by: Zeth Vejar
Overwatch Gameplay
The gameplay of Overwatch into Overwatch 2 hasn’t changed too drastically since the revamp of the game was announced in 2019 and released in 2022. It began as a usual PVP game. Each team having 6 players on each team. Everyone on your team would choose from a set of 21 characters, players were able to choose between any role they would want. Tank, Support, or DPS. Usually there would be a 2-2-2 strategy. 2 tanks, 2 DPS, and 2 Support. But if you or the enemy team wanted to it was possible to have an all support team.
When Overwatch 2 was released, the PVP was lowered to 5v5 instead of 6v6 and there was a release of new characters on launch and they still continue to release characters within every new season of the game. The developers introduced role-locking in which you had to lock into a role and there could be only 1 tank, 2 DPS and 2 support, it was changed in this way in order to make gameplay fair and matchmaking much easier. Although you could find the original overwatch mode as a different arcade game mode rather than in the main selection.
Overwatch and Overwatch 2 both also have a competitive game mode for the players who prefer a more competititve gameplay. Recently they’ve added hero bans which they newly implemented to invite players to get better with other characters in case the one they play gets banned, or ban certain characters to give them a higher chance of not playing against characters they are unaware how to counter.
Overwatch 2 2024, Hero Gallery
Although Overwatch 2 is a now Free to Play game across most consoles, when Overwatch was first released in 2016, there were hardcopies of the game for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One which had to be paid for. Along with in-game purchases for character customization. Most purchases people were making in Overwatch are now able to be rewarded for free by just playing the game and earning lootboxes every week.
Overwatch Design Changes
There are a few major design changes when revamping Overwatch into Overwatch 2. The UI, The character designs, and the overall graphics within the game. Along with no longer contributing to the lore cinematics that they were making during the original Overwatch. A lot of these changes may have stemmed from having an entirely new design team during the development of Overwatch 2. This team gets a lot of mixed feedback from the players of the game and are forced to either constantly change the characters they are making or ignore their feedback and continue creating cosmetics that fit their personal liking. For example, a new hero they introduced having more newer cosmetics than the original characters.
Game Aesthetics Changes
The graphics on the older character selection screen have a significant difference between original Overwatch and Overwatch 2. As a game that was usually played as a First Person Shooter, Overwatch 2 recently made an update in the game called Stadium. Where the player could choose between playing in 3rd Person or continue playing in 1st person in their UI settings. When revamping into Overwatch 2, each character had a revamp of their design but are still able to choose their older design as a cosmetic in their hero settings. I personally adore the new characters and the new designs for each character. Everyone looks much smoother and the animations that they’ve added look more interactive with the player selecting them.
Overwatch Character selection Screen
Overwatch 2 Character Selection screen
Overall Thoughts
When Overwatch was replaced by Overwatch 2, people were expecting a lot more differences in the game but weren’t met with any positive or newer changes in the game besides taking away and giving characters new abilities and newer designs, until now. Overwatch 2 as of 2025 with the new announcement of the stadium game mode, people are now reapproaching Overwatch 2 as it is. A sequel/replacement of the game rather than a remake of the original.
GREENSBORO COLLEGE ART COLUMN 