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The two kings of the hero shooter genre, Overwatch and Marvel Rivals, are both in a great place at the moment. The former made good on its disappointing 10-year Anniversary event, which was the one weak spot in the otherwise stellar Reign of Talon re-launch. The latter made some much-needed balance changes in Season 8, offers an engaging co-op mode in Blood Hunt, and will soon be adding the commonly requested hero Cyclops to the mix. I adore both of these games, and rather than be tribalistic like so many players tend to, I take the sensible approach of seeing “two cakes” instead of passionately hating one game or the other.
Yet for as much as I love Overwatch and Marvel Rivals, I usually find myself getting angry when playing them. To me, nothing beats that feeling of getting into a long final fight in a hero shooter, then working together to finally synergize abilities and come out on top. But at the same time, few games — barring the infamous League of Legends — are as toxic. Whether it’s throwers, leavers, cheaters, or flamers, it’s all so frustrating. The worst part about the hero shooter genre, whether it’s deserved Game of the Year winner Overwatch or up-and-comer Marvel Rivals, is the communities. And, while Blizzard and NetEase can do what they can to mitigate this issue, the toxicity problem runs too deep for any one game to fix it.
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Overwatch and Rivals’ Toxicity is Constant…
While a simple solution that many take to video game toxicity is to turn off chats, that’s just putting a band-aid on the issue instead of doing your part to address it. Personally, I leave game chat on so that I can pull people up on their behavior — it just seems wrong letting bullying go unaddressed, as there’s no telling when or if reporting in Rivals or Overwatch will be enough to remove bad actors. More often than not, saying something like “bad games happen” or “it’s just quick play, let people learn” gets the hate directed at me, but I feel like it’s worth it to let the targeted player know somebody is in their corner.
If I back up one player a day that’s being made fun of for having a rough match or choosing a niche hero, I feel like I’m doing my part.
Scratch & Peek
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as
possible.
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible.
EasyMediumHardPermadeath
But, honestly, it’s tiring. Practically every match, there’s cringey behavior going on. If the matches don’t have a thrower, leaver, or flamer, then they’ll have the usual go-to phrases. Someone will type “ez” in chat despite a match ending 2-1 and going to overtime, or they’ll type “(insert role/hero here) diff” despite the scoreboard clearly proving them wrong. Yes, overused, moronic vocabulary like “ez” and “diff” is a much smaller issue than slurs, cheating, and gameplay sabotage, but when everything comes together, it makes the experience consistently toxic. I shouldn’t need to turn chat off to stop bad actors from losing their minds over my Overwatch hero choice, as doing so means I also have to miss out on all the positive and funny interactions, too. Quite simply, the Rivals and Overwatch communities should take the advice of God of War’s Kratos and “be better,” kindly asking for hero swaps or providing constructive criticism instead of saying “you suck.” But unless the people causing these issues suddenly decide to be less nasty, it’s just not going to happen.
…But The Problem Runs Too Deep For Either Game to Fix
Sure, funny profanity filters can make toxic players look bad, and ban waves can briefly clean up the game, but the issue remains. And sadly, it will do so regardless of what NetEase and Blizzard do, as online anonymity makes gamers very comfortable with rudeness and enables them to bring shame to the hobby. See, while hero shooters are my live-service game of choice, this issue extends far beyond this specific genre; gamer has become a dirty word for a reason. Unsavory internet users crying that games like 007 First Light are woke, sexism around characters like Horizon’s Aloy and Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Mary Jane, Neil Druckmann being endlessly harassed for The Last of Us 2, gamers pushing for Marathon to die instead of letting others enjoy things — the list of embarrassing acts goes on and on.
Naturally, it makes sense that so many people have just accepted things being the way they are; why not turn off text and voice chat if it’s all hopeless and gamers as a whole are doomed to be toxic forever? Still, I don’t think giving up is the answer. Video games are the greatest hobby on the planet, and instead of scaring off those looking to fall in love with the medium, making it as welcoming as possible should be the move. Everyone should do their part to make whatever slice of the gaming pie they enjoy less toxic, whether that’s by pushing back on tribalism in their genre of choice or calling out hate-filled posts on social media. For me, it means leaving on the chat in hero shooters like Overwatch and Marvel Rivals so I can call out problematic teammates and opponents, even if the sheer stupidity of some players drives me up a wall. If I back up just one player a day that’s being made fun of for having a rough match or choosing a niche hero, I feel like I’m doing my part. And if more people choose to stop letting toxicity slide, then maybe things will eventually get better.
- Released
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August 10, 2023
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)
