Honest Overwatch 2 Invasion PvE Review: Unbiased Analysis from a Passionate Overwatch Expert
As an avid Overwatch player with over 500 hours logged across competitive and quick play modes, I jumped at the chance to experience the new PvE (Player vs. Environment) Invasion missions introduced in Overwatch 2 Season 1. While these three hero missions offer enjoyable co-op against Null Sector enemies, they rarely break new ground for PvE gameplay innovation.
Read on for my unbiased and honest review of Overwatch 2’s Invasion event – from both a gameplay and storytelling perspective.
Invasion Gameplay: Familiar Mechanics in New Maps
On the whole, Invasion gameplay will feel instantly familiar to anyone who tried seasonal events in the original Overwatch. The core mechanics of escorting payloads, defending points, defeating omnic enemies, and using hero abilities carry over directly.
Aside from the new locales like Rio, Toronto, and Gothenburg, little differentiates completing these missions from my many runs through Uprising or Storm Rising over the years. The pre-mission screens showing difficulty options and highlighted heroes remain unchanged as well.
Considering popular co-op shooter franchises like Left 4 Dead 2, Destiny, or Warframe, Invasion lacks the complexity of bespoke mechanics tailored specifically for PvE. I didn’t experience innovations on par with L4D2’s AI Director creating an adaptive experience, the myriad PvE activities filling out Destiny 2, or the diverse mission objectives driving Warframe.
That said, the moment-to-moment gunplay and ability usage capture the satisfaction I expect from Overwatch. Comboing skills and adjusting strategies around certain heroes still rewards skillful play and well-timed teamplay. The presentation also brims with Blizzard’s signature polish through visually-dazzling effects, quippy voice lines, and responsive controls.
In a vacuum, Invasion missions play just fine – especially on lower difficulties. But compared to the ever-escalating creativity I see propelling PvE experiences in other games, it leaves something to be desired. Ultimately, Invasion gameplay stays fun but formulaic.
Expert Difficulty Demands Communication
Cranking up the difficulty to Expert introduces Invasion’s most chaotic and demanding challenges. The onslaught of shielded enemies and damage output required to progress mandates tight teamwork. Activating buffs or healing at the right moments while focus firing priority targets becomes essential.
Attempting Expert with a team of AI partners often ends poorly – their awareness and positioning inadequately equip them to complete later stages. Even queueing with just one human ally capable of verbal communication elevates success chances tremendously.
Having a balanced team composition also remains critical. For the Rio nightclub map, picking longer range damage heroes like Soldier: 76 and Sojourn can make defeating swarming snipers manageable. The Toronto map benefits from AoE attackers like Junkrat who can overwhelm chokepoints. And mobile healers like Lucio or Mercy enable sustaining tanks like Reinhardt or Roadhog.
While certain heroes like Torbjorn feel less viable on Expert, tailoring your lineup to the map and having mics to coordinate yields the greatest hope for victory.
Most Thrilling Mission: Titan Boss Battle
The Invasion mission I most enjoyed comes from the Gothenburg map where players face off against a towering Titan omnic boss. Damaging and destroying the Titan demands steady aim under pressure plus diligent team repositioning to avoid its dangerous cannon attacks. Witnessing the massive robot loom over the battlefield always raises both tension and exhilaration.
Unlike the other locations, this fight evolves across progressive stages too. Initially attacking the Titan outside starves its armor energy across a sprawling courtyard arena. The next phase relocates inside where destroying power cores disables the cannon attacks, eventually exposing the vulnerable core matrix to finish it off.
While perhaps gimmicky, the sheer spectacle of battling an enormous boss remains memorable. The Titan encounter tests both mechanical skill and on-the-fly strategizing, cementing Gothenburg as Invasion’s premier map. Expanding these multi-stage battles or introducing more imposing omnic adversaries could certainly incentivize replaying the mode.
Storytelling & Lore: Enjoyable But Unnecessary
As an avid consumer of Overwatch lore since launch, Invasion’s polished cinematics and Between Missions story content excited me most. The brief animated sequences before and after missions aptly set the stakes and advance character arcs through exceptional animation, voice acting, and humor that Overwatch narratives consistently deliver.
They surface interesting plot developments too like Widowmaker surprisingly working with Winston, Sigma’s mental conditioning at Talon’s hands, or Genji’s continued inner turmoil over his cyborg body. I also appreciated exploring interactive pieces of each location, whether browsing confidential records inside Numbani’s restricted city archive room or accessing a database on global omnic regulations through Winston’s laptop.
However, players more indifferent to Overwatch lore need not feel pressured to complete Invasion for fear of missing crucial story details. The high-level beats involving Null Sector’s ideology over the Omnic Crisis and their next attack targets get conveyed concisely through the brief cutscenes alone. No pivotal developments that rewrite characters or the universe’s trajectory occur.
