Overwatch 2 is proving to be quite popular following its release in October 2022, successfully recapturing the feel and audience of its popular predecessor. As a multiplayer hero shooter, the post-launch life cycle of the game depends on the introduction of new seasonal content and playable heroes, which help shake up the meta of the release while keeping fans engaged.
Because of this growing influx of heroes within Overwatch 2, it is clear to see why the game can be quite an imposing one to pick up for the first time. The many heroes and their unique abilities can be confusing to the untrained eye, and that's understandable. With that being said, the current tutorial mode that the title possesses falls short of giving a comprehensive idea of Overwatch 2's gameplay, so it's high time for the game's tutorial to be revisited and updated.
Overwatch 2's Current Tutorial
Overwatch 2's tutorial is a decidedly basic one, in which the player takes control of the long-time damage hero Soldier 76 to learn that character's basic movement controls and abilities. Crucially, this tutorial is taken directly from the original Overwatch, slightly adding to criticisms that the newer title is too overtly similar to its predecessor.
While Overwatch 2's tutorial does well at giving a brief overview of the core basics of the game as well as how to play Soldier 76, the ever-expanding roster and complexity of the game makes the rudimentary nature of the tutorial almost laughable when looking at the current state of the release. Considering that there are 34 other heroes that aren't playable in the tutorial, it simply isn't thorough enough. It needs to be readdressed to better portray how the title plays.
How Overwatch 2's Tutorial Should Change
While more could be done to increase the detail and complexity of Overwatch 2's tutorial, the most glaring issue is the lack of hero variation present within it. To remedy this, Overwatch 2 should offer a short but informative tutorial for every hero that is present within the game, and should continuously update this with each addition to the game's playable roster.
Given the huge breadth of heroes that fall under different combat roles in Overwatch 2, it would be too flustering for a new player to play through one huge tutorial that attempts to cover even half of the offered in-game heroes, so giving new players the ability to choose specific tutorials would be better. These hero-specific tutorials should then do more than simply showcase standard movement and controls. Instead, they can offer a fairly in-depth coverage of a hero's abilities, right down to specific combat situations in which they are best utilized.
Overwatch 2 players can try out any hero against AI, but these matches still do not offer the level of guidance that newer players need when using a hero for the first time. Broader tutorials could even be introduced to cover the basics of the tank, damage, and support roles in Overwatch 2, given how important these roles are in shaping matches and defining the title's gameplay.
With how competitive Overwatch 2 can be, and how this can be quite imposing to newer fans of the franchise, the ability to play through concise but in-depth tutorials for any specific hero would do wonders for the approachability of the title. The list of heroes in Overwatch 2 is only growing with each season, so it's becoming clearer with each update that the game's current tutorial is massively outdated.
Overwatch 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
