Overwatch 2 is simply a rehashed version of the original video game without some of the best parts.

Blizzard launched Overwatch 2 for free but entirely removed the first game. They added a battle pass and item store in exchange for the loot boxes that the player base has been using since 2016, as well as removing many maps and the entire gamemode of Assault, one of the staples of the first game since launch. 

The loss of the iconic loot box, which freely gave players valuable loot, makes the game feel almost incomplete and without real progress from game to game. The challenges that now give in-game currency to players are difficult and award players with amounts far too low to purchase items from the shop – which encourages players to spend money just to get a skin.

Alternatively, players can now purchase a battle pass that is only 80 tiers and does not give in-game currency, making it one of the worst battle passes to debut within free-to-play games. Those who have been playing since 2016 can merge their old accounts and belongings to the new game and use them there, but that does not make the new system much better. 

Many of the original maps and modes have been removed, including the Assault game mode, which has been dropped in favor of Push, which entails the players escorting a robot that pushes their wall to the other side of the map while the opposing team attempts to recover that robot and have it push their wall instead. Though the mode is not bad, the change has caused many fan-favorite maps to be lost in the update, including Hanamura, Horizon Lunar Colony, and Temple of Anubis.

Despite the mistakes that Blizzard made creating the game, Overwatch 2 is still an enjoyable experience, which speaks to their ability as developers. That being said, the game is still ridiculously bugged, which led to them removing the Bastion character for the time being.

The number of players on each team has been limited to five, which actually is a good change, making the game less chaotic and cluttered. The downside to this, though, is that characters who benefitted from having the extra teammate, such as Doomfist, do not truly have a purpose in this game and more traditional tanks will almost certainly be selected over him.