Highlights
- Blizzard has delivered exciting content for Overwatch 2 Season 7, including a new map, Sombra rework, and a Halloween battle pass. However, its crossover is a mixed bag.
- While the Diablo 4 cosmetics are spectacular in terms of their design, locking Inarius and Lilith behind an expensive battle pass bundle is very disappointing.
- At the same time, the Trials of Sanctuary mode in the Diablo 4 crossover is a major win for Overwatch 2, offering a fun and replayable PvE experience with meaningful loot and ability upgrades.
Following a stacked sixth season that brought the debut of Overwatch 2’s first Story Missions, Illari, and the Flashpoint game mode, fans were concerned that Season 7 might feel lackluster in comparison. Fortunately, Blizzard has managed to deliver another exciting batch of content, and though it is obviously not as big as Season 6, there is a lot to love. Fans can enjoy the Samoa map, Sombra rework, and Halloween battle pass, and there is also a Diablo 4 crossover going on within the game. While this adds to the many strengths of Season 7, it also has one big flaw that further damages the game’s image.
Overwatch 2 is firing on all cylinders with its Diablo 4 crossover. Unlike the One-Punch Man partnership, which was limited to some charming cosmetics and a menu screen based on the anime, the Diablo 4 collaboration offers a special game mode. There is nothing but good things to say about this mode, and the same can almost be said for the cosmetics. While the designs of the Reinhardt, Wrecking Ball, Moira, and Pharah skins are spectacular as always, there is one issue with the final two heroes’ new outfits: how they are acquired.
5 Crossovers That Would Be Perfect For Overwatch 2 After Season 7
Since Overwatch 2 revealed that it will be collaborating with Diablo in Season 7, there are a few IPs that would be perfect for future partnerships.
Overwatch 2’s Lilith and Inarius Skins Being Locked Behind a Premium Battle Pass is Concerning
Surprisingly. Overwatch 2’s previous crossover that focused on One-Punch Man seemed more fair than its second outing, suggesting that the wrong lessons were learned. While players can get Reinhardt’s skin in a separate bundle in-season, and Wrecking Ball’s Diablo skin regular Season 7 Battle Pass, the two most exciting skins are locked behind the Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle. Players need to pay $40 if they want the Lilith and Inarius Overwatch 2 skins, which is a concerning sign for future crossovers.
With the One-Punch Man content, though Blizzard offered a bundle to get every skin at once, each outfit could also be purchased individually. This was a great decision, as it gave players the freedom to choose which characters they wanted and let them buy skins for the heroes that they actually play. Sadly, there is no option to get Lilith or Inarius individually, as players need to spring for the expensive Overwatch 2 Battle Pass. This is truly disappointing, as it feels like a step back. Those who play Overwatch 2 often will likely not want the Tier Skips, and many may play only Moira or Pharah - or only care for Lilith or Inarius - making the other skin less appealing. Not being able to grab the skins outside this bundle is a concerning sign for future collaborations, as it is hard not to worry that the next partnership’s best content will again be locked behind the Ultimate Battle Pass bundle.
Overwatch 2’s Trials of Sanctuary Mode is Still a Massive Win For The Game
While players are understandably outraged that Blizzard is not letting them purchase the gorgeous Inarius and Lilith skins individually, the Diablo 4 crossover is not all bad. In fact, aside from this poor monetization decision, the event is a major win for the game. Overwatch 2’s Trials of Sanctuary mode is arguably the best limited time content the hero shooter has received thus far, and many fans will likely be wanting it to stick around permanently once they have tried it.
A proper homage to the Diablo series, there are some amazing references to find within Trials of Sanctuary. While there are some great surface-level homages like sounds from Diablo 4 and heroes dressed as figures from the series, Blizzard also managed to make the Overwatch 2 gameplay loop function like its ARPG franchise. Players kill a few hundred demons with stronger foes occasionally mixed in, looting chests as they do. After taking out these waves of foes, a boss fight will begin, and players will eventually fight Lilith Moira after they have progressed through the dungeon. A Loot Goblin will sometimes appear too, with Blizzard cleverly using a speedy version of Junkrat to create a similar chase. Best of all, looting feels meaningful in Trials of Sanctuary.
While players are still reeling from the cancelation of Overwatch 2’s Hero Mode, Blizzard has at least allowed parts of that content to live on through its events. The Underworld Event Mission from Season 6 was a good example of a reskinned Hero Mission, and now pieces of Overwatch 2’s cut talent trees have been inserted into a fun co-op mode. In addition to players looting speed boosts and other buffs, major ability upgrades will drop that do things like making Reinhardt’s hammer swings launch beams of light. With the drops looking like new weapons and behaving like Diablo 4’s aspects, they are a great way to reward players for being thorough and add a surprising amount of depth to the mode. All of this comes together to make Trials of Sanctuary fun and replayable regardless of whether players like Diablo, addressing a big problem with PvE. It’s just a shame that a poor choice made when pricing the crossover skins is distracting from how great the new playable content is.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
