Ever since Reign of Talon began and the 2 was removed from its title, Overwatch has been experiencing win after win. Season 1 and its five heroes were a much-needed breath of fresh air, and Season 2 has kept the ball rolling with Sierra. And alongside this new Damage hero, Blizzard has been keeping its promise of dropping new lore weekly and making meaningful improvements with each update. The Antarctic Peninsula rework is a major improvement, the post-match hero cards are a delight to have back, and map voting has been improved thanks to landslide wins and the random map choice.
With Overwatch removing practically every pain point, increasing its hero release frequency, and having a clear narrative direction, the strengths it always had over Marvel Rivals are shining brightly. More polished gameplay, more unique heroes (especially Supports, as their Ultimates tend to differ drastically from Rivals’ reliance on healing circles), and years of content build-up ensure Overwatch is the ultimate hero shooter. This isn’t to say Marvel Rivals isn’t good — Season 8 has been better received than Season 7, which had players calling for NetEase developers to be fired — but there aren’t many things it does better than Overwatch at this point. And if Blizzard really wants to widen the gap, it could take away the three things that Marvel Rivals does better than its peers.
Overwatch Might Reveal Its Next Hero During an Unexpected Event
With Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 3 on the horizon, a new hero reveal is coming soon – but it may not happen where one expects it to.
Marvel Rivals’ PvE Modes Are a Strength Overwatch Lacks
Marvel Rivals’ Zombies mode was a proper hit, leading to a big player spike when it was first introduced and having its end date pushed back multiple times due to its immense popularity. And with Season 7.5, Blood Hunt was introduced, which shares its name with a Marvel Comics event. This time around, players do battle with vampires instead of the undead, taking out Capwolf on their way to battling Dracula himself. With a loot system and a hidden boss fight against Kingpin, Blood Hunt has a ton of depth, and it only feels like the tip of the iceberg for PvE content. Down the road, it doesn’t feel like it’s out of the realm of possibility for the story to be progressed through PvE missions, with heroes actually doing battle against the likes of Doctor Doom. For Overwatch to completely redeem itself and eliminate one of Marvel Rivals’ key advantages, more PvE content is a must. Perhaps the Archives missions make a comeback, or maybe a spin-off game realizes the full potential of co-op gameplay, but this remains one of the few things Rivals does better.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
Overwatch Can Learn From Marvel Rivals’ Free Skins
From event passes to big seasonal grinds, Marvel Rivals hasn’t been afraid to offer some of its very best cosmetics to players simply for completing in-game challenges and spending time with the game. From Blade Knight and Wasteland Ultron to Emma Frost’s long-awaited Hellfire Gala look, there are high-quality freebies dropping constantly for Marvel Rivals. Overwatch, on the other hand, tends to just offer recolors for its events, and that’s if it even offers earnable skins at all. More often than not, players are chasing titles, voice lines, name cards, and loot boxes, which are fine and all, but are undeniably less exciting than what Marvel Rivals rewards its players with. Unique skins dropping through Overwatch events more often would undoubtedly be a boon, and Blizzard could even learn from Rivals’ event passes to ensure free players have at least some new skins to grind for with themed batches of cosmetics.
Overwatch Lacks Its Own Social Space Like Marvel Rivals’ NYC Hub
Whether it’s supersizing Jeff the Land Shark, doing Bully Maguire’s moves on the dance floor, or watching teasers for Avengers Doomsday, Marvel Rivals’ New York hub area is always a good time. NetEase has done some genuinely fun things with the area, from celebrating the wedding of Rogue and Gambit to featuring a ball drop on New Year’s Eve, and it’s not too uncommon to see players just hanging out and chatting in this social area. Sure, some players won’t give Times Square a second look as they boot up another ranked match, but there are plenty who do appreciate it. And, given the number of chat-based lobbies that populate Overwatch’s server browser, it’s safe to assume that its own community would also love a hub of some kind. Just like with Times Square, players can have access to a dance floor to use their emotes as well as some screens to watch Overwatch‘s iconic animated shorts. Team 4 recently mentioned introducing more social elements to Overwatch, so hopefully whatever it does come up with resembles Rivals’ endlessly entertaining hangout spot.
Marvel Rivals’ hub, earnable skins, and PvE are the elements that make it special, along with its gorgeous art style. If Overwatch wants to play dirty and really pull out in front of its main competition, copying Rivals‘ homework in these three areas could be game-changing. Obviously, for fans of either game, this wouldn’t be the ideal scenario. Competition is healthy, and both games having their own distinct strengths that make them attractive to hero shooter fans is for the best. But given how negative the Marvel Rivals community has been in recent months, and how smooth things have been for Overwatch in comparison, right now feels like the first time in the war where Blizzard is in the position to deliver a killshot and finish the fight if it sees fit.
- Released
-
August 10, 2023
- ESRB
-
Teen / Violence, Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)
