Blizzard isn’t an unknown studio by any means. They are responsible for some very influential and critically acclaimed games. It has been a while however since the studio came up with a game that isn’t based on any of their existing I.Ps. Insert Overwatch a new I.P. from Blizzard that’s in a genre they have never tackled before in a style very unlike any of their other works. A team-based first-person shooter is a departure from their previous ventures. Should Blizzard stick with what they know or is this new frontier one they will also conquer?

The world needs heroes.

While the main focus of the game is objective based multiplayer with no single player in sight, Overwatch does have a slight narrative. Overwatch was a special task force which recruited people from all over the world with special skills to fight in an event called the Onmic Crisis. The Omnic Crisis revolves around an AI uprising that threatened the world. All these events are in the past however and the tiny strands of the narrative that Overwatch clings on is one of the members restarting the Overwatch initiative due to violence and corruption in the world. None of this is really explained other than the game’s intro. It’s a narrative that for a game like this is enough of an excuse for things to be like they are. Still it would have been nice if the game had a lore or bio section explaining its world. Instead, Blizzard chose to tell its characters story in animated shorts and comics outside of the game. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t any world building or exposition in the game itself. Characters will comment on objects and locations on the map and each other. This does a well enough job fleshing out the stages and the history the characters share. It’s not always lore building the character do, as some conversations the characters have before a match can just be about the tools they use or small talk. This gives these colorful personalities even more character and depth. All of the heroes have their own quirks and personas which will make players like a certain character without them even wanting to play as them. Overwatch doesn’t spin an interesting, deep or necessarily interesting yarn but its in-game world building trough off-hand remarks make the feel like it does have some history.

Blizzard magic at its best.

Two teams of six are pitted against each other in objective-based games. Every player has to select a character out of four archetypes, offense, defense, tank and support. Each type has around five heroes at launch and all of them play vastly different. The player will have a weapon, two abilities and an ultimate ability that fills up as the match goes on and gets filled faster when certain conditions are met. The variety in the characters is  great and they all have different abilities and ways to play. Most characters can even venture outside of their designated classes.

There are offensive characters that can do a decent job of healing allies or support classes that can go on the offensive for instance. This gives Overwatch a level of freedom that’s rarely seen in class-based games. Every character is fairly easy to understand and play with, playing optimally with them however takes some practice and skill. A balanced team has an easier time winning games but even if the team lacks a tank or medic if they play well enough they can still win. Blizzard made the conscious choice to limit the abilities to mainly two to keep things from getting complicated. These abilities can be something as simple as a roll, to avoid attacks or being able to rewind your character back to where they were five seconds ago. To avoid spamming, every ability has a certain cooldown.

Then there is the ultimate ability. When the bar reaches one hundred percent the player gets the option of using a special and extremely helpful move that’s sure to be able to turn the most tide of battle. Once used the abilities need to recharge before the player can use them again.

Overwatch is an absolute blast to play. Everything controls so smooth and feels perfect. The speed, aiming, abilities, Blizzard nailed every aspect of it. It is a pretty fast game and there can be a lot going on at once but never does it really feel disorienting. Shooting other players feels good and every ability is fun to use. Every character in the game is enjoyable. And while players may drift towards or away from certain characters, if they would have to play a certain character it wouldn’t be that much of a problem. The maps all have a lot of visual variety and are designed in such a way that every class has more than enough options to devise different routes and strategies. If there is anything Overwatch is lacking it are gamemodes. As of launch, there are only three different gametypes.

There is Control in which both teams fight for control of a fixed point on the map, best out of three and after every victory changes to different sections of the map. Assault sees one team defend two capture points while the other attacks. Once the first zone is under the attacking team’s control they can advance to the second point. Once both are captured the attacking team wins, with the enemy team winning when the timer runs out. Lastly, there is Escort in which the attacking team must capture a certain point and then escort a payload across the map with checkpoints resetting time. All three gamemodes are map specific and fun but it’s doing the same thing over and over. It is weird considering the variety you get from playing different characters. While Blizzard has stated new maps are coming there aren’t any plans to add gametypes. Things might change in the future but that’s an uncertainty. There is a playlist called Weekly Brawl which changes every week and changes the rules considerably. The game just feels amazing to play from a control standpoint and there is so much effort put into everything to make the game as enjoyable as it can. And that it is.

A marble on a technical level.

Overwatch is a visually pleasing game. Its art style allows for a lot of vibrant colors and visually pleasing shapes and designs. Characters look great and none of them look out of place. Characters animate well and there is a special amount of care put into the sound direction. Every character makes distinct noises rather it be their voice, footsteps or equipment. Pretty soon players will be able to know what enemies are in their vicinity with their eyes closed. These auditory queues help you out immensely and players you have specific problems with will actually be louder. It’s a clever technique that subconsciously helps out players.

The level progression system in the game is so that every time the player levels up they will get a box with five random cosmetic items in them. These cosmetics range from skins and quotes to poses and sprays. Players can buy the items they want with in-game currency they can receive trough the boxes or if they obtain duplicated of items from the boxes. This sets up a problem, though. Players will have to wait and hope for either their item to drop or enough currency to buy it. Some players might have to wait as much as twenty level before they could buy their preferred cosmetics. There is an option to buy more boxes trough real-world money but again these drops are random and completely up to the random  number generator. On the bright side, leveling goes extremely fast so chances are you might be able to get what you want quickly.

There aren’t any real tracks in Overwatch. Most music is just short tunes played when maps are loaded or the play of the game is shown. With the play of the game always happening at the end of the match it’s a good thing that the track used for it is great. It’s very heroic when the player does something extraordinary and manages to make funny Play Of The Games that much funnier. The voice acting is solid for the most part. All the characters in the game do a certain lackluster moba quality to it when they really need to deliver a line. Certain lines are delivered with an amount of disinterest or arrogance that feels like they don’t really match the character and there are some unlockable quotes that reference certain things in cringeworthy ways. Overwatch does not only look good but there is a great amount of detail that’s been put in the audio and visuals that benefit the player well in games, that special props should be given to Blizzard’s sound and visual departments.

Closing note:

Blizzard nailed it once again with Overwatch. As of release the game is light but the amount of characters and strategies one can come up with is more than enough to engage players for a very long time. And that’s not even keeping in account the fact that more free content is on the way. Overwatch is an absolute thrill to play. The game feels smoother than butter ever will and the variety is huge. Overwatch sets up a simple plot as an excuse for the event that unfolds and doesn’t focus on it any more than the bare minimum. It does a great job of adding small details into its world to give it some more character. The heroes themselves are all fun to play as there is enough to unlock to give them your own personal touch. The general uselessness of the micro transactions make them feel a bit cheap but other than that Blizzard nails the presentation. The amount of care and detail that was put in the visuals and sound to actually benefit the gameplay is remarkable and respectable. Blizzard made a gem of a game that’s in there for the long haul. Expect to play Overwatch for many many years to come.

9/10