Overwatch Review

“Blizzard have got the balancing pretty much spot on in every regard”

In my initial playthrough I began to feel some characters were clearly overpowered, Bastian was chewing up enemies, tracer was really frustrating to shoot at and Reaper seemed to have some heavy over powered handguns. However fast forward a few more hours in and I realised something quite startling, everyone thinks someone is overpowered. In essence Blizzard have got the balancing pretty much spot on in every regard. The game is about mastering the character you control, know their abilities and understand how to position them to come out on top in a fight. Despite all of Overwatch’s perceived simplicity and charming looks the game really does require you to learn and become skilled, there’s very few lucky players finishing top in one of these matches. There are characters you will become attached to and will suit your playstyle and there will be others that just aren’t your jam and your performance will suffer.

Playing as a team is absolutely key to win in the competitive match ups in Overwatch. Getting by with random via Quick Play is all good for some run and gun gameplay but if you are in this to win you need to get a squad together and get talking, it’s a bit like Evolve but with a lot better execution. There’s some great post-match mechanics that really took me by surprise. The typical XP totalizer is on show but above it a focus on a medal system for each character you played with allows you to be immersed in a world of stats. Perform really well in a match and you may see an aspect of your gameplay post up as a gamecard for players to cast votes on. It offers not a lot more than some simple smugness when you realise everyone votes you as the badass.

Overwatch ticks all the boxes in gameplay through its balanced and well-designed maps which even included destructible elements. There aren’t a lot of maps to play through and although you don’t get choice it would be good to see more maps made available in DLC something I’m sure will happen. Keeping my focus on the game is something I think Overwatch is going to struggle with long term with many players. What is on the table for me sticking with the game isn’t a lot. In terms of trophies and Achievements they look incredibly hard to get as they all require specific instances and events to occur to unlock and multiplayer isn’t great for grabbing those. Within the game the XP totalizer provides a levelling system but beyond progression there doesn’t feel like there’s a valuable reward to work towards.

All characters are available from the get go which is cool but again there was opportunity here to make them unlockable upon reaching a level requirement and this for me would have kept me focused and motivated to play towards something. Overwatch does have a great addictive component to it in the form of Loot Boxes. A loot box is received each time you level up and upon unlocking it you get a number of random goods. None of the goods will give you an upper hand in a match but this is all about looking good with Loot boxes providing new character skins, sprays, player icons and voice lines amongst others. Customisation is king in Overwatch but will this be enough to keep the player base.

If you want to grab a loot box without the need to level up you can but it comes at the expense of a micro transaction ranging in price you essentially pay per box you open. It will see a craze on YouTube for sure but for the average player I don’t think customisation options are truly worth parting with your cash for. In fact for the money I really don’t think Overwatch represents great value I’ve sunk about 20 hours into Overwatch during review and I’ve seen it all, playing for another 20 is only going to give me more of the same gameplay and some loot boxes with cosmetic items to show off.

Overwatch: Origins Edition was provided for the purpose of this review by Xbox.