What's up everybody this is Master Ian Gamer, and now that we've all gotten the chance
to try out the new Overwatch Retribution PvE mode, there's one burning question I and
perhaps many others have been asking.
And that's whether or not Retribution is better than Uprising.
So, in this video I'm going to be going over all the goods and bads of both PvE modes,
to see if Blizzard improved on their mode from last year, or if they've failed to
surpass their already very high standards.
So without further ado, let's jump right on in.
In order to evaluate the two game modes, I'm going to rate them in four different categories,
being Story Significance, Character Development, Hero Selection, and Gameplay Quality.
First up is Story Significance.
This is the general value that each PvE mission possess with regards to the greater story
and universe of Overwatch.
I think it's safe to say that nobody would care about playing something boring such Torbjorn's
weekly trip to the grocery store, so just how important are Uprising and Retribution
in comparison?
Looking at Uprising first, the main significance of this mission is that it's Overwatch's
retaliation to the King's Row Uprising and also happens to be Tracer's first mission.
I'll talk more about Tracer in the Character Development section, but as for the mission
itself, it's really not anything special.
The best part about it was that we got a glimpse into what Overwatch was like back in its day.
A still functioning headquarters, and the capacity to send out agents on organized missions.
However, aside from this look into the past, the mission itself wasn't anything overly
significant.
Sure they saved King's Row, but that's really not that big of a deal, especially
in comparison to Retribution.
Retribution not only exposed the secrets of Blackwatch and served as the catalyst for
the eventual fall of Overwatch, but also outlined how many of the current heads of Talon came
to power.
This mission sheds light onto many of the questions we've had regarding the past,
and overall, is a significantly more important event in the timeline.
It might not tell us everything about the history of Overwatch, Blackwatch, and Talon,
but it gave us much more information that Uprising did, which is why I find it safe
to say that Retribution wins the category of Story Significance.
Needless to say, we can only hope that Blizzard will find a way to perpetuate this kind of
story in future Archives events.
Real quick now before I move onto to the next category, I just wanted to remind you to Subscribe
and turn on Notifications so you can keep up with all my Overwatch content.
Anyways, now let's talk about Character Development.
For this category, I'm sure the winner here is clear without me having to say anything.
Retribution offers extensive development for the four main Blackwatch members, especially
Reyes.
The banter between the four Blackwatch agents is priceless, and not only do we get some
great, humorous moments, but it also serves as a great way of tell us more about both
themselves and the story overall.
We get a glimpse at how conflicted Reyes is about what is right and wrong, and even though
his exact reasons for transitioning into Talon still remain a mystery, we see now why he
might have chosen to walk that path.
Looking even at the other Blackwatch members, we see how McCree is starting to clash with
the extreme behaviours that Reyes exhibits, which likely foreshadows his own desertion
once Blackwatch starts to grow even darker.
Genji is depicted as an emotionless, pained weapon who only does as he's told, and has
none of the positive perspectives he's known for in modern day Overwatch.
As a cyborg, he almost seems more machine than man in this mission, which emphasizes
how crucial his eventual relationship with Zenyatta is with regards to him regaining
his humanity.
And even Moira is shown to be as much of a heartless maniac back then as she is now,
which might indicate that she played a significant role in the downfall of Overwatch and even
Reyes' own transition into the evil Talon.
By comparison, Uprising has…
Tracer.
We get to see a bit of how she first got her feet wet as an Overwatch agent, but aside
from that, it doesn't offer much.
Disappointingly, we don't really learn anything new or get any development for Reinhardt,
Torbjorn, and Mercy.
Sure all four heroes have dialog banter, just like in Retribution, but we really don't
learn anything new about them or the story overall from it.
It's just more of what we already would expect from them based off of what we knew
before the event.
So, I have to give the Character Development point to Retribution.
Taking a look now at Hero Selection, this is where things start to play out a little
differently.
In Uprising, you have the choice to play as a different hero from each of the four main
categories, being Offense, Defense, Tank, and Support.
While you might not be comfortable on any of the specific four available, it at least
gives choices from all the main playstyles.
Retribution, however, only offers your choice of three Offense heroes, and then Moira as
the Support.
Now as I'm sure we're all well aware, the vast majority of players prefer to play
DPS, so this might be great for them.
But, being one of the few Tank mains in the world, I have to say that I feel a bit more
comfortable being able to lock into Reinhardt in Uprising than testing my luck with anyone
in Retribution.
While I think I'm perfectly decent as Reaper or McCree, it's still not the same level
of comfort as I'd have on any of the game's six Tank heroes.
I will admit that this may seem a little nitpicky, but even further I feel like Retribution lacks
the clearly defined roles of each team member that are present in Uprising.
Reinhardt protects the team and Payload, Tracer darts around and focuses the bigger, more
threatening enemies, Torbjorn keeps his turret up for its steady output of damage, and Mercy
keeps everyone healed up.
In Retribution however, all three DPS heroes seem to have play fairly interchangeably.
They've all got decent damage output, and the only variance seems to be the range at
which they engage the enemies.
Moira at least is the clear healer of the group, but even still all four of them are
fairly equally adept at protecting themselves from Special Talon units and most situations
they find themselves in.
