What do you think about Overwatch 2’s Mirrorwatch limited time event?

We’re into Season 10 of Overwatch 2 and there’s a lot happening with this phase of the game. New damage hero Venture has joined the roster and they’re already starting to clean up in impressive fashion. Mythic prisms are now a thing (we’ve got an explainer for you about all those changes). And right now, the season has a limited-time event dubbed Mirrorwatch. Heroes are become villains, and villains now wear the mantle of heroes.

This event is a ton of fun. Hot on the heels of a truly bananas April Fool’s event where an unbalanced and unhinged version of the game was available in the Arcade, this is a more measured take on a pretty similar concept. There’s a limited hero pool, but all of them have been enhanced with more extreme versions of their familiar skills. Plus, each of them have been altered to offer their bizarro world abilities. For example, Mercy in Mirrorwatch can’t rez a dead character, but she can create a little explosion at the site of a friendly or enemy’s death. That particular tweak is a fun nod to the Diablo necromancer, but a lot of the reimagined abilities in Mirrorwatch are just loads of fun. I’ve never felt like such a badass playing Zarya. Tracer with warlock-style abilities is a totally different experience. And it’s really fun rethinking my Sombra play to be half damage, half support who buffs up her allies.

I’d written awhile ago about how I thought the PVE limited-time events were a fun way to refresh what can feel like overly-familiar in-game experiences. But I’m revising my opinion. This is where it’s at. Mirrorwatch and April Fool’s, presenting wacky versions of the hero abilities with a varying amount of focus on balance from event to event, is amazing. It’s like they’ve been able to tap into the downright goofy vibes that made Overwatch so special when the game initially hit the scene back in 2016. I hope that the design team is also getting some enjoyment out of these short-term projects, having some opportunities to reimagine the game to be as creative or as downright weird as they can dream up.

Have you tried out Mirrorwatch? What are your thoughts?