Blackwatch takes centre stage in new Overwatch event

This time last year the Overwatch team at Blizzard gave fans something they had been ravenous for. The world of Overwatch is rich with history but unfortunately lore can be hard to come by. That’s why the Uprising event that dipped into the past of the titular organisation to see poster child Tracer’s first mission was welcomed by fans. So as the anniversary swings around fans were excited for the event to return but hopefully with a little extra, and those prayers have been answered.

The teasers began in usual Overwatch fashion with a collection of shorts videos that flickered between last years events details and an unknown file with the Blackwatch logo. For Overwatch lore officiandos they’ll recognise Blackwatch as the covert ops arm of Overwatch that included Jesse McCree, Genji Shimada, Moira O’Deorain and Gabriel Reyes—better known as Reaper. During a recent Developer Update about the returning event the game director Jeff Kaplan spoke only about the previous uprising event returning but then asked if players were “ready for the retribution” and a day latter we were treated to a brand new tie in comic titled, Retribution.

Expanding on another teaser from earlier in the week the comic gave a deeper look at “the Oslo event”. This attack on the Oslo Overwatch base would be a final straw for Gabriel Reyes who decided to take the Blackwatch team in to the field. The final panel shows off the team set to strike back against the terrorist organisation Talon. This all but cemented everyones theories of a new event being paired with the returning level from last year. Before theorists even had time to click upload on their youtube videos Overwatch released a trailer for the new PVE map, Overwatch Retribution.

Set in the Italian city of Venice you’ll play as one of the previously mentioned members of Blackwatch in a team of four as you seek vengeance for the Oslo attack. Similar to the Uprising event you’ll work your way through AI controlled enemies to reach a final goal. However unlike the previous event the Retribution event seems to be making some changes. “We learned a lot from Uprising,” Kaplan said. “The flow is much better.”

While Uprising was a lot of fun it certainly could feel a little hollow as it treaded over an old map, Kings Row, with familiar activities and recognisable reskinned enemies. With Retribution it looks like the team are trying something new, with a new map and a range of enemies, some slightly recognisable and some looking like a new take. Starting as a PVE event the Venice map, title Rialto, will eventually find life as a PVP payload map once it has gone through testing.

The Overwatch Retribution event will commence on April 10 and will bring with it the new level as well as the previous Uprising one. With the old level we will also get the previous cosmetics. Obviously there will be new cosmetics, one certainly being Moira’s Blackwatch uniform seen in the preview but Kaplan also referenced a new skin for Reaper from his past in the Super Soldier program as Soldier 24.

As a massive fan of Overwatch and co-operative games I can’t wait to get my fingers into this one, be sure to check out the release trailer below.