overwatch game review
Test: Overwatch - Is Blizzard's FPS a success?Each game launch at Blizzard is orchestrated as a big event. During Blizzcon 2014, the Californian studio surprised its audience with the revelation of a new license quite far from its usual comfort zone, a FPS team supported by a cast of heroes. As always, Blizzard will not have done things by half for the launch of Overwatch with almost 6 months of closed beta, several weekends of public testing, an open beta phase and constant video monitoring of the development of the game. Add to that some high-flying animated short films accompanied by a large-scale communication campaign and you understand why the title's beta has attracted the interest of some 9.7 million players around the world. With its mixture of charismatic characters, its simple, but effective gameplay, Overwatch already seems to dictate the rules of a genre in full swing despite some obvious shortcomings.
THE ASHES OF A TITAN
Overwatch is a big challenge for Blizzard, because for 25 years the studio has never strayed so far from its usual productions. Born from the still smoking ashes of the Titan project, the title enters the closed arena of competitive "Hero shooters", a category where it is very difficult to win the hearts of players. Another difficult task, the game carries on its shoulders the launch of a new license, multiplatform moreover. However, it took a single gameplay trailer to clear up many doubts about Blizzard's ability to produce its own original FPS. Not only did the players quickly want to put their hands on Overwatch, but their appetite to learn more about the characters, their stories, their abilities, the best way to play them was very strong in no time. Helped by an army of passionate videographers and streamers, Blizzard was successful in creating a new, believable universe with engaging characters, most of them original gameplay.
But it’s just not enough to step forward with convincing skin to seduce players over time. In the world of FPS, gameplay is king and Blizzard knows this very well. In addition to its successful design based on a futuristic approach to our world fractured by a major conflict between humans and Omniacs, robotic entities with advanced artificial intelligence, the studio demonstrates its talents with an almost immediate grip of all heroes. The game responds to the famous creed dear to Blizzard for a few years “Easy to learn, hard to master”. And if some see in him only a simple replay in the "hero and ability" sauce of a title like Team Fortress 2, Overwatch quickly demonstrates how it is original by its many specificities.
SIMPLE, BUT VERY EFFICIENT
The greatest strength of Overwatch is the simplicity of its concept. It is this same immediate grip that allows titles like League of Legends and Hearthstone to establish themselves today as benchmarks in their genre. Here, two teams of six players compete on a dozen cards divided into three game modes. The player selects a hero at the start of the game, but is not obliged to keep him throughout the match. Because with a little practice and reading of the situations in progress, it is quickly understood that Overwatch greatly encourages to change heroes during the game to adapt to the situation or the composition of the opposing team. No usual deathmatch here, Overwatch is all about team goals. The first mode is a capture of points where the two formations will each have to take possession of two areas of the map; the game has a theoretical duration of 10 minutes which can nevertheless extend as long as the attackers dispute one of the points by their physical presence. This results in the end of the game, sometimes very exciting, where the attacking team throws themselves headlong onto the objective to push the extra time gauge again and again at the top of the screen.
The second mode uses this same structure of attackers and defenders, but transposes it here to the principle of cargo escort (Payload). We will transport NPCs or objects closely related to the background of the game: the fist of the mythical hero Doomfist on the African map of Numbani or even the director and defender of Omniacs Hal-Fred Glitchbot in Hollywood. Here, the cards are constructed like a long corridor where the attackers will have to advance the convoy while remaining close to him while the defenders will do everything to prevent them. The mode is punctuated by several checkpoints adding each time a little time to the overall counter of the game. Finally, a last mode closer to the King of the hill makes the two teams oppose around a common objective to secure until a gauge reaches 100%. It often happens that a team takes the point at 99% in extremis and returns the situation to its advantage, which again gives rise to great intensity when this kind of game brings together two competent teams.
Let's quickly pass on the inevitable training mode which will allow newcomers to understand the basics of gameplay of heroes, on training against artificial intelligence or even on “Weekly Brawl” mode with a philosophy straight from Hearthstone with its rules changing every week to offer completely uninhibited games based on multiplication of the same character, modification of their cooldown or even matches only between female heroes. Fun, without necessarily being the mode that you will relaunch in a loop throughout the day.
TOO LIGHT CONTENT?
And here we are, we have toured what Overwatch offers for its commercial release. A little light you say? Yes, especially when you know that the game delayed the release of its competitive mode until the end of June at the risk of upsetting the pro-gamers. While it is undeniable to think that the title would benefit from expanding its range of game modes, it is however undeniable to note that Overwatch has gameplay that is sufficiently catchy to erase this lack of variety. Some would like to see one day land a single player campaign mode even though the latter would ultimately be the opposite of the team spirit of the game. If it remains entirely turned towards the competitive, Blizzard will have to regularly enrich its license with new features for keep it alive. However, the simple handling of the game is enough to give us the tools necessary so that no part ever looks like another.
