Overwatch 2 Beta Hands-On: An introduction that lacks substance

Overwatch 2 beta blows you away right away with its stunning graphics which, surprisingly, doesn’t severely affect its frame rates. But underneath its beautifully crafted maps and characters, does this game have enough to merit being called a sequel? I spent a few hours playing the ongoing closed beta to find out. Instantly, the UI changes are apparent, with the game’s dashboard now sporting a classic look, which matches other first-person shooters. The Hero Select menu has also had some minor tweaks.

Having installed the game on an SSD, loading times were insignificant on PC. Whether I’m waiting in the lobby or warming up in a skirmish, the Overwatch 2 beta transitioned smoothly into the game. Once in the game, I could immediately communicate with my teammates via voice chat. There’s also a chat wheel and a new ping system in place for players who don’t have a microphone.

On the other hand, the wait times for matchmaking in the Overwatch 2 beta were abysmal. Quick Play matchmaking is divided into Tank, Damage, and Support queues similar to the previous game. Tank and Damage queues had wait times of over 5-10 minutes, while I only had to wait a few minutes to play support. Priority passes also did not have a significant effect on wait times. As this was the first closed beta, hopefully things will improve in the future.

In terms of content, unfortunately, there aren’t many new or significant changes to report. The Overwatch 2 beta currently includes mostly reworked maps from the first Overwatch game, like Eichenwalde and Ilios. Most of the heroes were also left intact except for their updated designs.

Orissa and Doomfist are the only two heroes to receive major changes. The developers at Blizzard Entertainment have decided to turn Doomfist from a DPS to a tank. On the other hand, Orissa has received a new set of abilities that makes aggressive games more rewarding.

There’s also a new addition to the hero lineup on the Overwatch 2 beta with the introduction of Sojourn. She is armed with a railgun that primarily fires rapid projectiles and has a devastating secondary fire. Sojourn plays very similar to Soldier: 76 and should be an easily accessible hero for new players.

Overwatch 2 beta introduces a new game mode, Push, which is coming with the Rome map. Here, the two teams compete to take control of a common payload, the PushBot, and try to cover as much ground as possible, until the timer runs out or they reach the checkpoint. final test.

Perhaps the biggest change with the Overwatch 2 beta is the switch from 6v6 to 5v5 matches. Teams now consist of two healers, two DPS, and a solo tank. This transition seems to be causing major balance issues. Most of the games I’ve played were heavily in favor of team first to establish goal control.

The lack of a second tank on the Overwatch 2 beta meant the following team couldn’t mount a reasonable counterattack. This could be due to the lack of changes to characters originally designed for 6v6 matches.

But that’s where the novelty ends. The Overwatch 2 beta still looks a lot like its predecessor. I even jumped into the original Overwatch game to assess the differences. However, despite the graphical overhaul and some tweaks, the Overwatch 2 beta fails to bring anything drastically new to the plate, with the majority of heroes feeling and playing the same.

So far, the Overwatch 2 beta plays as an expansion to the original game, instead of a full-fledged sequel. Despite the recent increase in Twitch viewership, Overwatch 2 could also be doomed to an eventual descent into uselessness like its predecessor, if Blizzard has nothing more to offer.

Overwatch 2 beta is live until May 17 only on PC. Blizzard has confirmed that consoles will be included in future betas. We played Overwatch 2 beta with a 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5-3470 processor, 8 GB AMD RX570 and 8 GB of RAM.