Overwatch contains an extremely fleshed out universe, and it’s a shame that Blizzard hasn’t yet let us explore it at our own pace. Unlike most shooters before it (but like plenty that have come since), Blizzard’s team game forgoes a single-player story campaign for a purely multiplayer experience. A full campaign seems like a slam dunk, but we may never see it due to declining interest in the game over other phenomenons. If dreams come true and Activision gives the team the green light, here are 10 things that Blizzard need to include in an Overwatch single-player campaign.
Overwatch started life as Titan, Blizzard’s spiritual successor to World of Warcraft. By all accounts, the world of Overwatch remains intact from that earlier project, so it’s possible that we’ve only scratched the surface of what we could reveal from this new Blizzard franchise. Looking at some presentations from Blizzard proper, we’ve seen screens full of unrealized heroes, and the studio has probably all come up with new ideas since development ended years ago. A campaign would be a proper revisit for many of the staff, and it could lead to a resurgence for the brand.
We also know that Activision is taking a firmer grasp over at Blizzard, which could be bad for a number of reasons. However, one of the things Activision wants is a more reliable release schedule. Perhaps it’s not the games as a service title that the team would truly want, but a big budget Overwatch single-player experience that also provides assets for future multiplayer updates could slot right into that plan. Activision just hasn’t had many big franchises lately, and even Desitny has gone independent. A huge shooter with a name that people already love could really help complement the latest Call of Duty and Crash Bandicoot reimagining.
Overwatch Campaign
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Overwatch Single-Player Campaign | Top 10 Must Have Features
Overwatch contains an extremely fleshed out universe, and it's a shame that Blizzard hasn't yet let us explore it at our own pace. A full campaign seems like a slam dunk, but we may never see it. If dreams come true, here are 10 things that Blizzard need to include in an Overwatch campaign. -
Character Moments
Imagine Roadhog landing a hook on a moving vehicle to stop an escaping good guy. Imagine Sombra hacking an entire city block. We know so much backstory about our favorite heroes so it's time to give them some defining moments. It would be the same sort of things we might see in one of the Overwatch shorts, but amplified due to interactivity. -
Ultimate Moments
We can also see these big moments coming from each hero's ultimate move. What if McCree landed a Deadeye shot from across a canyon? What if Mei froze a riverbank to let her friends cross? These are almost as notable as the heroes themselves, and they can be implemented in iconic ways. -
Faction Wars
What would Overwatch's campaign be about? We can't offer specifics, but Blizzard already has a dynamite setup in place. All of the heroes have been a part of various factions over the years. Whether that's Talon or Overwatch proper, the battle lines are drawn, and you could have missions from multiple different perspectives. -
Deep Lore Diving
We could even learn more about both sides of the Overwatch conflict. Who's really running the show at Talon? Is there some nefarious purpose behind the robot revolution? Someone at Blizzard probably has story secrets that are just waiting for an opportunity like this in a giant story bible. -
Potential New Heroes
Overwatch keeps things fresh through regular drops of new heroes, but what if the Overwatch campaign sped that along? What better surprise could there be than loading into a level with a brand new playable character? After a few months, they could hit multiplayer, but initial players would be in for a shock. -
Alternate Weapons
Since we don't have to worry about silly things like "balance," an Overwatch campaign can give known heroes entirely new weapons to play around with. Reaper might have more than just a shotgun, Widowmaker might have a gas grenade launcher, and Tracer could have a scattergun. -
Classic Maps
This is a must. Just like the heroes and their ultimates, the unique locations where Overwatch takes place are iconic enough to deserve further exploration. We could see alternate angles, doors that never opened before and perhaps even something a little more permanent. -
World Shaking Developements
Here's something that both Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 have already done, but not to a grand scale. If the campaign hits up familiar maps, maybe something happens that changes them for good. Winston gets thrown against a wall, leaving an imprint that persists into multiplayer combat. -
Skin Selection
This might not be for your first run of the campaign, but it would be foolish to not let you customize your heroes before going into a single player mission. Perhaps there's an "Arcade" playthrough that let you break the laws of the world and create some strange looking cutscenes. -
Nostalgic Abilities
One of the reasons that some players have stepped away from Overwatch is the constant nerfing of certain characters. If Mercy can't have her big rez moments in multiplayer, why not put that into the campaign for a nostalgic look back at the original version of the game?
