Overwatch 2 preview – A simple update to the first opus?

Expected by all fans of the first opus, Overwatch 2 is becoming more and more desired and decides to finally get its head above water by launching its first beta for its multiplayer mode after long months without news from it. Seven years after the release of the first game, Overwatch 2 will it be a breath of fresh air for the license, or does it give the impression that it will only be a simple update of the 2016 version?

Preview conditions: We played the Overwatch 2 beta for a week, in order to have a complete opinion on what the software currently offers us. The preview was made on a PC equipped with an RTX 3060 and an I5 11300H.

Gameplay changes

Overwatch 2 is based on the same gameplay as its predecessor but with some small changes. First, we’re still on a Hero Shooter, but this time we no longer play 6 vs 6 but 5 vs 5which drastically changes the meta. Indeed, if on Overwatch first of the name the teams were composed of two tanks, two DPS, and two healers, because we had six players on each team. Today, going to five members means that each team loses a tank.

In itself, this makes the games much more dynamic than before, but as it stands it poses a lot of problems for some heroes who will end up being completely neglected by the community. Indeed, it is very difficult to play with a “secondary” tank like a D.Va, a Bouldozer, or a Chopper for example, because it could penalize our team because they do not allow us to protect our teammates as could. make a Reinhardt or an Orisa, which are always essential.

Especially since Orisa has undergone a change in her skills which has made her, perhaps, more powerful than before. Unlike Doomfist who went from DPS to Tank to overcome this problem of only one tank per team, but he is much less threatening than a Reinhardt and his shield who is still in top form since 2016.

Fact, the gameplay itself remains the same as in 2016 but with small balances on certain heroes, and changes on the composition of the teams. All of this makes us feel like we’re witnessing a big patch of the first Overwatch, even if it is always a pleasure to perceive. Fortunately, this second installment brings some new features to the multiplayer experience.

The “real” novelties of PvP

The biggest novelty of this beta is the arrival of the new character, Sojurn. The latter is actually a heroine in the DPS category, because there are never enough of them, who arms herself with her assault rifle and slides across the entire playing field. Its gameplay is very similar to that of Soldat 76, the Soldier’s race is replaced by a slide which allows you to propel yourself in the air, and the rockets by a laser shot, but that would be to quibble. That said, Sojurn is very fun and easy to learn.

We hope thatOverwatch 2 will be filled with new characters by the release, especially with the arrival of at least one new Tank, so as not to always end up with both even on the battlefield. In terms of novelty, we also had the opportunity to play on four new maps, Midtown, New Queen Street, Colosseo, and Circuit Royal. In addition, some existing maps switch from day to night, and from dusk to dawn. This allows to bring a small wind of freshness which is welcome. Especially since a new game mode has appeared on some of the new locations.

The Pressure mode on certain symmetrical type maps such as Colosseo or New Queen Street, allows you to have a new goal to achieve to win the game, in which you have to take control of a robot located in the middle of the map and move it to the enemy base. But each team has the opportunity to take control of this robot. In fact, the goal is to bring the robot as far as possible to win. Besides being really fun, it’s probably one of the best game modes that Blizzard could offerbecause it’s one of the few where you’re both defender and attacker, which means that each team has the same chance of winning the game.

And finally, the game updates with a new graphics engine and changes to HUD to make it clearer about the information it gives us. The new graphics are pleasing to the eye, without necessarily being the “Wow effect”, and this helps to update Overwatch with very nice shadows and cleaner effects, especially with regard to the lighting. In addition, the heroes also have a visual change, or in any case will have, because it is true that the difference was not felt, and one wonders if it was indeed activated during this beta. To note that, you keep your cosmetics from the first opustherefore, if you put on your favorite skin, the metamorphosis of the characters will be anecdotal to you.