While the launch of Overwatch 2 attempted to re-ignite fans of the Blizzard-developed hero shooter, alongside bringing in newcomers who may have missed out on the original game, the vibes of the 2016 Overwatch were unmatched. From the RNG of loot boxes to the RNG of getting a good team, Overwatch earned its rightful place as one of the best competitive shooters, despite some of its shortcomings.
Overwatch 2's free-to-play release brought in plenty of Quality of Life features and new characters, but it didn't seem to recapture the magic. Overwatch 2 Season 10 changed to allow all players to unlock every hero without grinding the current battle pass, but the change to a 5v5 format remains a point of contention between the community and the developer.
However, while the release of Marvel Rivals may stop Concord from taking off, it may put a dent into Overwatch's player base. Before the release of the beta of the Marvel hero shooter, many Overwatch players wanted to move to NetEase Games' Marvel Rivals, the latest playtest proves that the newcomer may be better than Blizzard's FPS.
As an avid Overwatch player since the early test of Blizzard's hero shooter, I stopped playing heavily around 2019. While I kept coming back on occasion, the magic was no longer there. The release of Overwatch 2 was exciting, but it didn't connect as well as I had hoped. However, as the Marvel Rivals release date approaches and the beta test is well underway, those early Overwatch vibes are back.
Marvel Rivals is far from perfect. Some characters like The Punisher and Luna Snow are overpowered in many cases, and the battle pass seems ridiculously lengthy to progress through. Not only that, but the rumored MultiVersus-style approach to characters could be a problem at launch. But, for all its issues, Marvel Rivals feels like the true successor to Overwatch.
The most obvious comparison is the classic 6v6 formula that the original Overwatch delivered so well. The two-tank, two-support, two-damage team composition still works in most cases, and while Marvel Rivals has varying classes that differ from Overwatch's simple format, the gist is still the same.
There's also the absolutely solid roster of heroes and villains to play as. The Marvel Rivals characters list is packed with iconic faces like Spider-Man, Storm, and Hulk, while lesser known heroes like Jeff and Luna bring new characters to learn about. And, for any of the Overwatch lore fiends out there, Rivals is stacked with lore inspired by the Marvel universe.
However, the biggest reason that Marvel Rivals feels like that early Overwatch action is the chaos of people learning characters' abilities, testing the best team compositions, and just having a great time. Scarlet Witch wiping our team in one ultimate doesn't feel bad, it just feels exciting to see the limits of each hero. And, while that may go away, Marvel Rivals' unique team-up abilities should keep compositions interesting for the foreseeable future.
I'm keen to see how Blizzard reacts to Marvel Rivals with future Overwatch 2 updates. But, in any case, I'm happy to have found something that brings that Overwatch magic back into my life. I can't be certain that it will last forever, but at least Overwatch's untimely death has left a gap for an excellent hero shooter to fill.