Overwatch First Impressions

Overwatch is fun. Okay, it’s really fun. With its briskly paced gameplay, wide array of unique characters, and tight controls, it’s hard to imagine that people are going to stop playing Overwatch anytime soon. In terms of competitive multiplayer first-person shooters, it is absolutely top-notch, especially because it stands out as something completely unique in the genre. In the past decade, companies have shelled out FPS after FPS, attempting to perfect a prewritten standard that was set by early Call of Duty games. Overwatch doesn’t attempt to emulate its predecessors, but instead implements gameplay mechanics that build upon the foundation that was already set by earlier FPS games. Overwatch is refreshing, innovative, and, most importantly, it’s tons of fun.

Now, remember how I said Overwatch is really fun? Well, it’s also extremely frustrating, especially when you first start playing. At times, the game can feel incredibly unbalanced, and you will undoubtedly find yourself blaming your losses on overpowered characters. I know, Bastion’s turret form is too strong, and his self heal is ridiculous, but there are ways to counter him. There are ways to counter every character, and this is a lesson that takes a little while to sink in for most players.

During my first night playing Overwatch, I played a match in which the entire enemy team was comprised of the same character, D.Va. Generally, D.Va isn’t terribly difficult to play against, but when she makes up the entire enemy team, she’s an absolute pain in the ass. It only took them a minute or two to plow through our entire team, and the match was over before I even managed to get a single kill.

I thought to myself, how is it possible that a team made up of entirely the same character is this good? I was incredibly frustrated because any strategy involved with building a well rounded team seemed to be completely worthless. I was about ready to write off the game as an unbalanced, broken piece of crap, but then I did my research.

You see, Overwatch is all about countering certain characters, which is why the game allows you to change your hero whenever you want to. In fact, it is often said that the best Overwatch players are the ones who change their characters throughout matches. Bastion is mowing your team down? Just switch to Genji, and use his deflection ability to deflect Bastion’s bullets right back at him. Torbjörn’s turrets keep killing you? Switch to Pharah, and destroy those turrets with your missiles.

So remember, don’t get too frustrated, and don’t forget to keep countering opposing heroes!