Tag: battle net

Overwatch 2 Becomes Steam’s Worst-Reviewed Game of All Time

Overwatch 2 has made history by becoming the worst-reviewed game on Steam. Publisher Blizzard, which usually kept its PC games locked to the Battle.net client, brought its team-based shooter to Steam on August 10, only to be flooded with negative reviews. At the time of writing, merely nine percent of the overall ratings (111,234) are positive, with many criticising the title’s approach to locking heroes and cosmetics behind a battle pass and the cancellation of its long-advertised PvE mode. While Blizzard might have expected some backlash, this reception must’ve been eye-opening for them, given Battle.net did not have a review system in place.

With the release of season 6 ‘Invasion,’ Overwatch 2 had moved on from early access, though it still swayed from the purpose of its existence. You see, the sequel was announced to have PvE as an always-on game mode that would let players gather XP by completing story missions to level up their preferred heroes, by way of a role-playing-game. It was supposed to push its overarching lore forward, but back in May, Blizzard confirmed that it was no longer in development, instead releasing it in gradual, smaller batches as a means to flourish the co-op experience. Not only does this render the sequel useless, but the addition of a battle pass and other live-service gimmicks at the start didn’t sit well with longtime fans.

Another cool thing to note here is that nearly two-thirds of those reviews are reportedly in Simplified Chinese. As per games analyst Daniel Ahmad, Overwatch 2 and World of Warcraft were the biggest PC games in China before the regional servers were shut down due to a disagreement between Blizzard and its Chinese distributor NetEase. The 14-year-old partnership was brought to an end earlier this year over new terms in the licensing agreement, which ultimately led to gamers in the country using VPNs to play those games. There haven’t been any announcements of the servers returning, and Overwatch 2’s arrival on Steam was a means for them to communicate those concerns, in addition to criticising the aforementioned changes made to the game. The reliance on VPNs also forced them to suffer slow logins and connection issues.

With these numbers in merely three days, Overwatch 2 has overtaken the Chinese card-battle game War of the Three Kingdoms as the worst-reviewed game on the platform. The former has garnered 101,826 negative reviews, at the time of writing, dropping it to an ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ tag. Blizzard also has plans to bring a selection of its other titles to Steam, which would be highly beneficial to PC players since a good majority of them hate having to switch between different accounts and clients to play their favourite games. It’s unclear which ones would be making the jump, but I really hope that the Diablo games are next.

Overwatch 2 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.

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Overwatch 2’s One-Punch Man Collaboration Is Now Live: Doomfist Fashioned After Saitama, More Details

Overwatch 2’s collaboration event with the uber-popular anime One-Punch Man is now live. Marking the first IP crossover for Blizzard’s team-based shooter, the update ushers in a new set of skins and other cosmetic items inspired by the anime. The event is scheduled to last for a month until April 6, during which time players can complete in-game challenges to unlock rewards, including a free Legendary status Mumen Rider Soldier: 76 skin. Other skins will need to be purchased from the in-game shop using Overwatch Coins.

The four heroes headlining the Overwatch 2 x One-Punch Man collab have the same movesets as usual, but appear as if they are cosplaying characters from the anime. “As massive fans of anime and One-Punch Man, we’re beyond thrilled to bring this new collaboration to our players around the world. The Overwatch universe is an optimistic vision of near-future Earth, so why wouldn’t Doomfist cosplay Saitama?”, Mike Ybarra, president, Blizzard Entertainment, said in a prepared statement. The gauntlet-wielding Doomfist is the ideal choice to represent Saitama, who is known for his devastatingly powerful punches. Both characters are bald too.

For 2,500 Overwatch Coins, players can unlock the Doomfist-Saitama bundle, which includes the skin, a ‘Saitama Punch’ highlight intro, an exclusive name card, the ‘Training Regiment’ emote, and a “One Hundred Push-Ups…” quote voice line. The new healing ninja Kiriko is next on the list, fashioned after Tatsumaki, the tornado-bending professional hero. Her bundle costs 2,100 Overwatch Coins, and simply includes a victory pose and a name card in addition to the skin. The lowest priced bundle is Genos Genji, the cybernetic disciple of Saitama, costing 1,900 Overwatch Coins and granting only a skin and a name card.

