Season 5 of Overwatch 2 is here, and it’s got a lot of new novelties in store for its players. The Season 5 Battle Pass specifically has been amped up with a ton of interesting changes that make it one of the best that the game has seen, and it looks to be a promising step in the right direction for Overwatch 2.Overwatch 2’s previous seasons have continuously received criticism regarding various facets of their Battle Passes. From a lack of theme cohesiveness to straight-up lackluster rewards, players have voiced their disdain for a lot of the unlocks handed out so far. Overwatch 2's Season 5 Battle Pass, however, tackles a lot of those concerns and turns things around in a fresh and captivating way.
Overwatch 2’s Season 5 Skins Do It Right
This season, Blizzard has dressed up the hero-shooter with a brand-new fantasy theme that can be seen all throughout the game. The battle pass is no exception. Season 5 of Overwatch 2 introduces 12 new hero skins and all of them match the corresponding fantasy game theme, and it seems gone are the days of the completely random-looking skins like Hanzo’s festival skin from Season 4. Skins like Alchemist Mei, Rogue Kiriko, and Demon Lord Reinhardt look like they could’ve come straight out of Blizzard’s most recent video game, Diablo 4, or its popular MMO, World of Warcraft, which is fitting since these are the developer’s most high-fantasy set video games.
Speaking of skins, Season 5 equips Tracer with a mythic skin, and the path to unlocking it is much more engaging than it’s been for previous mythic skins. This time around, players will gradually unlock three different stages of Tracer’s new “Adventurer” mythic skin as they grind through the Battle Pass, making leveling up through its tiers feel rewarding even before reaching the final tier. Unlocking the skin this way really drives home the feeling of leveling up a character in a fantasy RPG, which is exactly what this season’s theme is going for.
Questwatch is a Charming New Addition to Season 5 of Overwatch 2
The Season 5 Battle Pass also introduces a new Questwatch event, which is a narrative adventure through a fantasy role-playing game campaign between a few of the Overwatch2 heroes. As players progress through the Battle Pass, new quests and dialogue will unlock, creating another incentive to engage with it. It’s a charming addition to the game and gives hardcore fans and players a little more interactivity with the beloved Overwatch heroes. To go along with the Questwatch event, a lot of the sprays, player icons, emotes, and name cards fit the fantasy/RPG theme.
That’s not to say that Questwatch is without its faults, because it definitely could use a couple of improvements to make it feel more and more worthwhile for all players. For instance, the dialogue that can be unlocked through leveling up is mostly just text with the hero’s face next to it. While the campaign is still fun to read along with, it would be substantially more engaging had the dialogue been fully voiced by all the characters’ voice actors.
Another addition that would improve the event is to throw in some small Overwatch 2 PVE missions to go along with the quest dialogue, rather than only unlocking new text-based quests. Maybe players could choose one of the heroes in the campaign to play for each mission and bring friends along with them. Regardless, the inclusion of Questwatch is a pleasant treat for Overwatch 2 players and makes this season’s Battle Pass just feel more fun than its predecessors.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