This perception may just be the result of the currently absent meta for this PvE mode,
and maybe over the next couple weeks the community will figure exactly what each hero must be
doing at every point in time, but overall, it feels significantly less like you're
working together as a team and more like you're just four people with the same objective.
I suppose there's a good chance that Blizzard made it this way on purpose, as having just
one uncooperative teammate will be the end of you on higher Uprising difficulties.
But nonetheless, there seems to be less room for dynamic teamwork and overall I have to
give this one to Uprising when it comes to Hero Selection.
Now of course there is always All Heroes mode, which lets you choose any team composition
your heart could ever want, but I'm not counting that as part of the core PvE game
mode.
And this now brings us to the final and in my opinion greatest category for comparing
the two PvE missions, and that's Gameplay Quality.
There are a lot of different things to consider here, such as the enemies you face, the layout
of the map, and the objectives you must complete.
First let's look at the enemies.
Uprising features droves of Null Sector omnics.
Robotic foes who on their own don't feel that threatening.
The only individual Null Sector units which seem to cause any real concern are the Bastions
and OR-14s, although even these pale in comparison to the special Talon units in Retribution.
Perhaps my favorite part of the Retribution gameplay is these special units.
Not only do they bring back memories of my L4D days, but they each pose a threat in unique
ways, and consequently must each be dealt with accordingly.
They force you to switch up your gameplay more than Bastions or OR-14s do, and each
feel in their own way like you're dealing with a legitimate boss.
Well, maybe not the Sniper.
She just seems way too easy to deal with in my opinion.
As for the lesser enemy units, in both modes they feel pretty generic, which isn't a
bad thing.
The Talon Enforcers seem a bit more interesting than the Null Sector Eradicators, but overall
I think it's Retribution's special units which really stand out.
I certainly hope that we seem more of them or similarly unique units in future PvE modes
to come!
Moving on now to the map layout, I actually think I prefer King's Row over Rialto.
While it's certainly exciting to get a brand new map to play on, especially since it'll
one day became part of the standard map pool, overall I just really liked seeing the redesign
of King's Row.
The Null Sector tech and fortifications which have been set up make it feel very intense,
especially since we are so used to the non-event version of it.
I think the war torn city is just more visually interesting than the Venetian city, and I
simply love the idea of being able to redesign the standard maps so drastically for the sake
of story and alternative gameplay.
This now brings me to the final category of the final category, which is the objectives.
And believe it or not, I think this might be where Retribution falls the flattest.
Aside from the initial door breaching, the entire mission consists of simply running
from point A to point B. Sure you need to kill particular units in order to progress,
but overall it just feels too simple and straightforward.
Uprising on the other hand has you complete a number of different objectives over the
course of the mission, starting with capturing a few points, before moving onto a payload
escort, and concluding with a final push into the heart of the power plant.
This diversity in objectives not only makes the mode feel more wholesome, but it actually
feels like you're on a mission.
After fighting your way through multiple encounters, finally killing that last OR-14 feels so satisfying!
You and your teammates have come such a long way, and you've finally won!
Retribution on the other hand, severely lacks this kind of satisfactory accomplishment.
When I first played it, I legitimately thought there was going to be more once the dropship
arrived.
It wasn't until we boarded and started to take off that I realized that was everything.
No unique, climactic boss fight, not even one that's only composed of four underwhelming
special units.
You just stand as long as you can on a rooftop until your ride comes to take you away.
To its credit, it fits perfectly with the mission overall.
You're not trying to fight your way into some objective or capture something important.
You're literally just trying to escape.
And in fact, Jeff Kaplan himself even spoke on Blizzard's specific intent to keep it simple
like this.
In a Q&A he did during the event pre showing, he stated that many Uprising players felt
that the gameplay was disconnected from the story objectives the four heroes were trying
to complete.
Players went into the mode simply wanting to kill bots, and many disregarded any of
the external significance associated with the mission itself.
So, even though I understand why Blizzard designed Retribution in this way, I personally
have to give the Gameplay Quality category to Uprising.
Not only do I find playing the mission itself much more interesting and satisfying, but
also things like the music are just so far superior in Uprising compared to Retribution.
I don't know if anything will surpass that epic theme once you finally breach the power
plant and have a limited time to push your way in and save the day.
That level of grandeur is simply lacking from Retribution.
And thus, after having played both missions several times over the past few days, I've
come to the rather surprising conclusion that Uprising is better than Retribution.
While I love the amount of story put into Retribution and the introduction of really
cool special enemies, overall it just doesn't seem quite as fun to actually play as Uprising
is.
As the 2018 Archives event continues, I think it's safe to say that I'll be finding
myself playing more Uprising than Retribution, although both are still amazing modes, and
Blizzard, I can't wait to see what more PvE you introduce in the future.
And with that thank you all for watching!
Be sure to leave you thoughts about these two PvE modes down in the comments below.
Do you agree with my verdict?
Or do you rate them a little differently.
Let me know by voting in today's poll card, and otherwise be sure to leave a Like, Subscribe,
follow me on Twitter, and turn on Notifications to never miss a future upload.
This is Master Ian Gamer signing off, and until next time, have a great day!
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