After almost three years of absence, returning to Overwatch is amazing

I have a confession to make: despite being Kotakunumber one Overwatch fan, I haven’t played it myself for two years. But shaken by my optimism for Overwatch 2 and be unable to get my Overwatch fix because Overwatch League won’t be back for another month, I decided to play it again, hoping to get what I liked first in the game.

Co-op shooters have never been my thing. In my mind, they had a reputation for being ruthless in terms of skill requirements and toxicity to players. However, helped by the fact that it was created by Blizzard Entertainment, a company that I had grown to love over many years of playing. World of warcraft, when Overwatch arrived in 2016, i thought this might finally be a shooter for me. And it was. Overwatch was the game that took me out of many comfort zones. Not only was I playing a co-op first-person shooter, but I turned to support heroes – something I had never done in any class-based game before. Overwatch just clicked for me. I didn’t feel any undue pressure to be good, and the diversity of the cast, vivid colors, and hopeful message made me feel right at home in the way the brown seriousness of the dishwater of Modern war and others did not.

The Overwatch League arrived in 2018, galvanizing my commitment and love for the game. I had a serious case of fomo esports. I was endlessly excited about the idea of ​​video games getting the same treatment as meat sports – finally a competitive thing. I want to participate! But all the most popular esports titles—League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Dota 2– it was not games that interested me or that could even understand. I would watch The International, Dota 2Annual competitive end of season tournament, feeding on the infectious energy of the crowd, casters and players, not understanding a single thing going on in front of me. What is a BKB? I don’t know, but they all seem very excited about it. Overwatch League became the bridge that connected me to something that I desperately wanted to be a part of but couldn’t quite understand. I bought all the way, and while the league is having trouble with decreasing interest, a lack of players, and player protections, I really feel like this is a community that I will stay with until the very end, whether I play the game or not.

Almost three years ago I quit playing Overwatch. While my love of watching the game via Overwatch League was at its highest (and it’s still there), playing the game had become a chore. Arcade and Quick Play modes had become obsolete, workshop wasn’t a thing yet, new heroes weren’t exciting, and I avoided the competitive scale because it contained the worst “git gud” elements in the community. There was also racism. Despite a good overall experience, Overwatch has the dubious honor of being the game I’ve experienced the most racism in. The in-game cat filled with the word n ​​was a common occurrence. Reddit and the Snow storm the forums have threads asking why harmless meme phrases like “GGEZ” are banned but if you turn off the profanity filter the n word becomes fair game. As I fell in love with the game and before I quit completely, I remember chatting with myself before logging in. I would weigh how much I wanted to play against my strength to deal with any racist or misogynistic bullshit that might ensue. And as my strength to manage wore off, my desire to play wore off and I finally stopped. My friends have noted my absence. They jokingly sent me screenshots of their Battle.net friends list with the “Offline” timer under my name more and more.

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Last week I decided to replay for the first time in years. There wasn’t really a rushing incident that got me back – I did. It took a while for a few months of updates to install, but I was back in the game. That changed a lot. There are few quality of life adjustments that are nice to see. The “Mark all as seen” button for all new cosmetics is nice (although I sometimes liked to clear the notification manually, if only to hang out with the characters.) I like that the game tells you how long you can expect to queue and that you can spend time in the driving range while queuing for a game. The role queue is a blessing. In the beginning I spent a lot of games fighting damage or tank heroes because all the support slots were full. The role queue eliminated that anxiety. It’s hands down the best thing to get back to the game.

Returning to Overwatch I didn’t feel like a big deal, rather it was a collection of smaller moments that reminded me of why I fell hard for this game in 2016. I remember opening the game for the first time in hearing trumpets blowing.The world could always use more heroesAnd feel my lips twist automatically into a smile – like hearing greetings from an old friend. I was delighted with the muscle memory that manifested while playing Zenyatta. I didn’t need to remember the keyboard shortcuts for his damage and healing orbs, shooting them all over the place, not being afraid of getting closer to the heart of the battle. This fearlessness was rewarded with gold and silver medals in healing and assists. I felt like I had never stopped playing – although my ultimate timing is still a bit rusty.

Overwatch, it seems, is still my comfort zone breaking game. I feel more empowered to try other modes that I have skipped in the past. I experienced different heroes in Team and Solo Deathmatch for the first time and I was quite surprised with my performances. I’m even considering making a serious attempt at Competitive. One of the best things about Overwatch it’s that I don’t have to commit a lot of time to it. I can get everything I want from a session in 20 minutes or less, making it the perfect cleanser for the palate when I need a break from endless hours. Final Fantasy XIV. Even though I needed a little time away from Overwatch, It feels really good to come back.