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I prefer a scoreboard in general. Transparent information is just more useful and easier to parse, and the medal system never functioned the way it was intended to. However, I do think something valuable was lost in the transition. In Overwatch, every match would end with a score screen that revealed all of your medals. In Overwatch 2, matches just end. On the one hand, getting players back into the queue to play another round as quickly as possible is a good priority to have. On the other, where are my shiny medals god damn

After the massive announcement of Overwatch 2 was made at Blizzcon, we found out a little more about the highly anticipated sequel. We know that multiple new maps are coming, as well as a co-op story mode, and two new heroes: Echo and Sojo

I don’t really need an Overwatch story mode or an Overwatch spin-off to exist; I’m happy believing I’d love them if they ever came to life, and I don’t need to test that theory. A single player futuristic Western revenge drama with Ashe and McCree as the leads? Yes please. A Netflix adaptation of Overwatch’s main story with Maisie Williams as Tracer? Sounds amazing – please never make it. The idea of literally any genre of solo game with Mei or Mercy sounds fantastic, but it would never live up to my expectations and I’m much happier in my ignorant hope than in cold, hard real

I know, I know, the medal system was flawed. In an effort to curb toxicity, the original Overwatch team opted to forgo a traditional scoreboard and instead use a medal system that would vaguely tell you how well you’re doing. During and after a match you could see how well you did compared to your team based. Across a series of categories from eliminations, to damage dealt, to healing, the top three performers would receive gold, silver, and bronze medals. If you have a particularly good game, you might even receive gold medals in multiple categor

Seasonal events in Overwatch became major occasions to look forward to. Christmas, Halloween, Chinese New Year, and several others were transformed into virtual celebrations that had our favourite characters donning gorgeous new outfits and performing charming emotes and victory poses that I couldn’t wait to unlock. It was a game I spent hours upon hours with in university, playing alongside my housemates to earn loot boxes and praying we got the skins we wished for. Spoilers: We never

These days, I’m lucky enough to work in games, and that means even if I don’t get a game code, I know that I’ll be able to write about a game and make money off it. In 2016 when Overwatch released, that wasn’t the case. I’d buy new games, beat them, then flip them at a second hand shop and use that money to buy another game, and so on. That’s a big part of why single player games, with a definitive ending, matter so much to me. The Witcher, The Last of Us, Horizon, Grand Theft Auto 4, Red Dead Redemption 2, and every FIFA from 09 to 19 all entered my life that way. Countless others, too. Despite this, I still have my old Overwatch disc, gathering dust on my shelf as it dwindles in value and my play time trickles up by a few measly minutes every six months or so. There’s just something very compelling about Overwatch’s existence that never quite translates to its gamep

There was a time only a few short years ago when Overwatch was untouchable. Blizzard’s hero shooter was a fresh, energetic entry in a genre that was slowly but surely growing stale. The beloved developer saw this gap in the market and pounced upon it, delivering a diverse multiplayer experience that would hold our attention for years to come. Fast forward to 2021, and the picture appears infinitely Read More Listed here bl

I loved seeing three or four gold medals pop up at the end of a particularly good match. It was the perfect cap on a great experience. Sometimes when my team played well, we’d sit on the medal screen for a minute or two talking about the high points of the match and bragging about our medals. I took a screenshot of my last Overwatch game before the servers shut down where I earned three gold medals and three career bests. In Overwatch 2, matches just sort of end. There’s no fanfare, no time to reflect on how well you did. You can’t even see the scoreboard anymore once the game is over. I’m glad we have a real scoreboard, but we didn’t have to give up the medal completely, did

Medals are completely meaningless. Other than a minor XP boost from your highest medal earned, you don’t get anything for collecting medals. They aren’t tracked on your stat page or in your achievements, you can’t trade them for cosmetics, and you can’t even see anyone’s medals but your own. What they did do was explode onto the screen all bright and shiny at the end of every match. My Overwatch career is more than 400 hours long, and the medals alone were enough to keep me coming back for m

However, Overwatch has always felt like one of my favourite games even though I so rarely play it. While other hero shooters feel loaded with generic characters, Overwatch’s cast feels full of life and heart. Overwatch 2 – which really might have been a mistake , considering most online shooters use the season model – will apparently include a campaign mode, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. Obviously, I love single player games and prefer PvE to PvP, but Overwatch won my heart as it is. There’s something about how vibrant the characters are that makes me think I want to see their own journeys, but I’m not sure if I actually trust Overwatch 2 to pull it