I started playing Overwatch 2 about a week after it came out and I was a tiny bit pessimistic about my experience. Either way, I went in wanting to have fun and enjoy myself. I made an account and installed the game. I went in with a friend to better enjoy the experience as much as possible. My initial game was pretty boring as I didn’t have the characters that have been in the game for years in the past but I had some unlocks. I didn’t really like the Battle Pass system they added in and wished for loot boxes for cosmetics, even though people really didn’t like them. I didn’t like that I basically had to chuck money at Blizzard to get some shiny cosmetics or the newest character.
Everyone in my first 10 to 20 games seemed to also be new to Overwatch 2 so the experience was enjoyable for the most part. At least I wasn’t being destroyed by some diehard veteran of the game that has spent years perfecting a character or even an entire role in the game. At the very least, they had some form of skill-based matchmaking.
I didn’t really care much about the new systems in the game, such as the new competitive system that I didn’t have access to until I had won 50 days. Other players’ complaints about loot boxes are fair though so I can’t argue with that. After my first day of play, I was pretty satisfied with how my experience played out. I unlocked some characters and won some games.
The next week was all about trying to just unlock characters by playing games. By the time I unlocked every character, I had only won about 30 out of my apparent 150 games played. Winning games was tough for a newcomer and there was a steep learning curve for me personally.
Of course, I still enjoy and play the game almost daily now and I have gotten fairly good at it. Overwatch 2 is a fun and enjoyable game once you actually learn how to play it. It’s kept me attached for months and I am hooked. I am a big fan of competitive systems in games and often gravitate towards them as soon as possible. I don’t see the hate towards the current competitive system as fair and I have seen the old system via clips. It’s an amazing game although sometimes it seems like it’s made by a small indie company. In conclusion, it’s a great game and I hope to enjoy it for the time to come.
By Sean Corona, Aliso Niguel High School, Class of 2023
