Why Overwatch 2 is back to being my favourite shooter

I've been playing Overwatch since day one. That's 8 years ago now (eek!) but it hasn't been a constant staple in that time. I go through periods of playing it almost exclusively and other times where I leave it for months. But recent changes have me going whole hog on the game again. 

What makes the shooter so great is that instead of playing as identikit soldiers a la Call of Duty, Overwatch 2 has a roster of 39 playable characters (with a 40th set to arrive soon). They aren't just reskins of each other either. Playing as one character can often feel like a completely different game to another. Even within the same character class (Tank, Damage and Support) there's a massive variation in hero playstyle. For example, In the tank role, I like to play as the giant robot Orisa who has a very static playstyle revolving around providing a lot of cover fire. But then I also play often as Wrecking Ball, a hamster in a Droideka-style mech that rolls around all over the shop and uses a grappling hook to knock enemies out of the way. Very different.

But why have I got back into it recently? Well, the game has had something of a rejig for this latest season. The way that the competitive ranking system works has dramatically improved for one with games now revealing whether you were expected to win or lose and taking this into account when altering your rank. Win as the underdogs and you'll progress a lot more than if you were the heavy favourites.

The gameplay tweaks are also significant, pretty much every character in the game has received an increase in the amount of health they have, meaning the time to kill is longer. This gives it a more strategic feeling and eliminates unsatisfying moments like being one-shot killed by an enemy sniper.

Most exciting of all however is the announcement last week that all heroes past and present will be available for free. The game has been free to play with a seasonal battle pass required to play the latest heroes on release, but now that will no longer be the case. From the launch of the upcoming competitive Season 10, you will be able to play for free and choose from the full roster. 

That's great news as it stops free-to-play gamers from falling behind the curve and having fewer options to choose from. The Battlepass will now mainly cover cosmetic rewards, so those looking for a brilliant multiplayer shooter, can now play the best one completely free!