For decades, Blizzard has been successful in their ruthless conquest to dominate every single genre they briefly glance at. Starcraft dominates the RTS space, WoW somehow still dominates the MMORPG genre, Hearthstone heavily dominates the CCG genre, and Heroes of the Storm is something we don't talk about.
With Team Fortress 2 becoming more and more dated, the path was wide open for Blizzard to try their hand at a cartoony Team-based shooter, with the foundation of the game inspired by many Team Fortress 2 mechanics and concepts. That, coupled with an exceptional development team resulted in the winner of 2016's Game of the Year award with its nearly unparalleled gameplay experience.
The Heroes
Overwatch's 20+ heroes make up the game's personality, each with a vastly unique playstyle and appearance. Overwatch has a character for every type of player. Do you have great tracking? High skill-ceiling heroes like McCree are there for you. Do you have good judgement and the ability to make critical decisions for the entire team? Frontline heroes like Reinhardt are for you! Would you prefer to incorporate a bit of both? Well, you've got Zarya. (etc, etc.)
The Maps
Overwatch features a solid pool of 15+ beautiful maps, typically based on places across the world. Every single map plays out differently from other maps, flawlessly incorporating crucial angles, chokepoints, and elevations, requiring a change in the team's approach from map to map. Though there is debate over certain map mechanics, the maps themselves have been released with a standard of quality and uniqueness that is rarely ever seen elsewhere. The synergy between such remarkably designed heroes to go along with these maps is the foundation of Overwatch's success.
Hanamura
Route 66
Lijang Tower
Cosmetics
Overwatch's cosmetics are undeniably spectacular. Blizzard's cosmetics have always been strong across their games, giving the player an incentive to drop money on loot boxes despite being able to achieve the skins for free at a reasonable pace. A few of my personal favorites:
Oni Genji
Blackwatch McCree
Bajie Roadhog
Conclusion
Overwatch's achievements as a multiplayer shooter will be almost impossibl0e to replicate as Blizzard, yet again, manages to create a perfect mix between casual and competitive to appeal to so many different types of players. The game's inherent ability to inspire teamwork because of the role structure allows for more and more frequent positive experiences in one's games. In other team-based shooters, there has been a universal problem of players solely interested in kills, when there's an objective to be captured. This problem is alleviated almost entirely in Overwatch. (Even in bronze!) This, along with the game's ability to make you feel like a badass when you wipe the entire enemy team with your ultimate guarantees Overwatch's position as a titan in multiplayer shooters, likely to maintain a populated community for many years to come.
