It’s been a long time coming, but Overwatch 2’s PvE co-op story missions have finally arrived as part of its massive Invasion update on Aug. 10.
The update boasts a new hero, a new season pass, and quality-of-life changes like a new progression system. But the biggest addition to the franchise, arguably ever, is the first set of missions that move the Overwatch story forward in ways that it never has before.
The expectations are impossibly high, but I think that both fans of Overwatch lore and FPS players addicted to a challenge will find a lot to enjoy with Invasion’s missions.
Familiar gameplay loop
In the co-op missions, up to four players can team up and take on various Null Sector enemies, with each mission having its own storyline and objectives in the overarching plot. This selection of missions that launched with Invasion includes three playable ones, along with the limited-time Underworld event mission.
Three missions after several years of waiting is tough to swallow, but more are expected to be added in subsequent seasons to continue telling the story that Overwatch lore fans have been waiting for.
The missions are similar to what we’ve played before, but bigger and more bombastic. The stakes feel higher, and you can feel the time and effort that went into these compared to seasonal events.
While the PvE gameplay will be recognizable to anyone who’s played previous Overwatch PvE entries, like the Archives seasonal events in OW1, there is a big draw for the higher-difficulty challenges.
Players who are addicted to very difficult PvE gameplay, which requires high-skill gameplay and good communication between a team of four, will find a lot of fun to be had in playing and replaying the missions on the higher difficulties.
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There are Normal, Hard, Expert, and Legendary difficulties, with the latter being a genuine challenge that will likely take any team of four many, many attempts and trial and error to complete successfully.
Brimming with personality
The best and most important aspect of OW2’s co-op missions is the personality of the heroes in them. Blizzard has always done a fantastic job of creating fun, loveable, and interesting characters. And it’s here where they finally shine.
Each mission has its own selection of playable heroes, and all of them can and should be replayed with different characters if only to hear the multitude of dialogue options as the characters banter.
My favorite interaction was with D.Va in the “Liberation” mission, set in Toronto. As I fought off waves of Null Sector enemies, D.Va confidently bragged that we could fight even more because “these robots are trash.” Yep, even more gamer language from the in-universe pro gamer herself.
But the possibilities of fun conversations seem endless, and I can’t wait to try different mixes of heroes on the different missions to see what kind of fun and silly things they say to each other.
The highlight of the co-op missions is the cutscenes, which are well-acted and well-presented by Blizzard, showing off the personalities of each hero in ways that players could only dream of since 2016, outside of a few animated shorts and scant PvE offerings before this one.
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It’s just very exciting to finally have the Overwatch story moving forward. It’s been way too long.
Too little, too late?
I just can’t help but wonder if the excitement for these PvE missions would’ve been way more palpable several years ago.
Overwatch 1 was released in 2016, and was largely dormant for the last year of its existence. The first PvE mission in Rio de Janeiro was first revealed at BlizzCon 2019, but in the timeline, it takes place soon after Winston’s Recall of Overwatch agents. And that scene was first revealed before the first game even launched, way back in March 2016.
Overwatch 2 was released last October, and the reception was mixed. But many players have seemingly moved on from the game in between OW1 and OW2, and likely even more since OW2 launched. It just feels like these missions would have been better served years ago while the game was at the peak of its popularity.
I’m personally finding it difficult to get my old OW1 squad back in the game to enjoy any of the PvE offerings. But thankfully, there is matchmaking, so no one has to play alone. Make no mistake, though. These missions are best played with a dedicated group of friends looking to have some fun.
Still, I found the missions to be quite enjoyable, and the old saying rings true: better late than never.
Hope for the future
If these first few missions are anything to go by, fans of Overwatch lore will have a lot to be excited about and look forward to as the PvE offerings are continuously added to the game over the next few months and years.
It’s unclear how long Blizzard plans to support OW2 with additional missions, but the support and want for it is definitely there. Many fans likely hope the devs continue to deliver on the incredible promise and potential that this franchise has had for nearly a decade.
These first three missions are a beginning and a taste of what’s to come. And there’s enough in here to be excited about what’s next, especially the ending cutscene that teases the next missions, hopefully coming soon.
Score: 3.5/5
Disclosure: Our access to Overwatch 2: Invasion’s PvE missions was provided by Blizzard Entertainment.
