With the exception of perhaps Rockstar, no other studio has an esteemed reputation preceding their work on the same level as Blizzard; the company whose very name is now basically an official synonym for “bloody brilliant.”
Consider, for example, the fact that Overwatch is a $60 multiplayer-only title with micro-transactions and a currently broken party system. If it were any other company (think back to Star Wars Battlefront last year), there would be consumer outrage.
But instead, everyone is having far too much of a good time in one of the most enjoyable and well balanced multiplayer games since the days of Team Fortress 2 andCall of Duty: Modern Warfare. We could talk for days about the incredible character design, the smart approach to world-building in an online game, or the beautiful sense of pace to the ballet of combat, but everyone else has done that already.
We can’t wait to see how Overwatch evolves in the coming months and years, especially considering its eSports potential, and Blizzard’s promise to continually bring out free content in the form of new characters, maps, modes, balance updates and animated shorts. Considering the studio’s reputation for post-launch curation, these updates are likely to embellish and improve the quality of the game even further.Instead, we want to thank Blizzard for bringing a game that is a force for positivity in a market overflowing with dark, violent shooter titles. Unlike Counter-Strike or Rainbow Six Siege, the world of Overwatch is one that we want to live and breathe in, a semi-utopic future brimming with color and hope. A few minor quibbles aside, it’s also one of the most polished experiences we’ve played in eons.
The game isn’t perfect, as elaborated on in the opening paragraph, but it is something of a masterpiece. When your biggest criticisms come down to questions like, “Why is Bastion’s turret mode so OP?” and “Where’s the ‘leave as party’ option?”, then you know that the rest of the game must be something special. Overwatch will stay up on our list for as long as we want to keep playing it, and that fervent desire for “one more match” is unlikely to die out anytime soon.
