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Overwatch, released in 2016 by Blizzard Entertainment, is a group-oriented shooter that has received glowing reviews from fans since its release. The game features heavy team elements and encourages multiplayer. It splits up players into two categories based on damage types: the support class (responsible for healing and buffing) and the tanks (responsible for taking and dealing damage). With the possibility to mix and match group members and thus change the experience for each battle, players found themselves sucked into Overwatch when it first launched.
However, the reign of Overwatch has ended with the release of Overwatch 2, which effectively replaces it in the gaming market. And while some fans were initially excited about the news of a sequel, the game was met with unfavorable reviews upon its release on Oct. 4, 2022. Not only are some fans unable to log on at all -- and when they do, they face wonky mechanics -- but they are also finding serious errors in the game's lore.
What Are the Problems With Overwatch 2's Lore?
One of the appeals of the Overwatch franchise is its wide spectrum of heroes, each with interesting backstories and unique mechanics. However, with the release of the game and the launch of its website, fans have found their favorite characters painted in lackluster and even incorrect ways. Reddit user u/Jewvia called the game's lore surrounding the characters "some kind of out of season April Fool's Joke," claiming that the lore has been reduced to "1 measly paragraph per hero."
Reportedly, some characters are improperly identified, either missing their full names or being spelled without the required accents on some pages but not on others. According to u/Jewvia, "The removal of info such as ages and real names, no update on the base of operations for heroes whose base of operations has updated, and a bunch of errors that show nobody ever bothered to review or check these for errors make this look like an embarrassing last minute update."
U/Jewvia also pointed out inconsistencies in the lore when compared to Overwatch. They explain that Doomfist's new bio claims that his motivations are unknown when they were clearly laid out in Overwatch. Additionally, Widowmaker's origin story is missing crucial elements, and Bastion's base of operations is listed as unknown when it isn't.
What Else Is Wrong With Overwatch 2?
Players have reported other issues with the game as well. For instance, many players feel they were robbed by the battle pass. Player u/Miau_1337 said, "Im disappointed, thought the game would be really great. But somehow its not feeling like the overwatch experience anymore. It feels just... wrong, unbalanced, chaotic and boring. The game even sounds 'wrong' now [sic]." Additionally, u/Low-Palpitation3197 claims that "It seems unfinished in some way, I really don't even see this game surviving till Christmas."
With Overwatch gone and replaced by Overwatch 2, fans can only hope that Blizzard will hear their pleas and issue patches and repairs to bring the game up to their standards. Luckily, the developers have recognized fans' criticism and have promised to address it. Only time can tell if these repairs will be enough to undo the damage that the backlash for Overwatch 2 has already done, but with a franchise as popular as this one, anything is possible.