With the launch ofOverwatch 2’s PvP beta only a month away, fans of Activision Blizzard’s massively popular hero shooter have been treated with plenty of teasers and sneak previews of the highly-anticipated game. Blizzard announced that theOverwatchsequel would see some significant changes to members of the first game’s roster, with characters like Doomfist announced to be reworked into a tank. Plenty of new heavily requested features like anin-depth ping system, major quality of life changes, and more have also been highlighted. However, not every change has been met with glowing reception from the game’s passionate fans.
Alongside the slew of gameplay changes coming toOverwatch 2, Blizzard has already announced several stylistic and design choices that will look to help the game to stand apart from its predecessor. Previous leaks have revealed redesigns coming to many ofOverwatch’s most popular Heroes, with Soldier 76, Zarya, and Sigma among others all getting new looks for the new game. While many of these changes have been popular among fans, with characters like Hanzo and Zenyatta seeing positive reception, visual changes to the game’s HUD have been a controversial subject among fans of the franchise.
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Why Overwatch 2’s HUD is Being Criticized
With Blizzard continuing to release more information about the upcoming game, fans have been critical ofmany aspects ofOverwatch 2’s UIwhen compared to the original game’s HUD. The segmented bright yellow styling of the first game’s ultimate bar has been largely toned down forOverwatch 2, with the sequel’s displayed as a simple dark-orange bar without much of the visual flair ofOverwatch’s. Icons for many Hero abilities have also been largely simplified, with their color schemes changed. Both aspects have drawn significant backlash from fans of the game.
Fans on theOverwatchsubreddit were quick to criticize the redesigned HUD, with many feeling the icons and visuals lacked much of the visual flair of the first game. Many gamers in the replies of the post from Reddit user MorEdel compared the simplified style to many modern minimalist rebrands, with others feeling the changes may have been tooptimizeOverwatch 2for mobile devices. While reception was largely negative, some fans in the comments of the post added that changes to the icons may be related to readability and visual clarity during a fast-paced match.
WhileOverwatch 2has seen numerous delayssince its first reveal at Blizzcon 2019, the long-awaited sequel looks to be getting its development back on track.Overwatch 2’s first closed beta is set to debut next month on April 26th, and the game’s largest competitive circuit, the Overwatch League, has confirmed its upcoming fifth season will be played on an early build ofOverwatch 2. WhileOverwatchmay not be the juggernaut of the gaming world it once was,Overwatch 2should look to inject some fresh energy into the franchise when it eventually releases.
Overwatch 2is in development.
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