Another option is to buy the One-Punch Man Mega bundle, which includes all the aforementioned items for 4,400 units of in-game currency — 2,100 less than it would cost to buy them individually. Coins can be purchased directly from the in-game store — costing $19.99 (about Rs. 1,637) for 2,000 units. Alternatively, they can be earned in smaller quantities by completing weekly challenges.

As stated before, the fourth skin based on Mumen Rider’s appearance can be unlocked by completing exclusive challenges, as one of six different rewards. Players have an entire month to rack up 24 wins, regardless of what game mode they choose to play — Arcade, Competitive, or Casual modes — and eventually unlock the special skin for Soldier: 76. Here’s a breakdown of the rewards you’ll get upon completing each milestone:

  • 4 games played — Saitama’s Fist Weapon Charm
  • 8 games played — Mumen Rider Name Card
  • 12 games played — Cyclist of Justice Victory Pose for Soldier: 76
  • 16 games played — Justice Crash Highlight Intro for Soldier: 76
  • 20 games played — Boros Weapon Charm
  • 24 games played — Legendary Mumen Rider-Soldier: 76 skin

At the moment, Overwatch 2 is enjoying its Season 3 event as well. This introduced an Asian mythology theme and a new ice-based Control map called Antarctic Peninsula. The annual PachiMarchi event is also returning on March 21, bringing a limited-time ‘Kill Confirmed’ mode and a Roadhog skin bearing a Pachimari tattoo on his round belly. Meanwhile, the One-Punch Man anime series is gearing up for its third season, announced last year, with a poster featuring Saitama and Hero Hunter Garou.

The Overwatch 2 x One-Punch Man event is now live across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.

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Diablo IV Open Beta Begins in March, Blizzard Confirms: Details

Diablo IV is getting a pair of beta test sessions next month. As per developer Blizzard, those who pre-ordered the title gain early access from March 17–19, granting a deeper look into the early game, which includes the Prologue and Act 1. In the following week, from March 24–26, all players can participate in the open beta period and experience the might of the Burning Hells, albeit levelling will be capped off at 25. The upcoming Diablo 4 also bears a battle pass system focused on cosmetics and is slated to release June 6 on PC and consoles.

Both beta periods will offer a first taste of the Diablo IV campaign, as players will get to explore the snowy tundras of the Fractured Peaks and face numerous demons prowling in the dark. While there is no specific mention of how long this region will take to clear, Blizzard claims that Act 1 content will be present in its entirety. Though, since it’s a beta, better expect minor performance issues and outages. All feedback collected from the open beta periods will be evaluated to make final tweaks for when the game launches. During IGN’s Fan Fest event, the studio also dropped a cinematic that served as a peek into the secluded, icy ranges, on which a custom-created weary traveller stumbles onto a mysterious, bloodthirsty foe. Blizzard also iterated that any progress made during the beta will not be carried over to the full purchase.

According to IGN, any custom character you create will be featured in multiple cinematics in exact likeness, depending on what cosmetics and appearance you set in the character creator screen. As stated before, Diablo 4 includes a battle pass system, covering a variety of clothing choices, tattoos, weapons, hairstyles, and emotes. However, it is divided into two parts: Free and Premium. The former is open to all and provides gameplay boosts to all players, depending on what challenges you complete. The Premium version costs $10 (about Rs. 827) worth of in-game currency and is solely focused on aesthetics. That said, Blizzard hasn’t revealed if one could use any gameplay-unlocked currency to purchase further versions of the battle pass.

These items can be unlocked within three months since they first show up on the battle pass, after which Diablo IV begins its new season. This implies that each season will run for three months — a fairly common practice. The latest instalment in the Diablo franchise also adds a new Necromancer class, wherein players can summon and command corpses to perform evil deeds on its vast, semi-open-world map and face demons such as Lilith, the Queen of the Succubi.

Diablo IV releases June 6 on PC (via Battle.net), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. The beta will be accessible across all platforms.

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