Invasion serves supplementary narrative content to please invested fans without confusing or detaching casual players focused squarely on competitive modes. Thoroughly appreciating the storytelling requires intentionally pursuing additional context scattered through maps, conversations, or Winstons’ Database entries unlikely to stand out during busy co-op firefights.
Is Invasion Worth the Price of Entry?
For $10 to purchase the inaugural Overwatch 2 season pass, buyers do gain more than just Invasion access, namely instant unlocks for two flashy legendary skins, 5 other cosmetics, and all future season-exclusive mythic skin variants once completing weekly challenges.
Still, players eyeing the pass solely to play Invasion will want to set expectations accordingly with my key takeaways:
- PvE gameplay remains fun yet formulaic by 2023 PvE design standards
- Expert difficulty and hidden lore extend replayability somewhat
- Cutscenes tell an enjoyable side story unable connect casually
Personally holding a passion for Overwatch universe building, I found the experience worthwhile specifically as Ground Zero for PvE’s fuller realization next season. Players seeking revolutionary co-op systems or essential narrative progressions may leave disappointed. Ultimately Invasion PvE entry value depends on individual gameplay and storytelling tastes.
What Overwatch 2 Needs to Achieve PvE Greatness
Understandably as the first season introducing a revamped 5v5 competitive mode, PvE content took a backseat for initial Overwatch 2 development. Yet after experiencing glimpses of innovation in Archives, Storm Rising, or the Heavenly Anti-Cheat video, I believe Blizzard’s creative minds can absolutely still design captivating PvE systems given the proper focus.
The building blocks are all there between polished gunplay, diverse Heroes to customize engagements, and untapped lore potential. What Overwatch 2 PvE requires is a full dedicated team tailoring mechanics around fighting AI combatants rather than just adapting old event formulas.
I envision signature PvE modes personalized to this universe – perhaps asymmetric experiences pitting teams against player-controlled Hero bosses, co-op dungeon crawls through Talon bases demanding tight coordination, persistent campaign systems with strategic meta progression, or dynamic objectives harnessing map interactivity in imaginative ways.
Importantly, excellence here liberates developers from needing to squeeze complex storytelling directly into the primary PvP spaces avoiding unnecessary distractions. PvE modes welcome both narrative charm alongside experimental gameplay unlikely to thrive facing highly competitive human opponents.
Let Overwatch 2 PvP retain its pure focus on skill expression free from bells, whistles, or balance warping unlocks to instead build PvE systems that channel everything wonderful about this universe. Enable dedicated players to demonstrate mastery across mechanically-different engagement models beyond headshots or Ability timing windows.
Destiny 2 flourishes by separating punishing Raids or Dungeons thematically from balancing Crucible maps around fairness. Riskier ideas like Hero missions housing unique objectives per character or asymmetrical boss fights have huge upside in PvE realms absent in ranked ladder integrity.
Other franchises cement fond player memories through facing distinctive AI foes in Left 4 Dead and chilling sound cues signaling a lurking witch. Even Fortnite’s popular Save The World PvE demonstrates lasting player retention and revenue viability while the battle royale captures mainstream glory.
Overwatch 2 undoubtedly seeks similar PvE longevity looking beyond fading seasonal event engagement. There is tremendous latent potential here, especially with dedicated resources crafting bespoke experiences specifically for cooperative play absent PvP restrictions.
Blizzard captured lightning once already with Overwatch’s characters, worldbuilding andMovement, the perfect recipe for all-time great PvE merely requiring extra TLC through a mission-driven team given the runway to execute on community hopes. Players yearn for reasons to share these sublime mechanics alongside friends while forging fresh narratives together.
If focusing squarely on PvP integrity delays that dream’s realization, so be it. Yet the blueprint lies waiting.
Invasion: An Enjoyable Appetizer for the Main Course
Despite mild gameplay gripes, I happily romp through Invasion nonetheless for more excuse running Soldier’s sprint or slinging ice walls as Mei. The seasonal model promises plenty upcoming opportunities expanding scope and innovation at friendlier price points. Consider Invasion an enjoyable yet skippable introduction to the main feast arriving within the year.
As Part 1 of Overwatch 2’s PvE ambitions, Invasion delivers sufficiently through its charismatic hero banter and environmental detail even if failing to surprise longtime veterans. I remain confident that given more bake time and resources, Blizzard can produce truly special co-op content befitting their pioneered bright, hopeful vision of where multiplayer experiences can transport us.
For now, hop into Invasion for what over-the-top anime mecha battles Overwatch scratches best, even if the tangibility of systems evolution falls short of aspirations. The most rewarding experience comes from sharing laughs via voice chat and triumphing alongside friends at higher difficulties channeling skill and strategy between trusted teammates.
Onwards to exceeds every expectation with PvE when that dedicated support arrives. If Overwatch��s exhilarating fluidity and exquisite presentation crystallizing unforgettable memories touched your life once before, then trust its power to uplift again – just through different means as this next era unfolds.