If a straw poll conducted on the Overwatch subreddit is any indication, it seems like Overwatch 2 players would give just about anything to go back to the original Overwatch.
The thread, which popped up over the new year period, asked players point blank: “Three months into Overwatch 2: do you wish you could still play Overwatch 1? Why or why not?”
Among the 590 comments on the post, almost all of them express a strong desire to return to the original Overwatch. Few of the comments view Overwatch 2 as a meaningful or enjoyable improvement on the original.
For some, it’s Overwatch 2‘s removal of off-tank play, and the added pressure to perform in a single-tank structure. For others, it’s the move from 6v6 to 5v5 and how it has reshaped the overall feel of combat. Many prefer the original’s approach to monetisation and unlocks, and can’t quite believe they actually want the loot boxes back. Others want all the little ways Overwatch expressed progression to return — the On Fire status awarded for performant play, the winged portraits, end of match cards are all gone.
For some, it’s meant actively shrinking their regular six-person squad, leaving one person out of each round in a rotation. For most, it’s all the little things they miss, a time when strong team play and smart hero picks won out over raw DPS.
Of course, its not all bad. Some players are grateful to Overwatch 2 for giving them a reason not to play anymore.
Read through the comments if you have a moment. It’s less of an airing of grievances and more of a communal confirmation that, no, we’re not crazy. Even with all of the evolutionary problems that piled up toward the end of its life, Overwatch 1 really was better in a lot of ways.
I’ve been clear about my own distaste for Overwatch 2 in the past. I think it constitutes a profound failure of imagination, a game that actively suppresses the things that made the original great in a fatal pursuit of DPS-heavy play. The only joy I’ve managed to extract from the game has come from pushing against this ruling order and refusing to play DPS. I think, if I could go back and play the launch version of Overwatch, I would. Honestly, I’d take anything up to the first patch after Ana was added to the roster.
I wonder, idly, if there’s a plan to bring Overwatch 1 back as Overwatch Classic, in the same way that Blizzard has begun to roll out early World of Warcraft expansions in hopes of jabbing the nostalgia button. As that game grew and evolved in ways that irritated the player base, Blizzard began to roll out World of Warcraft Classic, a way for players to return to their favourite early expansions, the experience preserved in amber. The live version of the game is there for players who want it, and the old expansions are there for those who miss the old days. Either way, Blizzard wins.
Nevertheless, the Reddit post got me thinking, and I’d like to turn it over to you now. If you could go back to Overwatch 1, would you do it? Or has Overwatch 2 so soured you on the experience that you’d never return? Let me know in the comments.
Leave a Reply