Games Like Overwatch 2

The Detonators appeared in the Uprising seasonal event. However, there are some notable differences between the image and the Uprising models, and Uprising's titular PvE mode reenacted an event predating both Overwatch and Overwatch 2. So it's unclear what this new Omnic's role will be, if not flying towards enemies and blowing up like a Detonator. Perhaps it's a healer? Maybe another grenade-tossing drone? Who kn

I love this screen. It’s slick, colourful, and showcases how good I am at certain characters. I will say that I am not a Lucio main by choice, but largely because my team would be ruined without me healing their asses on a constant basis. All the usual customisation options for analysing your stats can be found here alongside statistics and challenges. It’s a shame that a lot of tasks have carried over from the first game instead of starting afresh, meaning your main source of progression this time around is the battle pass and not much else. Speaking of!

The cosmetic menu has also received some cool updates, making it much easier to navigate and understand. Bold text is used to distinguish categories while a single glance at the menu is enough to see exactly what you have equipped at any given time. Seeing all of my unlocks transfer over to Overwatch 2 was also a sad reminder of how much time I’ve poured into this series. My accounts haven’t even combined yet either, so I promise you I have more than 14 D.Va skins to my name. All the voice lines unlocked too, I am dedicated to my girl.

In the absence of playing any actual games in Overwatch 2 Events 2, I had a decent amount of fun staring at its menus as the search time for a match moved into the double digits. There was a weird smugness to seeing the years of work I put into the first entry immediately reflected in the updated client, which to me looks slicker and better presented than anything that came before it.


Yet, rather than have one team focus on defending an area while another attacks, this mode will present an equal, pendulum-swinging playing field, centered around a large robot that can be moved by teams controlling the zone near it. Each team will also be given a barricade, which the bot will push towards the opponent's s

Overwatch 2 is a strange game to review. It’s a free-to-play live-service experience that depends on a consistent audience to find games and progress through its battle pass. As you might have already guessed, there were only so many games journalists in the world to populate its servers as we rocketed towards the embargo. Thus I am left in a bit of a pickle.


The tank-like Artillery unit is already an intimidating adversary based on how Blizzard describes it in the BlizzConline video. It's a four-legged monster of an Omnic that can rain a barrage of small missiles and fire a charged-up duo of large rockets. There's little need to make this a more intimidating advers


Put it this way: I’m a Reinhardt main. I want to use my shield to close distances and control engagements. When I spot an opening, my job as main tank is to communicate that to the rest of the team so we can push forward as a unit. Ideally, the engagement process will go smoothly and I’ll have a support player keeping me healthy while I swing my Rocket Hammer as if I’m a massive, precision-engineered beyblade. I’ll synchronize my Earthshatter with a DPS ult so we can team kill and lock down the po

Basically, I don’t think a fixed, single-player campaign is going to work for Overwatch 2, if that’s what Blizzard is currently planning. On the flip side, a robust hero shooter with an emphasis on cooperative play could do phenomenally well. I’m thinking of Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer, where you get to choose a type of enemy, a map, and a difficulty. After that you consciously work with your teammates to take on waves of baddies while completing a variety of objectives. It’s so simple, and yet so effective, because the moment-to-moment satisfaction is completely tied to using your abilities. I still think playing as an Asari Vanguard in Mass Effect 3 was the most fun I’ve ever had in a multiplayer game - it’s a shame BioWare isn’t bringing it back for Mass Effect: Legendary Edit

There’s a few new options - most notably the presence of an in-game shop and battle pass. Loot boxes are gone for good, with premium currency and seasonal progression now used to earn skins and other cosmetics. Time will tell whether this model works, but Blizzard isn’t shy about putting it front and centre. Aside from that everything here is basically the same, and that includes graphical settings and other such options that I forgot to take screenshots of before being locked out of the review build. Trust me on this one.

I haven’t played enough of the game to judge its new direction and updated mechanics, thus placing a score on the experience doesn’t only feel unfair, but unprofessional. But what I can do is admire the sexy menus and slick user interface, since I don’t need any friends to lose myself in the cauldron of stats, modes, and heroes that make up the logistical majority of Blizzard’s hero shooter sequel. A real review is coming, but for now this will have to do.