Kotaku Game DiaryA Kotaku employee’s final thoughts on a game we’re playing.I have to make a confession: despite being Kotakuis number one Overwatch fan, I haven’t played it myself in two years. But ravaged by my optimism for it Overwatch 2 and not be able to mine Overwatch Solution as Overwatch League won’t be back in a month I decided to play again, hoping to get back what I liked about the game first.
Cooperative shooters were never my cup of tea. In my opinion, they had a reputation for being ruthless in terms of skill requirements and player poisoning. But thanks in part to the fact that it’s made by Blizzard Entertainment, a company I’ve grown to love after years of playing World of Warcraft, when Overwatch arrived in 2016 i thought this could finally be a shooter for me. And it was. Overwatch was the game that took me out of multiple comfort zones. Not only did I play a cooperative first-person shooter, but I was drawn to the supporting heroes – something I’d never done in a class game before. Overwatch just clicked on me. I didn’t feel any undue pressure to be good, and the diverse cast, bright colors, and hopeful message put me at ease in the way the dishwater brown severity of Modern warfare et al.
Overwatch League arrived in 2018 and sparked my dedication and love for the game. I had a serious case of esports fomo. I was endlessly excited by the idea that video games would receive the same treatment as meat sports – finally a competitive business I want to participate! But all the most popular esport titles –League of Legends Duty, and Dota 2– weren’t games I was interested in or even could understand. I would watch The International Dota 2‘s annual competitive season tournament, feeding the infectious energy of the audience, casters and players, while I don’t understand that anything is happening in front of me. What the hell is a BKB? I don’t know, but they all seem pretty excited about it. Overwatch League became the bridge connecting me to something I desperately wanted to be a part of, but couldn’t quite comprehend. I totally bought it, and while the League is having problems with it decreasing interest a lack of female players, and protection of the player, I really feel like it’s a community I’ll stick with to the end – whether I play the game or not.
I just stopped playing almost three years ago OverwatchWhile my love for watching the game through Overwatch League was highest (and still is), playing the game had become a chore. Arcade and Quick Play modes had grown old, the workshop wasn’t a thing yet, the newest heroes weren’t exciting, and I avoided the competitive ladder because it had some of the worst “git gud” elements in the community. There was also the racism. Despite having a good experience overall, Overwatch has the dubious distinction of being the game I’ve seen the most racism in. In-game chat filled with the n word was a common occurrence. Reddit and the Snowstorm forums have threads asking why harmless meme phrases like “GGEZ” are banned, but turning off the blasphemy filter makes the n word fair game. Since I fell in love with the game and before I quit altogether, I remember discussing with myself before signing up. I would weigh how much I wanted to play against my strength to deal with any racist or misogynist that could result. And when my power to act waned, my desire to play diminished to nothing and I finally stopped. My friends noticed my absence. They jokingly sent me screenshots of their Battle.net friends list with the “Offline” timer under my name growing longer.
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Last week I decided to play again for the first time in years. There wasn’t a really hasty incident that made me come back – I just did. It took a few months for updates to install, but I was back in the game. It has changed a lot. There are few quality of life adjustments that are fun to watch. The ‘mark all as seen’ button for new cosmetics is nice (although at times I liked clearing the notification manually, if only to spend time with the characters.) I like that the game tells you how long you have to queue and that you can spend time in the practice lane while you are in line for a match. Role queue is a boon. In the early days I spent many a game wrestling with damage or tank heroes because all support spaces were full. Roll queue eliminated that fear. Without a doubt, it’s the best thing about returning to the game.
Returning to Overwatch didn’t feel like a big deal, rather it was a collection of smaller moments that reminded me why I fell so hard for this game in 2016. I remember opening the game for the first time when I heard trumpets blaring “The world can always use more heroesAnd feel my lips lift automatically into a smile – like hearing a greeting from an old friend. I was delighted with the muscle memory that came up while playing Zenyatta. I didn’t have to remember the keybands for its damage and healing bulbs, fired at them everywhere, not afraid to get close to the heart of the battle. That intrepidity was rewarded with gold and silver medals for healings and kill assists. It felt like I had never stopped playing – although my ultimate timing is still a bit rusty.
Overwatch, it seems, is still my comfort zone game. I feel more empowered to try other modes that I ignored in the past. I first experimented with different heroes in Team and Solo Deathmatch and was quite amazed at how well I did. I’m even considering giving Competitive a serious try. One of the best things about it Overwatch is that I don’t have to spend a lot of time on it. I can get everything I want out of a session in 20 minutes or less, making it the perfect seasoning for when I need a break from endless hours Final Fantasy XIVAlthough it took me some time Overwatch, It feels really good to come back.