All support characters now self-heal passively, making them far more survivable. Heroes who could stun opponents (Brigitte, Cassidy, Mei, et al.) no longer have their crowd-control abilities. Much of the original roster has been altered in some way. New hero Kiriko can summon a spirit fox that buffs her teammates as they charge forward to an objective. Others will have to play dozens of matches to eventually unlock her, watching from the sidelines as a subset of the audience gets to play the support character. All three are exciting new additions to the world of Overwatch, but Kiriko represents a new wrinkle for players: Only those who pay for the game’s premium battle pass will get instant access to her. New support character Kiriko combines the fast-paced action of Overwatch’s Genji with the ability to heal and teleport through walls. Junker Queen, a towering tank who, like all Australian Overwatch characters, summons Mad Max comparisons, also brings team buffs and aggression to the roster. One is Sojourn, the series’ first playable Black woman character, who brings a railgun and high mobility to the damage group. Overwatch 2 carries over the entire roster from the first game, and introduces three new heroes. But new heroes, new maps, a new gameplay mode, and other changes both superficial and consequential at least make Overwatch 2 feel… different. Blizzard has promised those features will come later. Overwatch 2 arrives without the biggest selling points touted at its reveal: “a complete story experience” and “highly replayable” cooperative hero missions.
Overwatch 2 may not earn its “2” - branding it Overwatch 2.0 might have felt more apt - but it does earn its “early access” launch designation. Instead, it’s a thorough overhaul and replacement of the 2016 game, now with free-to-play economic underpinnings to support its continued development. Because Overwatch 2 is not a sequel in the conventional sense.
When Blizzard Entertainment revealed Overwatch 2 to the world nearly three years ago, then-game director Jeff Kaplan, the man who shepherded the original Overwatch from failed MMO to dominant hero shooter, said the team hoped to “redefine what a sequel means.” Kaplan, beloved by the Overwatch community, was believably optimistic.īlizzard has certainly redefined what a sequel means with Overwatch 2, but not in the way that Kaplan had seemingly envisioned.
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