Blizzard is back on track – at least that’s what MyMMO demon Cortyn thinks. April 1st is a shining example.
In recent years, Blizzard has gone through a tough time. Not only did it lose the trust of fans due to unpopular expansions (WoW: Shadowlands) or new, controversial titles (Diablo: Immortal), but various major crises and ugly scandals have also periodically led to dissatisfaction, protests, or calls for boycotts.
The once probably most popular video game company was at rock bottom and had to endure a lot of criticism.
The “love for detail” has disappeared, the “creative minds” are gone, and everything new is just “garbage”.
Blizzard can still do it – the last months show this
But the last months, and especially today, have shown me: Blizzard can still do it, and developers are working on projects that are close to their hearts and understand what the player base wants.
I feel this most clearly in World of Warcraft with Dragonflight. Two years ago, I would have never believed that Blizzard could manage to deliver a new patch every two months that actually provides content – but so far they are succeeding. New story quests, cool rewards, and significantly less “pressure” to log in every day. The game feel has shifted significantly towards “Do what you want” and is less about “Do this, or you can’t keep up”.
Even if Diablo IV doesn’t pique my interest, I hear almost only good things from beta participants. The reactions are positive, and Diablo fans seem to be getting what they’ve been waiting for for years.
The probably most colorful example is Overwatch 2. Even though it was significantly criticized at launch – partly justifiably – it has truly improved over the last months. Criticism has been taken into account, the progress system has been significantly improved, and regular events entice with cool skins.
However, the “biggest hit” comes from the April 1 event. Blizzard traditionally makes little jokes, but with Overwatch 2, they put in a lot of effort.
Almost all heroes have received a revision or enhanced abilities in the arcade. Even community memes have been taken into account.
- When a Genji screams for healing “out in the middle of nowhere”, there’s a chance it might heal him on its own.
- Reinhardt can now fly with his Charge – and take enemies from the sky.
- Mercy now has 5 times more ammunition and shoots faster, making the “Battle-Mercy” meme a really solid character.
But there are also changes that are so good that they could even remain in the game:
- Headshots from Widowmaker now deal damage as poison over 3 seconds. Poisoned targets can be seen through walls by Widowmaker.
- If Junkrat blows himself up with his own mine, he leaves grenades on the ground.
- Moira can now suspend her Biotic Orbs in the air, so they stay in one place.
Already after a few hours, calls are being made: “This is just too good for an April Fool’s prank, let this stay in the game”.
The “smallest” joke is even more impressive
Even more impressive – and again funnier – is the second feature that they “just brought into the game”:
All characters have received new voicelines for their ultimates, which are played randomly instead of the normal voicelines.
Here, Blizzard has once again shown humor and demonstrated that they understand how players tick and what they find amusing. A few examples:
- Ramattra now calls: “You will suffer as I, Ramattra, have suffered! Your torment will outlast the stars. When the universe crumbles to dust, you will still be there, suffering as I… have suffered.” While doing this, Ramattra also ignores that the ultimate is basically over after about half of the voiceline.
- For those who understood only gibberish from Sombra’s “¡Apagando las luces!”, Blizzard now grants a wish, as she now simply says: “Propaganda is useless!” It doesn’t make sense with her ultimate, but the community has been hearing this for years.
- Moira completely indulges her Dragon Ball Z fantasy and simply shouts “Kamehameha!” We always knew it.
A large part of the new voicelines (in English) can be seen here:
Even if it may look like “not much” from the outside, a lot of work goes into these ideas. Not only has the humor of the characters and the community been captured quite well, but also getting all 36 voice actors in several languages together for such a small “silly” event is quite an effort.
It is this playful love for little details and the effort that goes into such silliness that I have long associated with Blizzard. It gives me hope, along with the developments of the last months, that the once beloved game studio still “has it”.
I want more of this, and I want it in all of Blizzard’s games.
