Overwatch 2 Critic Reviews

Overwatch 2 plays brilliantly. It’s a wonderful shooter full of depth, with unique heroes to master, maps to learn, and hours of your life to lose all over again.

Overwatch 2 doesn’t flip the formula the way you might expect a long-awaited, numbered sequel would. But through various clever tweaks, it’s a well-rounded evolution of the experience into which I’ve poured more than a thousand hours since 2016. I may never recreate the magic of those first few years in Overwatch, but Overwatch 2 is a big step towards restoring the faith in the franchise and has me thinking it’s time to pour a few more hundred hours into my favorite team-based shooter.

At launch, Overwatch 2 is a launchpad for something much, much grander. It’s rough around the edges, but the controlled chaos of the actual gameplay is right up my alley. Given the live service nature of the game, it’s something I’ll likely re-review every so often. Still, Overwatch 2 is in pretty great shape overall.

Overwatch 2 is so damn good. 5v5 has breathed life into the game, Junkerqueen, Sojourn, and Kiriko are a breath of fresh air, and the game’s new high pace suits its competitive nature perfectly. The new maps are insanely fun to play, albeit with some needing tweaking, and the new Push gamemode only enhances Overwatch 2’s core experience. The only downside comes from its cosmetic-locked, 9-week battle pass system, which will be costly to continually purchase.

A breath of fresh air for the Overwatch franchise, with the new game modes, characters, and mechanics all working together superbly well, for a genuinely exciting sequel.

Overwatch 2 represents the arrival of the foundational changes Blizzard's hero shooter needed in order to return to its former glory. While it's not perfect — few things ever are — the changes that the game makes to Overwatch's gameplay structure, progression systems, content release schedule, and presentation are absolutely stellar.

Overwatch 2 seeks a second chance from the community to be the "eSport of the decade". It has changes in the gameplay, in the competitive integrity, even aesthetic and sound changes but no matter what, it is one of the most exciting and adrenaline-filled shooting video games ever created.

Overwatch as a franchise has always felt like a child taking toys out of a box to hurriedly show you what’s next, breathless through excitement before switching to another. In that sense, Overwatch 2 is a bigger toy box, with a few more action figures and incredible new dioramas to pose them in. It’s definitely a variation on a theme rather than something wholly new, at least until the PvE component arrives in 2023, but what’s here has reignited my love for a world, its characters, and their stories in a way I didn’t know I’d missed. Whether it’ll be enough for the competitive crowd, though, remains to be seen.

Overwatch 2 is a worthy successor to the original Overwatch that doesn’t so much reinvent the wheel as it does improve upon it. While it does have its issues, the core gameplay and improved UI make for a fun and fully realized sequel.

Overwatch 2 is the change that Blizzard's shooter was crying out for. This one is ready to revolutionize the community and completely transform the image we had of Overwatch. His move to 'free to play' is a key element to attract more players, and other changes such as 5v5, the Battle Pass or the new characters are the perfect elements to keep them all.

Overwatch 2 is one of the best shooters of the year for obvious reasons. Its gameplay, competitiveness, extensive lore and huge fan base have made this second installment one of the biggest games of the next decade for Blizzard.

In overall balance-wise, I was able to feel the change from Overwatch to Overwatch2. Especially, 5 vs 5 match locking one tank successfully returned the game to a fast-paced battle in the early days while suppressing the existing tank meta. Though it is hard to say the balance between characters is perfect, I believe the game is going to provide fresh, joyful gameplay in each season.

A really good and extensive free-to-play sequel to the legendary hero shooter, which loses some of its character, but has been carefully renewed and fortunately not become too greedy.

While not revolutionizing the genre as its predecessor did, Overwatch 2 works thanks to a more modern competitive structure and is fun with its smoother gameplay.

This sequel is not revolutionary as the first chapter: it is simply what who wanted a more up-to-date PvP structure needed. The 5 vs 5 gameplay works and is smoother, but in the new era of the franchise seems like there is less space than before for casual or not competitive players.

If you loved Overwatch, there’s really no reason why you won’t enjoy continuing this journey. If you weren’t a fan, this isn’t going to change your mind. That said, if the first batch of heroes, modes, and maps were any indication, it at least looks like Overwatch 2’s new free-to-play seasonal content rotation is going to keep things interesting for a long time to come.

Where it counts, Overwatch 2 feels like a fantastic update to a multiplayer game with mechanics that enable thrilling skirmishes between teams of heroes. However, as a separate entity and sequel, it stumbles. Changes to the core gameplay are steps in the right direction, but it is surrounded by new points of friction where there previously were none. Thankfully, as a live-service game, things will be added or altered once Blizzard has more player feedback, so at the very least the studio has a strong foundation to build upon. There is plenty of good to be found in Overwatch 2 and in the heat of battle the intoxicating multiplayer dynamics that fans love are there to enjoy all over again. But if the first Overwatch taught me anything, it's to dream a bit bigger about what games can be, and there is still a bit more dreaming to be done here.

Overwatch 2’s switch to a 5v5 format breathes new life into what was once the sharpest shooter around. It just hasn’t quite recaptured all of that glory – yet.

Overwatch 2 restores the fantastic hero shooter by making it free for all to enjoy. Changes to multiplayer mechanics make gameplay even more enthralling and address annoyances with the original. Although, there are still valid concerns about hero balancing, UI overload, and the future of the battle pass model. While it may not feel like a true sequel without the promised PvE story mode, Overwatch 2 can potentially be the most popular shooter on the market.

A bold reinvention, Overwatch 2 is fun to play and has a variety of smart tweaks that reinvigorate the game and package it up for a new audience. While live service trappings like unlocking heroes through a battle pass are unwelcome distractions, once you’re bedded into this shooter, it’s hard to point to any other shooter that can deliver this much joy.