How Overwatch Keeps Reeling Me In

I’m not the biggest fan of online gaming. It’s a highly-toxic, highly-stressful environment of gaming that isn’t present in single player titles. Because of that, I tend to stay away unless my friends are there to make it a good time. Despite this, I decided to revisit Overwatch recently, since it had been two years since I last played. Ever since, I’ve frequented the game on a regular basis, thanks to several addictive elements that I’m fully cognizant of.

Likely the most abundant reason I keep launching Overwatch is its ease of finding a match in a cinch. The amount of time between me clicking on the desktop shortcut and being placed in a game is typically 60-90 seconds. I haven’t sat in a queue for more than a minute across all game modes. This level of convenience far surpasses the rest of my installed games, as those would take considerably longer to get into the action after load screens, cutscenes, and everything in-between.

On top of this, there’s a significant level of comfortability I have in Overwatch. With hundreds of hours already sunk into the game, I rarely find myself in a spot that makes me want to quit playing. The title’s endorsement system and queue penalty further discourages leaving in the middle of a game. On top of that, the consistent balancing over the years ensures that no combat situation will be too impossible to overcome, even in tight choke points and a tighter time limit.

Even though I’ve accumulated so many cosmetics over the years, acquiring loot boxes is still a joy. The creative minds behind the designs make unlocking every skin, voice line, emote, victory pose, and more a blast to complete, especially in the weekly arcade rewards. Blizzard has also incentivized playing as less-popular roles (tank and support) in quickplay with a loot box reward for taking up the mantle. If I get duplicates, that just means I have a lot more currency to spend during the next event’s cosmetics.

Right before I uninstalled two years ago, Overwatch introduced the custom servers, and they still go strong to this day. I’ve had heaps of fun playing several unique modes, such as a 1 versus 11 boss battle, dodgeball with Genji’s deflect, gun game, and more. This section of play is so much more laid-back and focused on fun that it has become a mainstay during my sessions. The potential here is limitless, and I keep finding new things every time I visit it.

I haven’t played a second of competitive Overwatch, and I don’t feel that I ever will. Even so, I’ve accumulated a lot of FPS knowledge and can hold my own in a game where having a good time is more prevalent than skill level. The hero shooter fad may have passed several years ago, but Overwatch still goes strong and still proves to be fun to play, as I crack smiles several times after hitting play. With Overwatch 2 eventually coming with a focus on co-op, I can’t wait to see what the future of the franchise holds!