Overwatch News: Storm Rising is a Good Distraction, if a Little Short

Welcome to ESTNN’s review of the new Overwatch event: Storm Rising! Storm Rising is a new addition to the current series of missions known as the Archives. Blizzard released the first mission, Uprising, in 2017. The mission showed Reinhardt, Mercy, Torbjorn and Tracer all fighting against the Omnic uprising in Kings Row before Overwatch disbanded. The second event, released the following year, was given the name ‘Retribution’. It followed Blackwatch agents Moira, Genji, McCree and Reaper as they took out a big wig in Talon’s ranks, fighting through the streets of Rialto to reach the evacuation shuttle. This year, we've got Storm Rising.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the storm rising event

The Story

Storm Rising takes place six years in the past and follows Tracer, Genji, Mercy and Winston as they take on Talon agents in the streets of Havana. Their mission: reach a wealthy member of Talon’s inner council, a man known as Maximilien. According to the story of the mission, Doomfist is shaking up the Talon Ranks, and Overwatch wants to capture Doomfist — badly.  In order to get to Doomfist, Overwatch believes that Maximilien is their best chance to get to him.

Gameplay and Walkthrough

The mission starts after a relatively lengthy cutscene, which shows a chase between the Overwatch agents and Maximilien. Mercy, Tracer, Genji and Winston begin to take down the motorcade surrounding Maximilien’s car, on the orders of Overwatch Captain Sojourn. Maximilien escapes when his convoy crashes, and the mission begins.

Four players fight through the small, cramped streets of Havana, Cuba. Once all of the Talon agents have been dispatched, Sojourn grants the players access into the Don Rumbotico warehouse, where they are tasked with fighting more waves of Talon agents. The players escort a truck full of explosives to the Havana Sea Fort where Sojourn informs them that Maximilien is hiding out. After the truck has reached the fort, players again fight more Talon agents until another Heavy Assault unit shows up.

With all the Talon forces dead, it’s time to set off the explosives. When players activate the explosives, the mission ends with another cutscene. The cutscene depicts the Overwatch capturing Maximilien, as well as coercing him into giving them an introduction to somebody higher up in Talon. It then cuts to Doomfist speaking to an unknown associate, offering them Talon’s aid, and the scene ends.

Storm Rising is a good distraction, but it could be much more

Overall the mission itself is a little disappointing. The four heroe options are a good choice for dealing damage, with Genji and Tracer being the primary pick for most kills. After a few playthroughs, however, it becomes apparent that Winston and Mercy don’t have much tank or heal. There aren’t enough enemies to warrant constant healing from Mercy, nor are there enough to encourage Winston to play defensively. Even though there are a fair amount of enemies, Genji and Tracer will have taken care of most of them by the time Winston even drops his bubble.

People will debate whether they like the length of the Storm Rising mission. It’s rather short, which means it can be completed a couple of times before that chicken you’re cooking for dinner is finished. Don’t worry though, if you’re playing as Winston or Mercy, there’s plenty of opportunities to turn the chicken over to make sure it cooks the whole way through. That said, if you're looking for something a little more in-depth, Storm Rising isn't for you.

In conclusion, the event is worth giving a try, but it’s not much in comparison to its predecessors.

Image VIA: Blizzard Entertainment