'Overwatch' Anniversary Event Isn't That Spectacular

I’m a little disappointed by Overwatch’s Anniversary Event. The big update dropped a few hours ago and I’ve already collected every skin I wanted and tried out all three new maps. What’s left for me to do? The patch notes say that Reaper got a buff

I can’t believe it’s been a full year since Overwatch, Blizzard's insanely successful shooter, released. I remember watching streamers on Twitch show off the crazy maps and awesome heroes while the game was still in beta and knew that this was going to be big. Since then, I’ve become a daily player, obsessed with climbing the ranks in competitive play, showing off my Torbjorn turret placements and collecting every single cosmetic I could get my grubby little mitts on. I’ve spent more on Overwatch loot boxes over the last 12 months then I have on groceries. Who needs lunch when you have a perfect Zarya Graviton Surge adrenaline rush pulsing through your veins?

That’s why I was so excited when I heard the news about Overwatch’ s Anniversary Event. Blizzard loves to celebrate the fans -- and their own success -- with massive, outlandish events that take over their games. World Of Warcraft gave out Corgi pets for their 12-year anniversary, Starcraft II celebrated six years by turning their resources into cake and Diablo celebrated 15 years by showing up everywhere. My mind went crazy thinking of the possibilities that Jeff Kaplan and his amazing Overwatch team could create.

Then I saw what was coming: a bunch of Legendary skins, three new maps for a reworked Arena mode and dance emotes. I expected a bit more from the birthday for my favorite game. I love shiny new cosmetics, but I need more than just ways to spend money to keep me entertained. Past events, like King’s Row Uprising or Junkenstein’s Terror, had unique modes that were engaging and fun to play. My aim is awful against real people, so I relished the chance to kill everything with zero fear of retaliation.

Here are just a few things I would have loved to have been added for the Overwatch Anniversary Event. This is just a giant wish list, but complaining is more productive than staring at that gorgeous event log-in screen for hours on end.

Bring Back Past Event Game Modes- Why couldn’t the Overwatch team bring back some of the past game modes to celebrate the game’s birthday? Tons of new players never got the chance to play Lucioball or Mei’s Snowball Fight, and it feels like a missed opportunity. Kaplan and his merry band of developers do plan on bringing back past events to the game, but that’s not really a reason not to re-release game modes. If a new game mode rotated out every few days for the duration of the event, I think it would have kept everyone happy and continuously engaged.

The Loot Box Problem- Loot Boxes make Blizzard a ridiculous amount of money. That gives them the incentive to cram as much purchasable content into a calendar year as possible. This event can’t really be called an event, it’s more of an infomercial. Ads on the Overwatch page pronounce how amazing these new Legendary skins are and how you need these dance emotes in order to properly BM in your games. Blizzard wants you to buy as many Loot Boxes as your pathetic bank account can handle, all while they collect their earnings and plan for the next way to get your money.

Always Check The Patch Notes- Patch 1.11 brings Reaper and Orisa buffs, Soldier:76 and Reinhardt nerfs and Hanzo can climb walls with his bow drawn. I would never have known about this if I didn't actively seek out the patch notes online.

How do you like the Overwatch Anniversary Event? Tell us in the comments.