- Despite Overwatch being responsible for popularizing the hero shooter genre, the game gradually died out.
- The fundamental difference between Overwatch and Marvel Rivals was that the latter focuses on fun.
- Overwatch isn’t a bad game, but Marvel Rivals focusing more on casual players makes it a lot more successful.
Everyone loves a good hero shooter, which is why so many studios have tried recreating the spark that Overwatch ignited upon release. Unfortunately, no matter how much Blizzard tried to revive Overwatch or how deeply games like Paladins tried to recreate that feel, the genre’s death seemed inevitable.
Marvel Rivals shows what the genre should’ve been doing years ago. It focuses on one thing above all else: the game should feel fun, even if that means giving up some balance in higher ranks. Here’s how the game revived a dying genre by focusing on things that should’ve been obvious.
Marvel Rivals Doesn’t Repeat Overwatch’s Fall
Overwatch didn’t crash because it turned bad. The game still has solid gameplay today, including new features like Perks, new maps, and new heroes. The present-day Overwatch isn’t bad by any means.
The problem was the game’s philosophy as a hero shooter. When you’re developing a live-service game, it’s a given that certain patches will have things that are too strong, be it characters or niche unintentional techs.
Having a single hero dominate the game isn’t good, so Blizzard did what any company should: rebalanced said newly overpowered thing, nerfing it to the ground to make the game better for everyone.
This seems like the right thing to do, and for the most part, it is. Unfortunately, being right isn’t always fun, and not every genre needs to be equally competitive.
How Marvel Rivals Manages To Be Fun
Executive Producer Danny Koo from Marvel Games stated in a past interview, “This game is built to be more acceptable for casual play.”
To this end, Marvel Rivals features many characters that are quite frankly impossible to balance fully and wouldn’t work in any other game.
From a Spiderman pulling you off the map the moment you leave spawn to a Jeff catching your entire team in an Ultimate, some of these abilities don’t belong in a multiplayer game.
people just want to have fun at the end of the day – danny koo
Yet, somehow, each hero works. Even when certain characters feel too strong, it’s easier to get back into the game because the main purpose is to have fun. Each character has a couple of things that make them uniquely difficult to deal with, some that shouldn’t even belong to certain roles, like a flying tank Vanguard in Angela.
Hero Availability From The Start
Another glaring edge Rivals has over Overwatch is how you unlock characters. In Overwatch, you don’t have the entire roster unlocked by default. This has an advantage, as it incentivizes players to put more hours into the game.
Unfortunately, the majority of any game’s player base will always consist of casuals. These casuals would want to try out new heroes and synergies, which is something that isn’t possible immediately with Overwatch 2.
This makes Marvel Rivals just an objectively more fun experience for people who are new to the game.
Changing Times
One factor that was perhaps out of Blizzard’s control was just how times change. Overwatch was one of the most fun games of its time, and it’s what popularized hero shooters as a genre. It did a lot of things right then, but now, the gaming landscape has changed.
Nowadays, people want shorter, faster games. Hero shooters in general are a lot more chaotic than games like Counter-Strike, and Overwatch certainly isn’t slow by any means, but it still can’t compete with how in-your-face matches in Marvel Rivals feel.
Is Overwatch Dead?
As someone who got into Overwatch when the game first came out, I’d have to admit it might never see the glory it once had ever again. Despite that, the game still has everything that made it fun and much more, having improved on a lot of things that made me stop playing it.
I still occasionally play the game, but not nearly as much as I play Rivals. Unless Blizzard somehow fundamentally changes the game, it’s probably going to stay that way.
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Heya, I’m Asad (Irre) Kashif! I’ve been writing about anything and everything since as far back as I can remember. Professionally, I started writing five years ago, working both as a ghostwriter and writing under my own name. As a published author and a council member in Orpheus, my journey in the world of writing has been fulfilling and dynamic.
I still cherish the essays I wrote about my favorite PS2 games, and I’m thrilled to have transformed my passion for game journalism into a career. I’m a theory crafter for Genshin Impact (and now Wuthering Waves) and have a deep love for roguelites and roguelikes. While I prefer indie games for their distinct aesthetic and vibes, I do enjoy triple-A games occasionally. I’ve also been playing League since season 6, and I main Akali! I have a keen interest in discovering and playing more obscure games, as well as researching forgotten titles. Additionally, I am a front-end programmer who dabbles a bit in gamedev occasionally.
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