For about two years, Overwatch 2 has found itself among Steam’s most critically panned games, but remarkably, it’s been managing to crawl out of that hole.
Initially sinking under a tide of unfavorable comments upon its 2023 Steam release, the game has now climbed its way to the Mostly Negative category and even garnered a few Mixed reviews more recently. While this might not appear like a major triumph, given the deep pit Overwatch 2 initially fell into, this transformation is indeed noteworthy.
A significant number of elements have contributed to this transformation, with Season 15 being among the most influential factors. In response, Blizzard introduced substantial updates, reintroducing the controversial loot boxes, launching a new Perks system, and planning enticing content releases for the remainder of the year.
Furthermore, Overwatch 2 has returned to China following a lengthy hiatus, significantly increasing its player base. Many of the game’s unfavorable reviews were from Chinese players who felt frustrated when Blizzard’s partnership with NetEase collapsed, denying them access. Now that they are able to play once more, the wave of negative reviews seems to be subsiding.
One additional aspect is the surge in popularity of Overwatch 2 on Twitch lately. Following the update, Overwatch 2 experienced a significant increase in viewership, peaking at over 130,000 simultaneous viewers. This impressive number surpassed Marvel Rivals and matched the viewership levels of League of Legends and CS2. While some of this success can be attributed to Twitch Drops increasing engagement, it’s hard to argue with concrete numbers.
It’s clear that Overwatch 2 received some criticism early on, and rightly so. The initial handling of the Player-versus-Environment (PvE) content, which was meant to be a key selling aspect, wasn’t successful. Additionally, changes in monetization strategies didn’t resonate with longtime supporters.
Eventually, the critical feedback shifted from evaluating the gameplay itself to an excessive pile-on of a popular trend. At this juncture, it gets complex because there’s a fine line between constructive criticism and unfair review bombing, and Overwatch 2 unfortunately fell victim to the latter.
Some players exit after only five minutes to give a negative rating. Others were writing unfavorable comments not due to dissatisfaction with the game itself, but because they were angry at Blizzard as a corporation. While their anger can be empathized with, it raises questions about how much of the backlash was directed towards the game versus the company that produces it.
Currently, games such as Call of Duty are employing equally questionable monetization strategies, yet they’re not being criticized as heavily. However, this doesn’t mean Overwatch 2 has miraculously improved. The game still harbors its issues. For instance, the ranked play remains frustrating, hero balance adjustments remain a challenge, and the PvE aspect is likely to continue causing controversy.
Despite all the upheaval, the fundamental gameplay is solid and well-executed, making it one of the best FPS games in terms of polish. Whether this marks the beginning of a complete turnaround remains uncertain, as there’s still work to be done to regain the trust of its initial player base. In simpler terms, while the game has improved significantly, it still needs more time and efforts to fully win back those who initially played it.
As an ardent follower of Blizzard’s work, I’m thrilled by their commitment to bring forth additional updates, fresh characters, innovative game modes, and continuous balance tweaks. If they manage to maintain this pace, there’s a good chance the general vibe among players will remain positive.
At the minimum, Overwatch 2 has demonstrated that it hasn’t met its demise just yet. Players continue to engage with it. Viewers remain interested in it. Gradually, there’s an increase in more balanced reviews being written about it.
Despite some criticism, it seems clear that the game still has a strong presence, as evidenced by Season 15.
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2025-02-20 06:12