Review: Overwatch 2 – Same Great Game with Some Major Changes

By Brandon Clark

The long-awaited sequel to Blizzard Entertainment’s 2016 hit game, Overwatch, is finally out, bringing a new free-to-play model, game modes, characters, maps, and two fundamental changes that impact gameplay. Read on to see how the developers have changed the game’s dynamic while remaining true to its roots. 

The first Overwatch featured two teams of six – typically, two tanks, two support, and two assault-class characters. For the sequel, Blizzard chose to remove one of the tanks from each team and, in doing so, forced players to change how they approach matches.

Tanks are responsible for staying close to the payload, dealing damage, and keeping the team moving forward. Tanks have more health than other classes, but some characters are better at soaking up damage than others, such as Winston’s dome shield. Others, like Hana Song, aka D. Va, are more suited to dishing out damage up close and personal. 

Two tanks allowed players to keep one tank with the group, protecting the payload, while the other could rain down suppressive fire. Now, tank-obsessed players will have to think twice before breaking away from the group and leaving them exposed. Teams will need to choose their strategy carefully between the two tank types.

While this is a significant change to what Overwatch players are used to, it does not break away from the series' core gameplay – strategy-based teamwork. Overwatch 2, like its predecessor, is not a team deathmatch-based game where the victory goes to the team with the most eliminations. Instead, teams win by working together to push the payload to the other end of the map. Removing a player from each team does not change this but instead forces more cooperation and strategy between teammates. 

Admittedly, this takes away from the frantic firefights of the original. However, Overwatch veterans can still play with two teams of six players in a private lobby through the custom games option. 

If this was not enough of a change for hardcore Overwatch fans, what comes next may not sit well with some players. Several beloved characters have had their abilities changed – from minor tweaks to near-total skillset changes. The most notable is the complete rework of Bastion. Here is what has happened to the famous tank buster:

• Sentry and tank configurations have been removed
• Self-repair has been removed.
• Gained a new Assault configuration where Bastion transforms into a tank that can fire his minigun while moving. The ability lasts six seconds, has a 12-second cooldown, and provides infinite ammo.
• Gained the A-36 Tactical Grenade ability, which sticks to enemies and provides moderate knockback
• New Artillery Ultimate fires three artillery shells anywhere on the map, causing 200 damage per shell.

These changes have elicited strong feelings within the Overwatch community. Human_Sack on Reddit wrote, “Self-healing being taken away, a seemingly nerfed ultimate, and the turret mode getting a 40% damage reduction isn’t made up for by a new grenade ability and movement in turret mode IMO, but we’ll see where the balance leads.”

Other characters, like pyro-maniac Junkrat, have only had minor balance issues tweaked. Junkrat's projectile size has been increased from 0.2 to 0.25, making it slightly easier for players to hit their opponents. In addition, a slight damage and movement action increase to his Steel Trap makes the ability more useful. Still, it does not change how players use him.

TheBigMcTasty defended the changes on Reddit, proclaiming, "Bastion gets bouncing grenades? Every hero can be improved by adding a little bit of Junkrat."

Overwatch 2 is a great game that checks all the right boxes of its predecessor. The visuals are more vibrant, and character voice lines and animations are sharper, all while staying true to the core gameplay. Only time will tell if Blizzard's changes will be enough to turn off veteran players.