We then start to chain the matches with always renewed pleasure without really feeling tired in the long term. Game after game, the strong progression curve of the game always teaches us something: effective synergy, judicious placement, knowledge of the cards or even how to counter most of the opposing heroes. In addition, Blizzard made the right choice by making the game pay from the start. This model does not divide the gaming community with a locking up of heroes behind a paywall that would have been - in any case - incompatible with the team spirit put forward. Future cards and characters should therefore follow the same path and be accessible free of charge to everyone. There remains the question of the price of the game in relation to its current content, making us say that the minimum investment of € 40 will be profitable if and only if you intend to invest fully in Overwatch.
THE WORLD WILL ALWAYS NEED HEROES
The other great achievement of Overwatch is its list of 21 ultra-charismatic characters divided into four respective roles: attackers, defenders, tanks and supporters. The player is free to change it at will, provided he is in his spawn area. In addition, Blizzard does not currently put any limit on duplicates of the same characters, a point which we will come back to later in the test. Over the past few months, we have witnessed many comparison battles in the rapidly expanding world of “Heros Shooters”. If it is of course inspired by a certain Team Fortress 2, it only takes a few parts to understand that Overwatch differs in many aspects from Valve's FPS. The 21 characters here are so marked and individualized in their gameplay that they almost transform into 21 classes capable of suiting almost all types of players. You will not really have a main character on Overwatch, because as a good player, you will have to adapt to all situations to best counter the opposing team. Which is pretty good, since all the heroes make you want to be tried!
Each of them has a main weapon with unlimited ammunition with however the need to reload (except for the case of D.Va), a kit of different capacities and an ulti on which the loading depends on both the damage you deal or the healing you do and the time that goes by. All of his skills are unique for all heroes and are a big part of the appeal of the game. It is therefore very easy to recognize who is shooting at you and the joyful bazaar of visual effects on the screen ultimately becomes very readable for anyone will have played two or three games. The heroes are all associated with a country of origin from which they often draw much of their cultural influences. The iconic and above all very British Tracer teleports over time and uses its great mobility to zigzag between enemies in order to place its pulse bomb in the middle of the melee. Conversely, the imposing Reinhardt brandished his large shield to protect his team and did not hesitate to speak out on the fury of his hammer. DJ Lucio vibrates the tempo to heal his teammates or boost their movement speed while McCree unloads his six shots at very high speed for devastating attacks at short range.
There are also more classic archetypes like the Sniper embodied by Fatale, the soldier equipped with a rocket launcher (Pharah) or even the healer channeling a ray on his teammates (Angel). And since one was needed, Soldier 76 represents the gameplay closest to modern FPS (who said COD?) With its assault rifle capable of launching missiles, its sprint and its ulti in the form of “Aimbot ”. You don't only have to learn how to wield the characters' weapons, but their skill set in order to hope to shine in matches. In addition, it is essential to know the different maps, the position of the healing packs and understand the statistics of each hero if you want to seriously approach a game. In this regard, it is necessary to think of Overwatch as constructed following the famous logic of "stone, paper, scissors", that is to say a game offering a series of counters adapted to each situation.
A BALANCED GAME?
Hence the other big question surrounding the game, the one that often rages beginners: the ability of the studio to balance its casting. In reality, it's all about experience and habit, because if characters like Bastion or Torbjön are your worst nightmare during your first steps, you will quickly learn to counter them with certain heroes and team strategy. Overwatch rewards each of your actions in game with an ingenious point system that encourages everyone to focus on the game in progress rather than on their personal exploits. And even if the highlights of the match actions often tend to focus on close killings (triple or quadra kills), all roles are put on an equal footing and rewarded with experience points in end of game
Another concern of Overwatch today is the very permissive setting of its quick game tickrate. The tickrate is of paramount importance in the reliability, quality and playability of the game. It is in fact the frequency of refreshment of all the data of the game per second. Set to 20.8Hz in Overwatch (against around 60Hz in a CS: GO or a Battlefield for example), the game tickrate leads to some bizarre situations with Fatal or Hanzo projectiles sometimes too precise or even abilities not triggered fairly quickly in critical situations. Fortunately in competitive mode, Blizzard allows the player to set the tickrate at 60Hz!
