Space is the place, and as of yesterday, a new Overwatch map. Overwatch released its Lunar Colony assault map onto its public test realm and it’s certainly a new and uncharted frontier. It’s a labyrinthine maze of hallways, barriers and side-rooms—pulled together by two control points—that’s themed after an abandoned moon base where the gorilla hero Winston once lived. Kotaku tried it out and has some early impressions.
Lunar Colony has a lot going on. It’s full of small details, like posters and botany experiments, and players can see a grayish moonscape outside the base’s windows. It’s also got several platforms and enclaves, which means it’s hard to keep track of opponents and teammates alike. Those rooms and a tangle of pathways and balconies line the main points. Because of that, Lunar Colony doesn’t have much in the way of “flow,” and playing on it, I found myself wondering where players will carve out designated attack routes.
The first point is contained within a gym facility bordered by a climbing wall. An open area with several entry points from the ground level and second story stands between attackers and defenders. It’s not a hard point to take, in part, because defending it felt like playing whack-a-mole. Staying together and plugging up the point’s many vulnerabilities would be a challenge without constant communication. Objective B has a few more choke points—in the vein of Hanamura—and not as many second-story entries into the objective area. But on its balcony, a Soldier 76 could comfortably mow down an enemy team with his ultimate ability.
The mix of low and high ground makes the map perfect for snipers. I got headshotted a lot defending the first point, both from close up and far away near enemy spawn. Widowmaker or Hanzo’s detection abilities can also help teammates locate enemies in Lunar Colony’s many small rooms. Of course, because it’s Winston’s map and a control point, Winston wrecks here. With his ultimate, he won’t be booping people off edges here, but he can effectively push enemies off the second control point.
A low-gravity moonscape borders the map. Players often wanted to jump up and down and have fun in space; I wanted to shoot them mid-air with Sombra. Like with Oasis’s jump pad, I don’t see what practical use the moonscape will have. But it is really, really fun.
Finally, players are finding several Easter eggs on Lunar Colony. The attacking team’s spawn point has a telescope where you can observe Earth. Several tire swings hanging from the first point’s ceiling make fun play areas for Winston. Surely, players will uncover bits of lore in the map’s activity logs, automobile diagrams and posters.
The first iteration of Lunar Colony—because, remember, it’s just on the PTR now—is an exciting, nuanced map that will take a while for players to master. I’m not yet its biggest fan, in part, because I’m so enamored of Overwatch’s new maps like Oasis that enable more circular movement patterns (Hello, I am a Roadhog main). But for snipers and Winston mains particularly, Lunar Colony will be a treat.