“Overwatch 2” is fundamentally different from its predecessor with its approach to battle. Its still a “shooter for people who don’t like shooters” with a heavy emphasis on world-building and characters stays strong, though.
Jess Howard, who previewed the game for GameSpot, also pointed out that the fresh gameplay had its drawbacks. “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,” she said. “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.”
CNET highlighted that immersiveness with an emphasis on voice lines as one of the “most surprising highlights” of the game, especially the ones that only play in odd scenarios. “I don’t want to ruin the joy of discovery, but try putting Kiriko and Wrecking Ball on the same team if you want to hear some of the funniest prematch voice lines. Moments like that are such small details, but they have an enormous influence on how immersive the game feels,” wrote reviewer Adam Benjamin.
So what’s the biggest sin with “Overwatch 2”? Unfortunately, critics are fairly unified on that too: the live service model.
