After almost three years away, it feels great to return to Overwatch

I must confess: despite the fact that I Kotakunumber one Ear Watch fan, I have not played it myself for two years. But buffeted by my optimism for Overwatch 2 and not being able to find me Ear Watch fixing up because Overwatch League is not back for another month, I decided to play again in the hope that I would catch again what I liked about the game for the first time.

Cooperative shooters were never my thing. In my mind, they have the reputation of being unforgiving in terms of skill requirements and toxicity to players. But helped by the fact that it was produced by Blizzard Entertainment, a company I loved very much during many years of playing World of Warcraft, when Ear Watch arrived in 2016, i thought it might finally be a shooter for me. And it was. Ear Watch was the game that brought me out of various comfort zones. Not only did I play a collaborative first-person shooter, but I drew to the support heroes – something I have never done in any class-based game. Ear Watch just click for me. I felt no unnecessary pressure to be good, and the diverse cast, bright colors, and hopeful message put me at ease in the way the dishwatering seriousness of Modern warfare et al nie.

Overwatch League arrived in 2018, which fueled my commitment to and love for the game. I had a severe case of esports fomo. I was endlessly excited about the idea that video games get the same treatment as meat sports – ultimately a competitive thing I want to participate! But all the most popular esports titles –League of Legends, Call of Duty, en Dota 2—Did not have games in which I was interested or even able to understand. I would watch The International, Dota 2‘s annual competitive season-end tournament that feeds the infectious energy of the crowd, cast and players, while I understand nothing of what’s happening in front of me. What the hell is a BKB? I do not know, but they all seem pretty excited about it. Overwatch League became the bridge that connected me to something I wanted to be desperate for, but that I could not comprehend. I bought in completely, and while the league has problems waning interest, lack of female players, en player protection, I really feel like it’s a community I’ll stay with until the end – whether I play the game or not.

Almost three years ago I just stopped playing Ear Watch. While my love of watching the game via Overwatch League was at its peak (and it still is), the game really became a task. The Arcade and Quick Play modes have become obsolete, the workshop was not a thing yet, the latest heroes were not exciting, and I avoided the competitive learning because it contained the worst ‘git gud’ elements of the community. There was also racism. Despite a good experience, Overwatch has the dubious honor of being the game in which I experienced the most racism. Conversations in the game filled with the n-word were a common occurrence. Reddit and the Blizzard forums have threads asking why harmless meme phrases like “GGEZ” are banned, but if you turn off the curse filter, the n-word becomes an honest game. As I fell in love with the game and before I stopped completely, I remembered talking to myself before signing up. I would weigh how much I want to play against my power to deal with any racist or misogynistic fucking. And as my power to trade declined, my desire to play diminished to nothing and I finally quit. My friends take note of my absence. They would jokingly send me a screenshot of their Battle.net friends list with the period “Offline” under my name getting longer.

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Last week I decided to play again for the first time in years. There was no real precipitation that made me come back – I just did it. It took a few months of updates to install, but I was back in the game. It has changed a lot. There are few life adjustments that are nice to see. The “mark all as seen” button for any new cosmetics is nice (though I sometimes enjoy deleting the notification manually, even if it’s just spending time with the characters.) I like the game tells you how long you can expect to wait and that you can spend time in the practice series while standing in line for a match. Rolling rope is a blessing. In the early days, I spent a lot of games fighting damage or tank heroes because all the support slots were filled. Casting lists eliminated that anxiety. This is without a doubt, it’s the best thing to get back to the game.

Return to Ear Watch does not feel like a big deal, but rather a collection of smaller moments that reminded me why I fell hard for this game in 2016.The world can always use more heroesAnd feel my lips automatically pop up in a smile, like hearing a greeting from an old friend. I was delighted with the muscle memory that kicked in while I was playing Zenyatta. I do not have to remember the keychains for his damage and healing bullets, to shoot them everywhere, not afraid to get close to the heart of the battle. That fearlessness was rewarded with gold and silver medals in healing and killing aid. It felt like I had never stopped playing – although my final timing was still a bit rusty.

Ear Watch, it turns out, is still my comfort zone game. I feel more empowered to try other modes that I have ignored in the past. I experimented with different heroes in Team and Solo Deathmatch for the first time and was very surprised at how well I did. I’m even considering making Competitive a serious effort. One of the best things about Ear Watch is that I do not have to commit to it. I can get everything I want out of a session in 20 minutes or less, making it the perfect palate for palate for when I need a break from endless hours Final Fantasy XIV. Although I needed some time Ear Watch, It feels really good to be back.