Overwatch 2’s 2023 was full of broken promises, but it’s not broken

So what is the state of Overwatch 2 now? It’s certainly not what Blizzard pitched in 2019. But is it really an absolute disaster dumpster fire that nobody should play? No, honestly. When Overwatch 2 shines, it is an immaculately designed hero shooter with more character and heart than most games in its genre can claim.

Overwatch 2 crash-landed when it could have soared above its contemporaries, and a lot of its 2023 has felt like an attempt to right the ship.The sequel has a more focused and stable foundation than it did at the start of this year, but there’s still more than enough reason for anyone to be skeptical.

When this game was announced in 2019, it seemed like everything I wanted out of Blizzard’s hero shooter was finally happening, and 2023 has pretty much solidified that I’ll probably never get a game that lives up to those lofty expectations. And yet, it was easily the game I played the most in 2023, and after writing all this, I want to boot it up right now. Maybe it’s compulsion at this point. Perhaps I’ve become so accustomed to queuing up and pushing payloads that I don’t know any other way. But if I’m still coming back, there must be something in this world worth fighting for. — KS