OVERWATCH / DEVELOPER & PUBLISHER: BLIZZARD / PLATFORM: SWITCH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
If this massive phenomenon somehow passed you by, Overwatch is a 6 vs 6 online hero-based shooter. At time of writing there are 31 different heroes to choose from, each with their own weapons and abilities. They fall into three classes: defence, support and damage. Teams comprise of two from each class and do battle in three different point capture variations.
The game runs smoothly in both docked and handheld mode and, although it doesn’t look quite as stunning as its 4K counterparts, it’s still a great looking game on Switch. The only negative is how slowly the character models load, sometimes taking about fifteen seconds, being replaced by floating red lights. This doesn’t really affect the game however as you’re only travelling during that time, but it doesn’t look too great and will hopefully get fixed.
The game chooses to bypass the Switch’s lack of native chat support and has its own built-in voice chat. The controls have the option to allow for motion-assisted aiming, making precision shooting a little easier.
Coming so late to the Switch could actually be a blessing. The game has ten more heroes then when it initially launched, five more maps, a ranked mode, a better team selection process and a rotating arcade pool of modes. On top of this, the heroes have been tweaked so there is a much better balance.
When compared to its peers and other Switch multiplayer shooters, Overwatch obliterates the competition. It’s a much more refined experience than Paladins, and much more co-operative and varied than Splatoon. Overwatch is a well made and, most importantly, fun shooter and, with all its heroes, there’s something for everyone, no matter your skill level. If you haven’t played it, cease your resistance!
