My boyfriend would always be playing it whenever we hung out. I’d be reading a book or maybe browsing through Tik Tok and he’d always have this game on full-blast. From what I could gather, “Overwatch” was colorful and fun, with lots of cool characters, even if I didn’t understand how it worked. Sometimes I found myself just watching him play. I mean, it looked fun, even if I was clueless to what the point was. Then one day while he was out, I picked up his remote and tried to play myself.
Ok…so I definitely sucked at the beginning. The last time I played on any kind of gaming console was when I had my PlayStation 2 (which was forever ago). I had to figure out how the remote worked, let alone how to actually do anything. Thankfully, “Overwatch” had a tutorial and a training range, so I was able to practice without screwing up my boyfriend’s competitive scores. Much to my surprise, it was actually fun. I never thought I would ever enjoy any kind of video game. I didn’t hate them, I just didn’t know anything about them. After only a few tries in the practice range, I was hooked. It was colorful and bright, and the characters were incredible. I mean, just look at this concept art!
The game itself can be as easy as you need it be, which is why it was very appealing for me in the beginning. Clearly, I had no skill, but because they had so many different ways to play, it was easy to access for a newbie. I could play in the arcade or against an AI. You can even create your own custom game if you want! The whole point of each game is simple: you become part of a team and either attack or defend an objective. You’re part of a team of six and can choose from over 30 characters. Different characters, or heroes, as they’re called, do different things. You can charge in with a shield and war hammer or you can snipe from afar. You can heal and provide support to your teammates or you can deal out damage with your hellfire shotguns (seriously, it’s a thing and it’s super cool). The maps that you play on are gorgeous too.
Every map is different, so you’re never bored with exploring. And even if you aren’t great at aiming (like me), you can still play and enjoy yourself. Ultimately, the colors, the great characters, the gorgeous maps, and the fun gameplay are easy for those who are not familiar to the gaming world. One of my favorite aspects of the game is the diversity of characters. There is a relatively even number of male to female characters with many of the characters varying in race, ethnicity, body type, and sexual orientation. The backstories of each hero can be found on the Overwatch website through the medium of comics and YouTube shorts.
The “Overwatch” cinematic trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqnKB22pOC0) is a great place to start for an introduction, but there are lots of origin stories, shorts, and clips for all of the heroes that can be found on YouTube (trust me, I’ve spent plenty of time watching them).
The game has become so popular that as of 2018, it had 40 million players. The game has been taken up as an eSport and has become the sixth most popular eSports game worldwide. The Overwatch League was formed for professional players to compete, which has attracted thousands of spectators and fans.
Overall, the game is fun, diverse, and beautiful and I would highly recommend it to anyone, whether they are familiar with gaming or not. Even if you don’t like gaming, the YouTube shorts and comics are still enjoyable! “Overwatch” can played on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch and was developed by Blizzard Entertainment. A sequel to the game, “Overwatch 2”, was announced last month, though no release date has been set.
Sources:
Overwatch.com
YouTube.com
https://www.statista.com/statistics/618035/number-gamers-overwatch-worldwide/