Blizzard has finally given us our first look at Overwatch 2. The long-awaited sequel to the popular hero shooter will be focused on story-driven PvE content similar to that of the missions from the original game’s annual “Archives” event.
The game’s title screen was shown off as part of the “Zero Hour” Cinematic where the Overwatch team reunited to fend off an attack by Null Sector in Paris.
Unlike the first installment, Overwatch 2 will have hero talents and character progression with individual levels. These “talents”, which are unlocked as the player levels up, boost the power of each hero’s standard abilities.
For example, at level 10, Tracer can unlock the “Flash” talent which allows her to deal damage to enemies by blinking through them.
One of the four-player story PvE missions based in Rio de Janeiro will be playable on the BlizzCon floor.
In addition to the PvE content, Blizzard has also unveiled a new map for Overwatch’s newest competitive mode Push, which is also playable at BlizzCon. Push will be joining the likes of Assault, Hybrid, Payload and Control.
Push will take place on the new Toronto map, which is Overwatch’s first Canadian map in the game.
Shared multiplayer PvE missions will also be coming to Overwatch 2, which Jeff Kaplan compared to ‘Challenge Rifts’ from the Diablo series.
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Additionally, skins and other cosmetics will be carrying over to the sequel.
What was shown off in the gameplay trailer?
Numerous new maps were unveiled in the trailer and some old favorites, now with PvE missions.
Story missions shown included Illios, Route 66, Paris, Eichenwalde, Busan and Toronto and features heroes performing revamped versions of their existing moves. For instance, in one, Tracer takes out multiple enemies with a “chain reaction Pulse Bomb” that causes secondary explosions on enemies damaged by it.
Another ability upgrade saw Genji’s Dragon Blade act as a projectile that cut through oncoming targets on Eichwalde’s bridge.
Even cooler, a combo of upgrades saw Mei’s personal block freeze enemies nearby while Reinhardt performed a modified Earthshatter presumingly called “Hammer Strike”.
Finally, Blizzard also introduced Sojourn and Echo to the game’s ever-growing roster of heroes, but Kaplan failed to give any more information on the pair other than the fact they were coming to Overwatch eventually at the opening ceremonies.
Echo was first shown off during the BlizzCon Cinematic in 2018. Kaplan had previously said she would be joining the roster, but they wanted to “build her up” first.
With contributions from Dexerto writer Michael Gwilliam
