The surprise appearance of Overwatch 2 at Xbox's recent showcase gave fans a good look into some of the content coming with the game's massive Invasion update, including another glimpse at the PvE story mode. This greatly-anticipated feature has obviously faced an abundance of criticism after it was revealed that Hero Mode and talent trees were cut, but Overwatch 2's co-op story missions still have a chance to shine as long as they provide a versatile mix of unique enemy types.
It's no surprise that the PvE content in Overwatch 2 was widely regarded to be one of the sequel's key selling points, initially promising a fully-fledged PvE experience that would allow players to upgrade their heroes and make use of unique talent trees that would accommodate different play styles. Blizzard had unfortunately reeled in its ambitions for this game mode however, and the game's community was understandably upset with the announcement of the cut content which dominated headlines back in May. While it's certainly disappointing that the game's long list of heroes won't be as fleshed-out as they could be, Overwatch 2's story mode still promises to deliver a PvE experience that surpasses anything the franchise has tried before in terms of narrative and mechanical depth.
Enemy Variety is a Crucial Ingredient For Overwatch 2's PvE
At its core, the FPS genre relies on a formula that has remained relatively unchanged for decades, with such patterns being established by the grandfathers of shooter games - namely, Wolfenstein and DOOM. Varieties of unique weapons, abilities, and enemies, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, are paramount for creating the foundation of a gameplay sandbox that offers plenty of different possibilities. Overwatch 2 already has most of this down, currently boasting 37 different heroes who are each complete with their own unique weapons and abilities. With the game's primary identity being that of a PvP hero shooter, it's only natural that each of these powerful characters are balanced in reference to each other - but in the context of a PvE mode that presumably boasts large quantities of computer-controlled opponents, this existing balancing mechanism likely won't do.
This is where unique hero skill trees and talents would have made the difference, but their removal only accentuates the importance of unique, varied enemy types. This is something that Overwatch 2 and its predecessor hasn't explored too thoroughly in the various Overwatch Archives events that the franchise has run in the past. Though the previous Archives events had introduced short, co-operative PvE missions on an annual basis, most of the enemy types they introduced were simple and largely unchallenging.
For example, the Talon forces faced throughout Overwatch's Retribution and Storm Rising events consisted of two types of basic troopers, along with the Sniper, the tank-like Heavy Assault, and the Assassin. Most of these foes varied only in their engagement distances, weapons, and health pools, with the Assassin being the only enemy to feature any sort of interesting or unique exchanges. Most of the abilities that these enemies wielded were adapted from existing playable heroes, such as the Heavy Assault's ability to charge players similarly to Reinhardt.
Thankfully, Overwatch 2's upcoming PvE content is looking pretty good with regard to enemy types. A handful of past official tweets have given Overwatch 2 fans a good look at plenty of the robotic Null Sector foes that they'll be facing off against in the game's story mode, and some opponents such as the Puller seem promising in terms of their abilities and what gameplay consequences they could bring. Though there are likely more enemies that players have yet to discover, the success of Overwatch 2's PvE in the long term hinges on the addition of more enemy types over time, which opens the doors for more enemy factions to be introduced in the future.
Overwatch 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
