UK Edition
Review
Overwatch is a vivid, joyful multiplayer shooter - and the best is yet to come
Of all the things to say about Overwatch -and there are many- what stands out is just how effortless it all seems.
By rights, Blizzard’s class-based multiplayer shooter should be a complex, impenetrable arena for the hardcore. In videos it can look like an eye-popping maelstrom, trained players moving at hyperactive speeds within the chaos, wielding the game’s cast of MOBA-inspired heroes like precision instruments. The type of competitive game that can give more casual players heart palpitations. “There’s no way I can learn all of this ,” you might mutter, glancing at the 21-strong roster and tactical set-tos that make up the game’s matches.
But start playing and it can be startling how naturally it falls into place. How that, once you have a handle on the basics, switching between characters to adapt to the flow of a match becomes as natural as pulling a trigger. Need to swap your six-gun wielding cowboy for a hulking defensive knight? Sure. A bookish gorilla with a lightning rifle for a nippy DJ with healing tunes. Of course you can.
Do not mistake this accessibility for simplicity. The heroes are wildly varied, each sporting unique weapons and abilities, and how they counter each other is an integral part of Overwatch’s make-up. As are the maps, the fizzing art-style and audio-visual language that communicates everything you need to know without you realising it. All of Blizzard’s systems and flourishes working together to create a game that is deep, accessible, fun and almost - almost - impervious to criticism. It has taken a lot of hard work to make Overwatch seem this easy.
Overwatch’s heroes are the beating cartoon heart of the game, 21 disparate, offbeat, inclusive warriors divided into four classes. Attack heroes are often quick and aggressive, packing an offensive punch. Defense is for crowd-control, be it from behind a sniper-rifle or turret. Tanks lead the charge with heavy weaponry and high health while supports sustain it by keeping everyone alive. Two teams of six pick whatever heroes they like before facing off in objective-based matches, capturing control points or escorting payloads to their destination.
While the classes are defined, how each individual hero approaches the role is unique. In the Attack class, Farah’s air-based rocket-launching is not like Reaper’s close-range shotgun-wielding. For the defenders, Hanzo’s precision work with a bow-and-arrow is a completely different discipline to Junkrat’s manic grenade-hurling.
Working together and making these playstyles complement each other is key, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the other heroes as well as your own. So a Reinhardt will snap up his enormous shield, slowly but surely stomping forward while more traditional attackers like Soldier 76 track behind him, picking off enemies as they can before the barrier shatters. Sniper Widowmaker might take a perch picking off opponents from distance while Mercy hangs back to heal her with a magic staff.
Just as important as complementing your teammates is knowing how to counter your opponents. Much has been made of Bastion, a robotic defense hero that can transform into a fearsome turret, being ‘overpowered’. He is a sod, for sure, planting himself in a position to tear through your team in a hail of bullets. But through character and map design, there are plenty of ways of taking him down. Ninja Genji can quickly flank, double—jumping across platforms before using his deflect ability to return those bullets to sender, dismantling Bastion in a satisfying shower of sparks. And because Bastion is slow to move and transform, a few direct hits from a well-placed Widowmaker will also do the trick.
The smartest thing an Overwatch player can do is read the battlefield and deploy a hero as and when they are needed. Many games lock you into a class at the start of the match, but character switching is a core part of Overwatch’s tactics. Team blend at the start of a match is important, of course, and some matches can be all but decided by a well-balanced squad pulling off a smart opening assault.
But most matches are won on the fly, with good players identifying threats and switching to the best hero to counter them with. This brings a tremendous ebb and flow to matches, with the flexibility in the character choices and clever map design meaning a match can be turned on its head at any time. I’ve seen payloads race close to its objective before a smart team switch stopped it in its tracks, I’ve seen a team reach 99% control before being utterly, impossibly overturned by a co-ordinated tactical shift to which they had no answer.
If this all sounds complicated –strengths and weaknesses, attack and counter-attack- it is because fundamentally… it is. There are an enormous amount of systems at play here. The genius of Overwatch is that it never feels complicated and it is always enormous fun, no matter what character or role you choose. Some players might be more inclined to the glory of attacking heroes, but playing as a support can be just as satisfying. That DJ, Lucio, for instance, is one of my favourite characters to play as. He is quick and nimble, able to run up walls to reach places other heroes can’t. His main ability is a portable music gun which can play tracks that either heal nearby allies, or gives them a speed boost. His dubstep pea-shooter isn’t going to rack up the most amount of eliminations in a match –and you won’t often see him in the celebratory Play of the Game- but his presence, skating between friends in need or giving the team a speed boost to get back to the action, can be an integral part of a winning formula.
I pick out Lucio because he’s my favourite in that class, but you will likely have your own. And that’s the point; Overwatch seems to have something for everyone. You don’t have to be the most potent FPS player to have fun or make yourself useful and the flexibility of character switching means that if you’re having a bad day with a particular hero, there are always other avenues to explore.
Adding to all of this is a wonderfully communicative audio-visual language. To the outsider, Overwatch can look like pure mayhem, but its bombardment is often giving you crucial information. Whether it’s the high-pitched note of Mercy’s healing beam letting you know you’re fully charged, the crackle of Mei’s ice or the warning of a hero bellowing the impending arrival of their ‘Ultimate’ ability. When you hear the gravel-throated gunslinger McCree mutter "it’s hiiiiigh noon", preparing to perforate your entire team with his super-powered six-shooter, you had better get out of dodge. Or better still, take the swine out before he can get a shot off.
If there is a complaint to be had it is that, currently, there is perhaps not enough to it. The four game types are a variation on two themes, the 12 maps quickly repeat, while competitive ranked play is yet to be included. But Blizzard has made all the right noises about being committed to building on Overwatch, providing new heroes, maps and gametypes for free across the game’s lifespan. With a tremendously successful start, there is no reason to believe this is a promise that won’t be followed through on.
The best is yet to come then. And given how good Overwatch is already, that is an exciting prospect.
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Formats PC (tested), PlayStation 4, Xbox One Developer Blizzard Publisher Blizzard
Age rating PEGI 12+ Released Out now