Just started playing last night and also been watching some streams so I think I have a pretty good sense of the game. And holy cow this is sooooooo TF2. Sometimes it feels like valve could even take legal action for some of this stuff. I do like the game but I was wondering if anyone else was getting these feelings.

I'd say it's fairly similar to TF2 if it wasn't for crappy matchmaking and the 6v6 format.

Yes and no. The visual style and gamemodes are very TF2 like yea, but the variation in the heroes and the focus on abilities and ultimates are very MOBA like.

This might as well be tf3. That isn't a bad thing, as tf2 needed a big shake up awhile ago. It's just that blizzard was the one to do it.

Who would of thunk valve would out-moba blizzard and blizzard would out-class based shooter valve?

Blizzard is just returning the favor for Dota 2.

I'm kidding. There's obvious heavy inspiration here, but that can be said of most of Blizzard's games. They're not infringing on any character or location copyrights that I can tell. Blizzard, I would have to imagine, has a pretty strong legal team that makes sure they're in the legal clear on anything they make.

This entire industry deals in iteration and cribbing of ideas when you think about it.

It definitely feels like a spin on TF2. I think the varied heroes do a great job of differentiating it though.

I remember TF2 switching things up a bit when they introduced loadouts, but at that point I dropped off, so maybe it is more similar with that in mind.

Beyond pushing a payload and capturing points, no not really.

Have to agree. I don't really see the similarities, anymore than any other team based shooter anyway.

This is practically an unofficial sequel, so yeah, OP's not wrong

This is kinda what Blizz does, take existing ideas and refines them. Warcraft is basically RTS Warhammer after all.

It's a lot like TF2. But to me that's fine. I loved TF2 but find it hard to go back these days. It's nice to basically have that whole experience be completely refreshed.

Similar concepts, but different executions. Overwatch definitely feels more MOBA inspired which I think is a good thing because it offers something different to the already pre-existing classbased shooter mechanics. I did enjoy TF2, but playing it now definitely isn't as fun as it was at launch. I just hope Overwatch doesn't go full TF2 with different class weapons, but hopefully that wont be the case since there will be new free characters down the road.

I think it's what TF3 would have been if Valve had not decided to just milk the TF2 cash cow for eternity.

More abilities, more characters, and more crazy stuff going on, and a little bit more story.

I wish Blizzard hadn't scrapped the MMO though, trading an MMO for TF3 feels like a bad trade imo.

I honestly don't like TF2 at all, but I have had some fun with this game. Clearly it's different enough.

That... is a great point.

I think I need a better feel for how characters combine and match up before I'm ready to say they "out-class based shooter" TF2, but I am fascinated to watch it play out. I wonder if Overwatch will have the staying power/longevity of its inspiration? Nine years is a looooong time, but Blizzard games tend to have long shelf lives too due to constant patching and updates and loads of regular content rollouts.

But the community, and Valve's willingness to invest in it, carried TF2 for years, IMO. Blizzard may be able to keep it fun, but will they be able to "hand over the keys" like Valve did?

Apart from some basic similarities no not at all in my eyes.

not seeing Karaoke servers, or a server where the moderator puts on a dong hat for players they want users to hunt down and kill..... no goaties sprays. TF2 was always the bottom of the internet, just like Quake 1 mods were back in the day.

I wanted to like TF2 but I didn't get in until it went free to play. By then, every server I joined was so insanely hostile to new players that I just deleted it and quit. I understood a little bit of it - it sucks being with an existing group and having fun, balanced games, and then having it all out of whack for a few months while the noobs storm the gates. But still, it was so off-putting...I used to admin a CS:S server, and THOSE people were nicer than the average pubbie on the TF2 servers I tried.

Anyway - my point is that I would actually be pretty happy if this game ended up feeling a lot like TF2. A short-round, team-based, over-the-top shooter sounds really fun right now, and getting in on the ground floor where I can at least acquire and maintain my usual level of old-man mediocrity seems great. I mean, hell, I played a robot angel lady who shoots yellow light to make your ouchies feel better, so that seems all right.

I really don't think its all that similar to TF2. I guess as much as Dota 2 is similar to Heroes of the Storm(note I don't play MOBAs). Even at its most regular, TF2 always felt way more nutty. Team sizes were bigger, there were random crits, and lets not forget the huge amount of weapons and cosmetics they added. And that's before you get to the internet-y parts of it. I wonder how impenetrable all that is now, if you didn't follow all of it.

Overwatch feels more manageable, even with its arguably more diverse roster. Since team sizes are smaller, basic tactics/team comp matter more immediately. Yea its using similar game types and characters, but it really feels like its own thing.

It seems to be totally unlike TF2 in its match sizes. A reasonable sized TF2 match was at minimum 8v8 and most servers had counts of 12v12 and some even going up to 16v16, which also had the benefit of reducing the effect a substandard team-player had on his side's team dynamics. I feel like if Blizzard really wanted to attract the TF2 crowd (and I mean the TF2 crowd that actually _mattered_, meaning the ones that played half for the chaotic frag-fests and half for the great team-oriented play), they'd ought to develop modes and maps for Overwatch that could accommodate larger match sizes.

That isn't to say that I don't understand why Blizzard balanced for 6v6; it's transparently obvious they're hedging the game's long-term growth on the eSports aspect.

I wouldn't say its too similar. Its more like taking TF2 and adding to it more MOBA stuff. TF2 changed a lot through the years and I have spent hundreds if not thousands hours playing it. With Overwatch its been only a weekend so I cannot say for sure but having 24 characters adds new layer to the game. At the same time it made playing with random people less fun. Most players have no idea who to pick and with 6v6 even ones person mistake make it hard to win for the team. It may change with time but I don't think I would play Overwatch with randoms.

It's definitely toned down in scale and complexity. I also think one shouldn't underestimate the roster of characters they have and how they've managed to make them all feel unique.

The clashes are much faster and pushing the frontilnes doesn't seem to be as crucial of a concept as in TF2.