After 27,000+ Steam reviews, Overwatch 2 is graded as 'Overwhelmingly Negative'
It's a rough start on Steam for Blizzard's sequel
Overwatch 2 has launched to 'Overwhelmingly Negative' Steam user reviews.
Blizzard's shooter sequel might've first launched on all systems last year, but it was only ever available on Battle.net via PC - until now. Yesterday, August 10, saw the Steam launch of Overwatch 2, and user reviews so far really haven't been kind to Blizzard's sequel.
There's a staggering 25,576 user reviews of Overwatch 2 right now on Steam, and the aggregate is coming in at 'Overwhelmingly Negative.' Reading through the user reviews is wince-inducing, due to players lashing out at the development team at Blizzard, and the state of the game itself.
"Overwatch 2 has no respect for you, it's an attempt to pry open your wallet while masquerading as the game it used to be," reads one of the top recent Steam user reviews. "The people who make Overwatch porn work harder than the people who make Overwatch," reads another scathing review.
"They should make a sequel that includes the whole PvE experience we were promised with skill trees and call it Overwatch 2," reads another review. This comment taps into the frustration from the Overwatch 2 player base surrounding the canceled 'Hero Mode,' in other words, the promised story mode that was going to make Overwatch 2 arguably stand apart from its predecessor.
The user reviews on Steam prove that Overwatch 2 players are still very much hurting over the canceled Hero Mode. What remains in the wake of the canceled mode is smaller PvE missions and activities, but these have unfortunately been paywalled, leading to another outcry from the Blizzard player base.
Overwatch 2 players are also agitated over in-game balances of certain characters. 12DOVE recently spoke to Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller about this situation, and the director reassured players that a team at Blizzard meets weekly to discuss balance issues, although he added that it's "easy from the outside to look in and put this narrative on it."
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Overwatch 2 players are angry with Blizzard, there's no doubt about it. After the new round of PvE activities, which are out now as part of the 'Invasion' event in Overwatch, there won't be any more PvE content until 2024, as the next few seasonal events won't be offering any of the solo missions.
You can check out our best online games guide if you're looking for something else to sink your time into.
Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.