First and third person shooter games have always been popular. From Doom to Halo, the things developers can do with the simple concept of pointing a laser or chaingun at someone and going pew pew have changed dramatically in the last 2 decades.

For one thing, being able to kill your friends and turn your brain off after a long day is highly appealing enough to some gamers, but others choose to take a less violent route. They want more flash and strategy to their games instead of the stereotypical dudebro landscape that Call of Duty offers. And I get it, realism isn't for everyone. I'm not even the biggest fan of it, which is why sci-fi shooters are my genre of choice.

Overwatch is a HIGHLY popular game that currently stands above all other shooters. The reason why people won't shut up about it is not because of its deep plot or anything like that. It's because Blizzard has used very interesting mechanics and subtle bits of writing to make each of the game's heroes feel unique and likable. For instance, a beginning player is meant to start out with a character like Soldier 76 in order to grasp the basics of controls. Soldier is like any other main shooter character. Automatic weapon, rocket launcher side attachment, point-shoot-kill. Easy enough. But then you look into the uses that Soldier 76 can have in gameplay and things get more complicated. His biotic field ability can heal you and your teammates for a short period, giving you incentive to lock down an area from enemy attacks. His ultimate ability, Tactical Visor, auto-locks onto targets and allows you to fire and reload significantly better for a short period of time, which can thin crowds of assault heroes, like McCree or Sombra.

And who says a shooter can't have a compelling narrative or relatable characters behind it? Overwatch has a fantastic comic series endorsed by Blizzard that shows its heroes and their respective backstories. Not only is Soldier 76 a basic hero that anyone can pick up and play with, he was once Jack Morrison, the leader of Overwatch, who became ostracized for the creation and inability to control the controversial and brutal unit, Blackwatch, lead by the game's black-clad villain, Reaper. He was thought to be dead until a certain Soldier 76 appeared later in the game's fictional location of Dorado, Mexico in the Overwatch "Hero" animated short:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPRRupAM4DI

These little details and great in-game voice work give each of these heroes life and make you feel proud to play as them. The characters are likable as they are, and the backstory of the game isn't shoved down your throat, even if you might want more context to why you're moving a giant payload through the desert while shooting at your friends. But, with the extra material, like the comics and trailers, you can still obtain that extra bit of story or character development you might want. This universe is always expanding, and the next new hero might be just around the corner.

And for those of you saying that Overwatch is just a Team Fortress 2 ripoff:

1) Tracer could kick the Scout's ass.

2) TF2 has no story.

3) Just because a certain game executes an idea first, does that mean NO ONE is allowed to expand on said idea?

4) Go play TF2.