Now remains the thorny point of duplicates, triplets, or even more since nothing prevents a team from playing the same hero six times. If we understand the logic of the maneuver, that of not wanting to frustrate any player with unavailable characters, it results in our opinion many problems of balancing and anti-game that the competitive scene at high level will have highlighted during closed beta phases. Double Genji accompanied by a Zenyatta, then double McCree, certainly the teams can change their composition to try to counter these approaches, but the diversity of the game takes a serious blow on the head. In short, we would not be opposed to the idea of seeing in the future a game mode where duplicates would simply be prohibited, which the competitive scene already does in many tournaments.
IN SOLO, IT'S FUN, BUT IN TEAM, IT'S EVEN BETTER!
Overwatch offers one of the most dynamic grips in the genre and allows anyone to immediately enjoy the game while rewarding those who seek to master their gameplay. But let it be said, by its philosophy of team play, the experience will be a thousand times more pleasant when you play with friends and if possible on a voice chat. Single-handed games can sometimes be frustrating when you feel that nothing is coordinated on your team wherever you do all the work for others. In a group, on the other hand, the implementation of approach strategies, the combination of ulti, the indications of the position of the opponents to your teammates, make all the fun potential of the game shine! We feel that the title of Blizzard has everything you need in the belly to target the esports scene with some success. Short and thrilling matches, a high skillcap, a simple reading of its action, now remains for the players to express the desire (it is in part already the case) and Blizzard to support his project by further improving the mode spectator of the game.
DOES ZENYATTA HAVE NEPAL?
Overwatch is also the first Blizzard game to take its roots in the real world to offer a futuristic reading of the different countries of the world. A bit cliché for obvious needs of direct distinction, the different cards take full advantage of the proprietary graphics engine of Blizzard with a cartoon rendering of an impeccable finish at the origin of a tasty visual cocktail. The hero design will have plenty of work for all the cosplayers in the business for the next ten years and the cards are full of fun details directly related to the world of Blizzard. Murloc aux ramens on the Japanese map of Hanamura, arcade games in reference to the retro classics put in Starcraft sauce, symbol of the horde in the hieroglyphs of the Temple of Anubis, the modern approach of the different places visited offers a very nice visual show with a fluidity to any test on PC and consoles!
Special mention to the different sound effects of the title which dress the game as much as they give precious indications to the players. It is almost inconceivable to play Overwatch without sound as each activation of the heroes' ultimate abilities triggers a deliberately louder sound effect than the rest in order to warn us of a possible danger or synergy. Without these precious indications, ulti like McCree's or Jackal's explosive tire would make many unfortunate victims on the ground! There is also a more than convincing voice dubbing for the heroes with a ton of emotes to unlock, accompanied by many short situational sentences that the characters pronounce automatically in the presence of other heroes. We regret, however, the damaging loss of accents specific to the country of origin of each of the heroes in the French version of the game. Hear a Fatal say "Look for the woman!" in his native French or a Tracer to chant his famous “Cheers, Love! The Cavalry's Here! ” with its hyper pronounced British accent missing in the French version.
RENT THE SAFE!
What would a Blizzard game be without a profusion of useless skins and side by side, therefore necessarily essential as a certain Mamytwink would say? Overwatch offers the thrill of the loot with each leveling up by rewarding the play of a chest in the form of a surprise pouch that can contain different elements of personalization. Alternative character skins, new voice emotes, game action posture, tags, account icon, etc. Their purpose is only cosmetic and meets rarity criteria according to their color (common, rare, epic and legendary). The player will also sometimes collect a currency from these same safes in order to directly buy the cosmetic element of his choice. If Overwatch is a paid game, it does however have a shop where the player can buy chest packs if he is too impatient. Once again, everything is a matter of chance here and the prices charged (€ 9.99 for 11 chests) could make many players fall into compulsive buying.
Good points
A cast of 21 very successful heroes with different gameplay
Gameplay easy to take in hand, but ultra rhythmic and effective
A real team shooter
Successful graphic style, exemplary fluidity
Thunder sound design
Blizzard's humor and references
Negative points
The low variety of exit game modes
The tickrate too permissive in fast game mode
The presence of micro-transactions
The thorny question of duplicate characters in teams
Simple, but devilishly effective, Overwatch is a great success for Blizzard! The studio proves to us that it has more than one string to its bow by winning the bet to enter by the big door in the arena of competitive shooters. With its nervous gameplay and its cast of 21 characters all more engaging and fun to play than the others, Overwatch is aimed at both beginners and fans of competitive play with its principle of “easy to learn, difficult to control". The great strength of the title lies in the fact that each party manages to renew our gaming experience. Fun alone, Overwatch becomes enjoyable in a coordinated team where each victory on the wire makes us say that it represents one of the best multiplayer experience in recent years.
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