The halcyon days of Overwatch feel like they took place a thousand years ago, though I can remember them clear as day. Rolling my eyes at people ignoring the objective, nuking whole teams with a well-timed D.VA ult, regretting picking Widowmaker because I will never not suck at sniping. Playing the finest hero shooter ever made used to be a nightly ritual. And I desperately miss it.
Overwatch was murdered by Blizzard and nothing replaced it. Overwatch 2? Never heard of it. Other hero shooters tried to keep the lights on, like Paladins, and one of them is even came back from the dead, albeit only for three days [Correction: It's actually back for real now]. But there's no way around it: the hero shooter is largely a thing of the past. Sure, Valorant is still doing its thing, but it lacks the playfulness and fun that made the early hero shooters such a joy to play. It's Overwatch for Counter-Strike nuts, and I can think of few things less appealing.
