I don't think I can add much to this other than what's already been said by countless reviews and videos about OW2's changes, new business model, balancing etc; so this will just be a bullet list of things I noticed that not many talk about I feel
- there hasn't been a day where a hero was not locked from playing. Torb and Bastion were not playable for weeks! And now another one is not playable at the moment. This happens all the time in multiplayer game yes but OW2 takes very long until they become playable again. To set a precedent on this only a couple weeks released is impressive.
- with the removal of 2CP maps, locking of maps like Numbani and a changing rotation of select maps, you are playing with less total maps than at Overwatch 1's release in 2016!
- Blizzard is awfully silent about the PvE mode, which is supposed to save the game I guess. I was not impressed by the first 2019 gameplay at all. With not much shown since and it's content becoming only seasonal events, I have no hopes for this being any good. The new Halloween event PvE game was not much different from the OW1 events either. I have lost any interest in PvE content for Overwatch and I don't think they can pull off something good here. The poor track record of all recent AAA co-op shooters released in the last couple years does not help either.
- of course it sucks that content is cut from one game to the next. Blizz has no excuse here since they don't add nearly enough to call this a sequel. My hot take: I think not enough has been cut in OW2 and it carries legacy baggage. Their focus away from stuns and CCs has left some heroes without their core abilities, in particular Mei and Doomfist. They're not reworked but just a less fun version of themselves with their core gimmick removed. When they can't come up with a way to make them fun again, why not just cut them out altogether?
I don't think all hope is lost here though. At it's core, this is still one of the most fun FPS games out there right now. The few new things there are like Kiriko are fun too.
- there hasn't been a day where a hero was not locked from playing. Torb and Bastion were not playable for weeks! And now another one is not playable at the moment. This happens all the time in multiplayer game yes but OW2 takes very long until they become playable again. To set a precedent on this only a couple weeks released is impressive.
- with the removal of 2CP maps, locking of maps like Numbani and a changing rotation of select maps, you are playing with less total maps than at Overwatch 1's release in 2016!
- Blizzard is awfully silent about the PvE mode, which is supposed to save the game I guess. I was not impressed by the first 2019 gameplay at all. With not much shown since and it's content becoming only seasonal events, I have no hopes for this being any good. The new Halloween event PvE game was not much different from the OW1 events either. I have lost any interest in PvE content for Overwatch and I don't think they can pull off something good here. The poor track record of all recent AAA co-op shooters released in the last couple years does not help either.
- of course it sucks that content is cut from one game to the next. Blizz has no excuse here since they don't add nearly enough to call this a sequel. My hot take: I think not enough has been cut in OW2 and it carries legacy baggage. Their focus away from stuns and CCs has left some heroes without their core abilities, in particular Mei and Doomfist. They're not reworked but just a less fun version of themselves with their core gimmick removed. When they can't come up with a way to make them fun again, why not just cut them out altogether?
I don't think all hope is lost here though. At it's core, this is still one of the most fun FPS games out there right now. The few new things there are like Kiriko are fun too.