Overwatch Season 1 is here, and with the relaunch comes five brand-new heroes that are pulling plenty of gamers back to the hero shooter. Overwatch’s huge update is proving successful, as not only is it outperforming Marvel Rivals on Steam (a platform that Overwatch more or less treats as an afterthought thanks to battle.net), but its Twitch numbers have skyrocketed. While it will be interesting to see what happens when the Twitch Drops end and the hype dies down, Overwatch’s comeback has been impressive to watch — even if some Rivals fans have been quick to criticize the game for “stealing” concepts from their hero shooter of choice.
Obviously, this is a flawed criticism given just how much Marvel Rivals borrowed from Overwatch. Sure, heroes mix and match abilities from Blizzard’s game, but there’s no denying that a lot of said abilities come from the title that popularized the genre. The idea that Jetpack Cat is an attempt at giving Overwatch its own Jeff doesn’t make sense when looking at how Jetpack Cat is a decade-old concept and one of three animal heroes in the game. Similarly, the Pheonix and Anran similarities basically end at their ultimates and usage of fire. Anran’s mechanic of priming and detonating enemies is much different from Pheonix’s ranged poke damage, as Anran is more of a flanker than anything else. And while Emma Frost and Domina are similar personality- and looks-wise, the former is more like Ramattra mechanically due to Diamond Form. However, one new hero — Emre — does feel like something from another game; only that game is Halo, not Marvel Rivals.
Anran has a basic ability called Dancing Blaze that works like Psylocke’s ultimate, but feels drastically different since it’s a low damage escape (and healing) tool that's used often.
It's Official: Overwatch Has Beaten Marvel Rivals
Blizzard's original breakthrough hero shooter returns to the throne as it officially surpasses its Marvel-themed competition.
Emre is Basically a Halo Spartan in Everything But His Appearance
The most-requested Overwatch hero of all time has finally arrived after being teased in official artwork way back in 2016. And while he’s not as flashy as a flying feline or a posh Hardlight wielder, he’s proving to be a great alternative for newcomers wanting to play someone other than Soldier: 76. His story is incredibly interesting already, as he’s got a close bond with bounty hunter Freja and could be at the heart of Sombra’s conspiracy based on the logo that appears on his chest. He is also cursed to carry a God AI that both increases his power and regularly takes control of him, and this AI companion (seriously, it's basically Cortana with rampancy) is the first of many similarities to Halo’s Master Chief.
Emre is not only quick to pick up and use thanks to his ability to aim down sights — something the later Halo games under 343 Industries introduced — but his kit is essentially built all around Halo gear. Every part of his arsenal has a Halo equivalent if one were to look at them closely. For instance:
- Synthetic Burst Rifle = BR85 Battle Rifle: This three-round burst rifle will instantly evoke memories of one of Halo’s most iconic weapons, having some similarly satisfying noises when fired alongside its familiar firing pattern. Not to mention a 36 bullet count per mag.
- Cyber Frag = Plasma Grenades: One of Emre’s Perks in Overwatch allows players to turn his grenades sticky, and once they have done so, the explosives will feel just like the ones from Halo. With two charges and the option to toss them quickly before shooting again, the gameplay loop is, once again, eerily similar. Players can even grenade bounce using them by throwing the 'nades at their feed before jumping.
- Siphon Blaster = M6D Pistol: Halo’s magnum is iconic due to its animation, firing sound, and design, all of which Blizzard clearly kept in mind when crafting the Siphon Blaster. Sure, it is used for healing instead of crazy damage like the M6D, but firing it feels very similar. Additionally, though swapping from a BR equivalent to this pistol would already have major Halo vibes, Emre getting floatier, Halo-like jumps when the pistol is out only sweetens the deal.
With Emre’s Override Protocol Ultimate ability even resembling the Promethean guns from Halo 4, he feels like a love letter to all eras of the most iconic Xbox franchise of all time. It hasn’t taken long for Halo fans to flood the Overwatch subreddit with appreciation for Blizzard, as well as skin concepts depicting how an official Emre Master Chief skin might turn out. While Emre's backstory, the smooth animations where his weapons materialize, and his personality all help him stand out a bit instead of being a cheap ripoff, he does still feel like a deliberate homage to one of the FPS genre’s staples.
Emre’s Halo Vibes Are a Boon For Overwatch and Halo Fans Alike
With Halo: Infinite support dwindling and the next multiplayer experience looking far off due to the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved remake, it’s great that players have a new Halo-like online experience to try out. Even if Emre is the only character Halo fans end up gravitating toward, they can still get hours of gameplay out of him, leveling up, flying through competitive ranks, and saving up currency to buy his eventual skins. With Overwatch being free-to-play, there’s no harm in Halo players giving it a shot and experiencing the Halo vibes first-hand. And for Overwatch, the game not only benefits from having another more straightforward damage character that resembles traditional FPS games, but it has a chance of winning over an audience that may not have been interested prior to Emre’s addition. So while the Rivals community’s copycat accusations don’t really hold up, it’s true that Overwatch did take a lot from another FPS for one hero. But with how good Emre turned out, it’s a good thing that Blizzard used Halo as inspiration for his character design.
Overwatch
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