During BlizzCon 2019 gamers got a whole mountain of good news in the form of new game reveals. Sure some of these projects, like Diablo 4, are likely a few years out from release, but the spirits are high after this past weekend. Blizzard has been dominating the headlines with other announcements beyond new RPG sequels as well. Another major announcement, which was predictably leaked beforehand, was that the development team headed by Jeff Kaplan was indeed working on their own sequel, Overwatch 2.
At it’s core, Overwatch is a game about conflict and skill. Players vie for dominance on various maps using a stable of specialized heroes with their own unique abilities that completely alter the flow of battle. The shooter also features a wide array of different game modes that force teams of players to pick their heroes based on both match conditions and the choices their opponents make. It’s this mixture of strategic thinking and fast reflexes that makes high-level play appealing for fans. And Blizzard has managed to create a fairly unique fusion of shooter and MOBA that dominated the scene for a little while. Now the company is looking to recapture some of those days with a new version.
And with the launch of the sequel, the PvP aspect of the game is getting a huge overhaul. And it’s not just new heroes, maps and weapons that are changing the way the game is played. And don’t worry, all your favorite heroes will still be on the roster. The game is currently being designed to act as a replacement, or improvement, of the first game. As mentioned before, all maps and heroes from the first game make their return. New characters are confirmed as well, with at least two confirmed so far, although there has been no word on what other additions are coming. Sojourn and Echo are confirmed to be two of the new playable heroes.
Check out the new sequel in the gameplay trailer down below.
Those of you who have been paying attention to the rather crowded multiplayer shooter genre have noticed that Overwatch has fallen a bit since its meteoric rise to the top. It’s pretty easy to see why Blizzard would make this choice though. They wanted to shift the meta-game around a fair bit, in ways that a normal patch just cannot accomplish. There’s new maps, characters redesigns and other change coming for sure, but this sequel is more than just a fresh coat of paint.
It’s not just a mix of new multiplayer matches that offers a fresh start for the franchise. The sequel also infuses a variety of new singleplayer elements into the mix. There’s a full campaign now, on that can be played with friends. The new mode is also intermingled with a bunch of hero backstories too. These new PvE missions are called Hero missions. Hero missions are highly replayable co-op missions to go alongside the story missions you will be playing through with friends. Each hero in this new mode will have their own unique versions of their Ultimate, to distinguish them from multiplayer and adapt them to PvE a bit more fittingly.
What do you think about all of this? Let us know in the comments.
