Summary
- Lack of replayability in Overwatch 2's Invasion story missions is a main criticism, leaving gamers wanting more.
- Adding PlayStation Trophies and Xbox achievements to the missions could have made them more replayable and motivated fans to keep playing.
- The absence of new achievements in the Invasion missions is a missed opportunity, so the next batch of missions should be sure to include them. Tasks based on the in-game challenges could be a perfect way to start, as well as Easter egg and speed run-related achievements.
Thus far, the biggest criticism about Overwatch 2’s Invasion story missions is a lack of replayability. While fans love the character development for Reinhardt and Sojourn, as well as the new dialogue, the brevity of the missions and the relatively simple nature of their objectives has left gamers wanting more. While Blizzard can address these complaints in the next set of missions, one other way the missions could have been more replayable is via some PlayStation Trophies and Xbox Achievements.
Thus far, Overwatch 2 has added extra achievements and Trophies after launch just like with the original game. With each new hero that is added to the game, players will be able to hunt for two additional achievements. These will be hero-specific challenges that also unlock the in-game Pixel and Cute sprays when completed, with each hero getting one easier task and one that is much more difficult. However, Blizzard does not need to stop there, as the PvE missions can provide dozens of extra achievements to unlock - something that could motivate fans to keep on playing.
Overwatch 2’s Future Story Missions Should Come With Trophies and Achievements
Unfortunately, Invasion brings no new achievements to unlock whatsoever, which is an odd decision. The hero progression system could easily be tied to some fresh Trophies, as could the shooting gallery in the practice range and the upcoming hero mastery missions. Even the new Support hero Illari has not yet received her Trophies despite the spray challenges existing within the game, something that will hopefully be rectified in the next major update for the game. Regardless, the Invasion missions are perhaps the biggest missed opportunity when it comes to post-launch achievements.
While DLC Trophies and achievements are controversial since they ruin players’ hard-earned 100% completion stats, Overwatch 2 already has some of them, so continuing to add more should be a priority for Blizzard. Hero-specific achievements are fine enough on their own, as they motivate fans to master new heroes, but the very nature of co-operative story content is also achievement friendly. These Trophies not existing is even more odd since Blizzard has in-game challenges for each story mission, all of which provide in-game rewards like sprays and charms.
Just like with the Pixel and Cute spray challenges that double as Xbox achievements and PlayStation Trophies, some of these mission challenges could be used to increase gamerscores and Trophy levels. While the basic mission completion challenges do not need to be turned into Trophies, the more unique objectives like finding collectibles and knocking enemies off the airship in Rio could work well. Additionally, one Trophy for beating all three missions in the Invasion set on Expert could make for a rewarding unlock.
Blizzard could get creative with achievements based on Overwatch 2’s PvE as well. If more mission gimmicks like Torbjorn’s turrets are added, Trophies tied to making the most of those features could be included. Speed run achievements could accompany difficulty-related ones, rewarding players for finding the best hero lineup and memorizing Omnic spawns so they can clear maps as fast as possible. Even special Easter egg Trophies tied to the main menu interactions with Winston could be fun.
Though it is possible for Blizzard to update Overwatch 2 with a post-release batch of Trophies centered around Invasion missions like Gothenburg, that does seem unlikely at this point. Still, Invasion can be a lesson for whatever the next batch of missions is named. When these co-op levels release in 2024, Blizzard can drop a fresh batch of achievements alongside them. The in-game challenges may not be enough motivation for players to do everything in the missions, as not everyone cares about sprays, but existing Trophy and achievement hunters would likely be intrigued by an extra PvE set.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.