Overwatch Rush preview - "Bite-sized mobile shooter, but in newbie-friendly third-person"

Shooting each other to death has always been the main goal in competitive gaming - but I say that as someone who actually has no idea how the world of shooters works. It's just not my genre, to be honest, and I think part of the reason why is that of the overly complicated controls that often come with it.

But given that Blizzard's behemoth of a franchise, Overwatch, has just landed on mobile in the form of Overwatch Rush - and in my region, to boot - it'd be a shame if I didn't even try to dip my toes into it. 

Thankfully, this isn't a simple port that translates the desktop version onto the smartphone with just a smaller screen and is done with it. It's a true on-the-go version made from the ground up, I should say, especially since the touchscreen controls are surprisingly not bad at all.

Noobs welcome

All that simply means is that it might finally offer a clumsy noob like me something that'll make me stay, because from what I've played so far, Blizzard has really made it easy to get into. That's not just because of the uncomplicated tutorial that does away with any unnecessary bits and bobs and thrusts you right into the action from the get-go - it's also because the interface is clean, unintimidating, and pleasantly colourful.

Now, I'm all about not judging the proverbial book by its cover, but I'm also the first to admit when the visuals of a new mobile endeavour attract me first and foremost. In Overwatch Rush's case, I do enjoy the aesthetics of it all, especially since this time around, you're duking it out in third person and with a top-down view (oh, and the Heroes have really cool menu animations too!).

I'd say it's very much like a MOBA in that respect, which I do appreciate as a non-fan of the dreaded FPS.

Pay to win…in fashion

When it comes to the gameplay, you can unlock points and progress by playing either in solo deathmatches or with an online team in a variety of modes. You also get to unlock cosmetics like skins and emotes as you go along - and if you persevere enough, you'll eventually unlock special Talents for your Heroes (and unlock the heroes themselves, of course), the higher your Player Rank climbs.

That's something that infinitely appeals to me - being the most non-confrontational person on the planet - because this means I can chug along with my poor shooter skills and still manage to get somewhere if I just keep at it long enough. 

At least, for now, it doesn't seem like there's going to be any pay-to-win woes here - you can unlock everything by progressing, and it's mostly just cosmetics anyway, which means if you lose, then it'll likely be a skill issue more than anything else.

Definitely one to (over)watch

Of course, Overwatch Rush is still testing the waters here, as it's only really available in the Philippines at the moment. I doubt an official global launch is coming soon, especially since a bunch of characters are still greyed out in the Heroes list (along with "Coming Soon" game modes too). I mean, the team itself said it's still "early days" right now.

There's also the lack of a manual reload button that might take some getting used to if you're not into automated stuff, and the left joystick will need settling in when you're switching from hero to hero between matches. But if the current state is anything like the official build, I think it's safe to say it'll be a fair and enjoyable version of the popular franchise with bite-sized battles that fit the mobile sphere. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to swinging Reinhardt's hammer every which way as I charge mindlessly into battle with no strategy involved at all - because that's apparently the only way I can survive in this shooter with no skill and nothing to lose.