On Oct. 6, 2022, Blizzard Entertainment released Overwatch 2, the sequel to their first-person shooter, Overwatch 1. This sequel comes with many new maps, buffs, and nerfs to our favorite heroes.

Overwatch 2 is a team-based action game where every match is an ultimate 5v5 brawl. You can choose from over 30 unique heroes who provide different advantages to your team as you battle it out around the globe.

The most substantial change between the two is that Overwatch 2 is free-to-play for everyone. In this day and age, many video game companies are relying on microtransactions to fund their games. Blizzard is no different and will get their money from in-game microtransactions and purchases of Overwatch 2’s newly introduced battle pass.

With games like Team Fortress and Fortnite popularizing battle passes, Blizzard decided to implement this into their game as well. Overwatch 2’s battle pass is filled with cosmetics you can unlock such as skins, victory poses, highlight intros, and more as you compete in matches. Players that want to look flashy while in game will need to purchase the battle pass, but free-to-play players can also unlock a few items that are completely free.

Returning players will notice that new heroes have been added into the game with one in each of the three roles. Sojourn is the newest DPS hero who possesses a rapid-fire railgun that charges up high-impact shots, causing immense damage. She offers more mobility than your average hero, as one of her abilities allows her to slide and launch into the sky, raining fire from above. Her disrupter shot sends out an energy field that slows and damages any enemies caught in it. Sojourn’s ultimate ability auto-generates energy while giving her railgun the ability to pierce multiple enemies.

Kiriko is a support character able to heal her allies as well as use her kunai to protect herself. Like Genji, Kiriko’s passive gives her a range of movement like a wall climb. To add on to her mobility capabilities, she can teleport directly to an ally, even through walls, to which she can use her healing talismans that recover nearby allies. Her ultimate summons a fox spirit that rushes forward, accelerating the movement, attack speed, and cooldowns of teammates that follow its path.

Junker Queen, the newest tank hero, will bring an anti-heal ax to the battlefield. One of her abilities summons a giant ax that deals damage to all nearby enemies in her radius. Her ultimate inflicts all impacted enemies with heavy wounds which they will not be able to recover from as support characters are unable to heal them. Junker Queen’s passive ability heals her from all damage over time; she is perfect for players adapting to the one-tank, 5v5 PvP system.

The biggest in-match difference is that teams are now one person short. Unlike Overwatch 1, each team will only have one tank instead of the usual two. This small change will make a big difference, forcing each team to not only rely on their sole tank but also their healers and DPS characters. This also makes matches far more intense and strategic.

There are not any huge differences between Overwatch 1 and 2. Besides graphic improvements and minor changes to heroes and maps, it is basically the same game just slapped with a “2” in front of it. Hopefully, with its free-to-play availability, Overwatch will get the attention it has deserved since its first release.