major update than a full-fledged sequel. Online sentiment said much the same. After a few more betas and some time on the review server, we haven't played anything to change our minds - and that's a little discouraging. PvP in Overwatch 2 is like Overwatch 1 with a few bells and whistles (and the annoying Open Queue system).

While I still hope that the PvE content will give the game the new life it needs, part of me is going to be disappointed - and that sucks. I should be excited, but I'm just "nope", possibly the worst emotion you can have over a new game.

Of course, the cavalry is here, but is it enough to revive Overwatch? Not only due to PvP display.