Overwatch, released May 23 in North America, is a team-based, first person shooter which pits teams of six players against each other as they battle it out over various objectives scattered across the futuristic world.

Overwatch is a deceivingly simple game. The player chooses a hero from the available roster and fights the other team in order to complete objectives, such as pushing a payload or capturing a point. This barebone approach to gameplay allows new players to seamlessly ease into the game. However, a huge amount of strategy comes into play as players start to choose heroes to counter enemy heroes and aim to create the best team composition, which allows for a more dedicated level of play. The 21 heroes themselves are diverse and entertaining, and since they each have their own fully realized backstory, the player can empathize with them. The game has an unexpectedly staggering amount of depth in its narrative. The company behind Overwatch, Blizzard Entertainment, worked hard to pack in as much backstory to the game as they could by fleshing out the game’s entire world.  This fictional universe shares problems which hit close to home such as racial tensions and environmental change, allowing the game to comment today’s society. The game is also visually appealing with its almost Pixar-esque animation style. The gameplay, while simple, is endlessly fun. Each match is enthralling, and the game rewards players nicely for their effort with a fantastic progression system, which essentially gives players in game items based on their skill.

Overwatch is multiplayer only, so some people may find the $40 or $60 price tag on PC and Xbox/PlayStation a bit much. The game does not ship with too much content. While 12 maps, different locations to fight in, is decent, four game modes is a bit disappointing from a behemoth like Blizzard. The fact that there are only four game modes also makes the game a bit repetitive. These concerns are relatively minor, as Blizzard has stated its interest in updating the game regularly.

Overwatch is a unique experience. It is deceptively simple while showing an amount of depth and social commentary not usually present in first person shooters, and if players are not into reading backstories, the game itself is genuinely fun. There is a little bit of something for everyone in Overwatch, a quality not present in a lot of media, ensuring that it will stand the test of time.

VERDICT: 10/10