Update May 10, 2022
I tried out the latest changes to the Overwatch 2 beta. Honestly it doesn’t feel any different, though Zenyatta’s new melee feels amazing. I had a lot of fun booping bots to a platform that they can’t get back from. Soldier’s 76 crit scan ultimate change felt pretty great too. I think Overwatch 2 is in a good spot for a decent number of their characters and I can’t wait to see what changes are made before launch. Hopefully we won’t have much longer to wait for it to launch.
Overwatch Update May 5, 2022
Blizzard released an update for Overwatch 2 beta today. In it is a number of changes to characters, some nerfs like Soldier 76’s running speed and some buffs, like Zenyatta’s knockback melee. The original post was made before this update and I will probably write about it again on or around May 17th when the beta ends with my final opinion on how Overwatch 2 feels.
Original Post
It’s been three years since Overwatch 2 was officially announced at BlizzCon 2019. This week they finally put out a beta for the game. Overwatch 2 is not the traditional sequel, however. Overwatch will be entirely replaced with Overwatch 2 and everyone who currently owns Overwatch will get the PVP for the sequel for free. It’s an interesting model and one I could see more games doing in the future, especially Grand Theft Auto, since GTA: Online would more than likely be updated to the new city and engine once GTA6 comes out.
With Overwatch 2 having a new engine and updated visuals, the game looks great. All of your skins from the first game carried over to the beta, so seeing them with a fresh coat of paint makes them look like they’re brand new. The old maps being seen at different times of day also make them feel new, even though they’re the same ones you’ve been playing for six years. The game also sounds better. Guns sound like they are taken out of the real world and is an welcome change.
How Overwatch 2 Feels
Visuals are great, but they don’t make or break a game, so how does Overwatch 2 feel? That is complicated to say the least. It feels different than the first, but how could it not? When you go from a 12 person game of 6 vs 6 to a 10 person game of 5 vs 5, it’s going to feel much different. Almost every character was reworked in some way, so they don’t play identical to how they used to play. Some of these changes include Orisa no longer having a shield and Reinhardt being able to throw two fireballs instead of just one.
When it comes to actually playing characters, something feels off to say the least. It could be a high ping issue, I don’t think we saw a ping below 300, so that could absolutely be the issue here, it could also be a bug in the game. When I was shooting the ceiling with Soldier 76, it looked like not all of his shots were visually hitting. I admit I am not the best at the game, however a lot of times it felt as though my shots weren’t even hitting the other team right in front of me. Since this is a beta on top of the high ping, it was hard to determine if there was something off with how I was aiming, a bug, or the high ping that was the issue.
The Push
Overwatch 2’s big feature for me was the new Push mode. In it you have one robot you need to take control of and have it push your barrier to somewhere on the map, if the other team gets control of it, they then go to their barrier and begin pushing it. The team who’s barrier is further along is the winner. It’s a really fun mode and probably my favorite mode in the game. The robot is so cute as well, last week I tried to find a 3d model so I could print one, but nothing came up, hopefully soon one will be available. My one gripe about the mode is that there’s a time limit. Even though games would be very long, I think that it should go on until one of the barriers reaches the destination.
Overall I am excited for the game, hopefully whatever the issue is with the aiming and shooting is fixed, but if it’s a ping issue, then that should be gone when it launches. There’s at least one other beta this year and no release date announced yet, for all we know this could be the first game released under Microsoft’s ownership. Either way, when it comes out I will definitely be playing it.
