Overwatch 2's Invasion Story Missions Hold Potential, but Lack Replayability

While Overwatch 2's Invasion story missions have been well-received for their character development of Reinhardt and Sojourn, as well as the introduction of new dialogue, they have faced criticism for their lack of replay value. Gamers have expressed a desire for more depth due to the missions' brevity and relatively simple objectives. While addressing these concerns in upcoming missions is one approach, another avenue to enhance replayability could involve incorporating PlayStation Trophies and Xbox Achievements.

Overwatch 2 has previously introduced additional achievements and Trophies post-launch, following the pattern established by the original game. With each new hero introduction, players have been able to pursue two extra achievements specific to that hero. These challenges unlock in-game Pixel and Cute sprays upon completion, offering both an easier task and a more challenging one for each hero. However, this potential could be expanded further. The PvE missions could present numerous additional achievements to unlock, potentially encouraging players to remain engaged.

Future Story Missions in Overwatch 2 Could Benefit from Trophies and Achievements

Curiously, the Invasion expansion does not introduce any new achievements, which appears to be a missed opportunity. The hero progression system could easily be tied to fresh Trophies, alongside the shooting gallery in the practice range and the upcoming hero mastery missions. Even the newly introduced Support hero, Illari, lacks Trophies despite existing spray challenges within the game. Hopefully, this issue will be rectified in an upcoming major update. Nevertheless, the Invasion missions seem to represent a significant missed chance to incorporate post-launch achievements.

While DLC Trophies and achievements can be divisive due to their impact on players' hard-earned completion stats, Overwatch 2 has already introduced such elements. Therefore, continuing to expand this aspect should be a priority for Blizzard. Hero-specific achievements are valuable in motivating players to master new heroes, and co-operative story content inherently lends itself to achievements. The absence of these Trophies is particularly puzzling, considering Blizzard has implemented in-game challenges for each story mission, all offering in-game rewards like sprays and charms.

Similar to the Pixel and Cute spray challenges, which also serve as Xbox achievements and PlayStation Trophies, some of the mission challenges could contribute to increasing gamerscores and Trophy levels. While basic mission completion challenges may not require Trophies, unique objectives such as locating collectibles or knocking enemies off the airship in Rio could be suitable candidates. Additionally, a Trophy for completing all three Invasion missions on Expert difficulty could offer a gratifying accomplishment.

Blizzard could creatively incorporate achievements tied to Overwatch 2's PvE aspect as well. If more mission-specific elements like Torbjorn's turrets are introduced, Trophies associated with optimizing those features could enhance the gameplay. Speed run achievements could accompany difficulty-related ones, rewarding players who devise optimal hero lineups and memorize Omnic spawn patterns to complete maps rapidly. Even whimsical Easter egg Trophies connected to interactions with Winston in the main menu could add an element of fun.

While it may be unlikely for Blizzard to retroactively add a set of Trophies centered around Invasion missions like Gothenburg to Overwatch 2, it serves as a lesson for upcoming mission batches. When co-op levels release in 2024, Blizzard has the opportunity to introduce a fresh wave of achievements alongside them. In-game challenges alone might not suffice to incentivize players to thoroughly engage with missions, but existing Trophy and achievement hunters could find added allure in an expanded PvE achievement set.