Blizzard has shown off an Overwatch 2 behind-the-scenes featurette and, as part of that, given fans a glimpse at new additions and improvements being made for the sequel.
After months of silence, Blizzard has fed us a few more crumbs of information for Overwatch 2. During BlizzConline 2021, Blizzard showed a behind-the-scenes featurette video for Overwatch 2, which revealed new details about the game’s locations, playable heroes, and enemies.
In the presentation, we get our first look at two locations in the upcoming multiplayer-focused hero shooter: Rome and New York City. The former will be the setting for one of the maps for Push mode, one of the new additions in Overwatch 2. The Overwatch version of Rome was described as being created to reflect a romanticized notion of the location, especially through its architecture. It features the colosseum and the grand hills as a backdrop.
New York, meanwhile, was described as being “authentic” but with an Overwatch spin. It has pizza places and small shops that evoke the Village. “It feels like something you haven’t seen in other games before because it is uniquely Overwatch,” a dev said.
Unlike its predecessor, Overwatch 2 will have both permanent PvP and PvE modes. In PvE, you’ll fight computer-controlled enemies, and the new featurette reveals what some of them will look like, such as Null Sector’s Stalker and Breacher. The featurette also provides more context for how progression, story and hero missions, and hero customization will work in Overwatch 2’s PvE. In this mode, you’ll have the flexibility to customize abilities to tweak them to your liking.
On the subject of PvP, Blizzard said it was upgrading combat feel and the experience should feel like a pretty big departure from what’s currently available. Weapon feel was particularly focused on, with animation and sounds a particular focus to enhance the way combat looks, sounds, and feels.
Role passives are a big new gameplay addition. These are passive attributes based on class, so tanks have resistance to knockback, for example. Another change is a big shift for tanks as a whole, who will now be toe-to-toe brawlers instead of characters that stand back and protect. Reinhardt will be able to use two Firestrikes, steer his charge, and cancel it.
Sojourn, a new hero coming for Overwatch 2, was also briefly shown. She, according to Blizzard, was built around the railgun, a classic weapon in the first-person shooter.
One big new feature for Overwatch 2 is Hero Missions, which are co-op, PvE experiences where players can level up heroes and progress their development. According to Blizzard, it is aiming to make hundreds of hero missions with a variety of enemy units, bosses, new spaces that will be added to existing maps. King’s Row, for example, now has a gate that opens and lets players move into a new area. This also means the payload can take new routes.
On the environmental side, weather effects have been added. Dynamically, sandstorms, blizzards, and other effects can come into play. There are also shifts in time of day. The impact of this all is a dramatic improvement in how cinematic an overwatch PvE experience becomes. In these Hero Missions, players will be asked to do things like gather resources to keep them safe, while enemy units are trying to take you out.
Of course, this all feeds into progression and talents, which develops characters. Talents allow heroes to be played in various different ways, depending on the skill tree that a player picks. Different paths will result in noticeable changes in how characters feel and play. Soldier 76 was shown moving his healing field, while Mercy launched missiles from her healing beam. The talent trees add a layer of RPG mechanics to Overwatch.
To make all this work, new enemy types have created. One of these is the Breacher, which is a walking bomb. Slicers, meanwhile are described as deadly chicken-like enemies that quickly move around. The Polar is a tall, elegant, creature that makes things a bit spookier–much like the Witch in Left 4 Dead. Elite units such as the Elite Omnic Grunt is way more powerful than the usual type and will have different behaviour, such as crawling towards you when downed.
Enemies also have improved reactions to taking damage, so that they’re more readable. You can shoot off parts of Null Sector killing machines, and there are even “chain hit reactions” so enemies that take damage that are positioned close to others will impact them.
Additionally, the featurette revealed what McCree, Reaper, and Pharah would look like in Overwatch 2. The former has a longer beard and has a good balance of the tech-aesthetic and the classic cowboy vibe. Pharah meanwhile, has had her visor updated; it is a little more transparent, which means her emotions are more visible. Reaper’s mask is completely silver, instead of bone white. Widowmaker has become more cyberpunk-y, giving her a futuristic femme fatale vibe.
We still don’t have a release date for Overwatch 2, but Blizzard hasn’t completely abandoned the original game yet. Until February 25, you can unlock Year of the Ox-themed cosmetics in Overwatch.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.