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Since its launch in 2016, Overwatch’s standard game types have had six player-teams. Blizzard has experimented with team restrictions like role locks and limitations (including one extreme trial period, which limited teams to one Tank Hero), but never has the team size changed. This would be a significant adjustment to the game -- one that seasoned players may or may not have on their list of changes they want to s

There’s a few new options - most notably the presence of an in-game shop and battle pass. Loot boxes are gone for good, with premium currency and seasonal progression now used to earn skins and other cosmetics. Time will tell whether this model works, but Blizzard isn’t shy about putting it front and centre. Aside from that everything here is basically the same, and that includes graphical settings and other such options that I forgot to take screenshots of before being locked out of the review build. Trust me on this one.

Unlike the Wii before it, motion controls have taken something of a backseat when it comes to the Switch . But despite most of its library stressing traditional inputs, the Joy-Cons offer some of the best gyroscopic controls in gaming. Ironically, these refined gyro controls are still a bit underutilized compared to the cruder technology built into the Wiim

The whole premise of Overwatch 2 is to offer a campaign. It’s not going to reinvent multiplayer, which is already a successful esport and will likely stay the exact same aside from the kind of regular updates we get now. All I want is for Overwatch 2 Competitive Guide 2’s campaign to be a blown-up version of Archives, though, as opposed to something that is emphatically single-player or something that incentivizes over-competing. I want it to give you plenty of opportunities to pull off a sick Barrage, but I don’t want Valkyrie or Coalescence to become pointless vs bots with stupid AI. I want there to be actual reasons for choosing to play as Winston instead of Hanzo, or Lucio instead of Tracer. I want maps that allow for the kind of absurd synergy you see in Assault on Volskaya, as opposed to just arbitrary ult-spamming in the middle of a wave-based minig

But in online play - specifically, PvP - this isn’t how it works. Unless you’ve got a full six-stack made up of you and your friends, chances are people won’t care much about cooperating. And so, that entire aspect of Overwatch that I love - knowing my main inside out and fulfilling my role in tandem with the characters I’m surrounded by - dissipates into thin

The cosmetic menu has also received some cool updates, making it much easier to navigate and understand. Bold text is used to distinguish categories while a single glance at the menu is enough to see exactly what you have equipped at any given time. Seeing all of my unlocks transfer over to Overwatch 2 was also a sad reminder of how much time I’ve poured into this series. My accounts haven’t even combined yet either, so I promise you I have more than 14 D.Va skins to my name. All the voice lines unlocked too, I am dedicated to my girl.

First up is the main menu, which is a real snazzy bit of presentation. The first thing you’ll notice is how much the colour scheme has changed, with many of the tones updated to feel more modern and grounded compared to the cartoonish first game. There’s still plenty of room for silliness, but the orchestral score is even more soaring and extravagant, doing its best to emphasise how this is a glorious return to form despite most of the game playing and looking the same. First impressions count though, and Overwatch 2 doesn’t disappoint.

Of course, we had awesome women like Mei and Zarya amongst the cast, but there was D.Va, Tracer, and Widowmaker strutting their stuff alongside them. Overwatch was a real sticking point in our development as horny gamers, and a willingness to embrace sexuality in our games and view it as something to no longer be ashamed of. Overwatch was a stepping stone to this point, but a stone covered with the slippery moss of the mid ‘10s Whedonised feminism, where the best way to make a female character strong was to make her sexy too. Putting aside the smut, I was invested in some of the game’s queer ships for years, whether it be through tasteful fanart or brilliantly written fiction that understood these characters better than Blizzard ever will. Pharmercy till I die. You know Overwatch was something special because it made you care, and the relative indifference from Blizzard in the years since is almost upsetting.

Once you let me combo my Earthshatter with somebody else’s ult, or give me a Zarya who bubbles me as I charge headfirst into a massive mech, I’ll be happy. Maybe I’ll even put another 1,000 hours

Bossa Studios' simulation game resuscitates the notion that a third-party game could be most appealing on Nintendo machines. Originating as a 2013 Steam release, this obscure title was given new life on the Big N's hybrid console with nuanced motion controls and intuitive local co