Overwatch 2 is a team-based PvP shooter where teams of 5 heroes, each with entirely unique abilities, compete against one another to win glory in the colourful and futuristic world of Overwatch, or something to that effect. You see, none of the lore behind why Overwatch's PvP games happen is really explained whatsoever, you're just supposed to roll with it, even when unique heroes are somehow competing against the exact same unique heroes.

For those unfamiliar, Overwatch 2 is the 'long-awaited' 'free to play' sequel to the original Overwatch released in 2016 as a paid game. By long-awaited, I mainly mean that development on the original Overwatch essentially grinded to a halt in its last few years, with the development team claiming that they were instead working on the new sequel, Overwatch 2, including its brand new PvE mode.

Upon release of Overwatch 2, players were told that the PvE mode was still forthcoming and that the new PvP experience would deliver the changes fans 'didn't know they wanted', specifically the change from a 6v6 format, to a 5v5 format, which would see the loss of one tank hero on each side, more on this later. In addition to the release of Overwatch 2, not only were the official servers for the original Overwatch taken down, as is fairly common practice, but indeed all access whatsoever to the original Overwatch was completely removed from all players, even despite this being a game that they had paid for. Furthermore, the new Overwatch 2 would release with greatly heightened monetization mechanics, specifically with a Fortnite-style seasonal 'battle-pass system', alongside the introduction of substantially more paid (and highly expensive) skins.

You see, in the original Overwatch players could earn the game's currency by queuing for the least popular of the game's 3 roles (Tank, Damage, and Support) at that moment in time, as well as through 'loot boxes' earned on level-up, equating to roughly every 45 minutes of gameplay. Overwatch 2, however, features an entirely different model, where players can earn a maximum of 60 so-called 'Overwatch Coins' per week, with the 'objectively' good, rare skins costing 1,000 Overwatch Coins, meaning a player would need to grind for almost 17 weeks straight to purchase a single skin, that one could reasonably earn in the original Overwatch (assuming they queued the right roles) within a week.

Any new skins to the game (now almost always included in a bundle with a bunch of random other items, at a cost of 2,000 coins) cost approximately $30AUD ($20USD), or a third of the price of a AAA game release. These new skins, much like Fortnite's, are also each sold for a limited time only, thereby utilising highly-predatory pressure selling techniques by artificially creating scarcity of infinitely replicable digital assets, perhaps a common practice in the modern video game industry, but an incredibly unethical practice nonetheless, especially in a game that is also marketed (directly or indirectly) at children.

Many features already in the original Overwatch were also absent at launch, including overall account levels, post-game chat and medals, the 'on-fire' status effect when a player is playing well (despite the voicelines still activating in the game and thus the triggers still being 'in-engine'), the latter of which was later triumphantly returned into the game almost an entire year later, with much fanfare from players and Blizzard themselves. Strangely, these are all relatively simple UI changes which should not take much development time, yet are clearly not a priority for Blizzard whatsoever.

While I have ripped into Overwatch 2 until this point, not every change is necessarily a step backwards. The 5v5 format, while personally not my favourite change, has undoubtedly sped games up considerably, which is especially perfect for today's TikTok-addicted, low attention-span having mainstream video gaming fanbase (myself included, let's be honest). With the loss of a tank player on each team, all tank heroes have been significantly buffed as an advantage, meaning that every game does not mandate a Reinhardt, as was often the case in the original game. Additionally, I strongly feel that every new hero introduced with Overwatch 2's launch and in the time since, has been incredibly well-designed to fit neatly into Overwatch 2's gameplay, with abilities that often provide interesting play with and counter-play against pre-existing heroes from the original game.

Earlier this year, Blizzard announced that the long-awaited PvE mode for Overwatch 2 was to be entirely scrapped, despite this being constantly cited by Blizzard themselves as the reason that Overwatch 2 needed to be a separate game. The Overwatch fanbase was understandably incensed, especially because even to those less-sceptical it seemed increasingly like the existence of Overwatch 2 was purely as a way to redefine the monetization model of Overwatch, in order for Activision-Blizzard to profit more off the existing IP, at the great expense of Overwatch's fans. This was not aided by the fact that some (presumably cut from the previous dev work) PvE content was later released, as extra DLC at a premium price, rather than being included with the basegame, which has recently resulted in article being released, suggesting that very few players are using this content now whatsoever.

• The new heroes in the game add significantly to the Overwatch formula in unique and fun ways, providing interesting play and counterplay mechanics to Overwatch's existing hero roster.
  
  
• The change to a 5v5 format down from 6v6, with the loss of a tank on each side has significantly increased the flow of the game making matches feel much more decisive and less slugfest-ish.

• Players have been completely locked out of the original Overwatch, despite this largely still being a superior experience, even more than a year since Overwatch 2's release.
  
  
• Overwatch 2 is still missing features from the original Overwatch that the majority of the playerbase enjoyed (post-game chat and medals, account levels and badges, only-recently adding back 'on-fire' (a seemingly simple UI change).
  
  
• Overwatch 2's monetization model has shifted to be significantly more predatory, in following with current trends in the video game industry.
  
  
• Overwatch 2's PvE mode, the justification for the need for a new game for many years is practically dead in the water and almost non existent, with the exception of a pitiful DLC PvE mission pack available to players for an extra cost.

While Overwatch 2 in some ways feels like a step in the right direction, especially in terms of PvP gameplay mechanics, everything else surrounding the game feels like an enormous step back. Missing gameplay features from the original Overwatch, a more predatory monetization model, and near-complete cancellation of the PvE mode that was promised are the features that significantly mark Overwatch 2, damaging both its player experience and reputation. Hopefully in the (near) future, Blizzard can actually put some more love and care into Overwatch 2, so that it can become a worthy sequel to the original; but all recent action and financial incentives strongly suggest that this unfortunately will not happen.