Overwatch first got a taste of narrative content with Uprising last year, however in 2018 Blizzard introduced a new and on-going format for these temporary story-based events called Archives. Starting on the 10th of April, the first Archives event was Retribution, and after running its 20-day course, the Overwatch Retribution Event will be ending today.
While Uprising took players back to the time when Tracer had just joined the organisation, when an Omnic separatist group called Null Sector led an armed revolt in King’s Row, 7 years prior to modern day. Retribution takes place 8 years before the current events of the game. At this point, the reputation of Overwatch isn’t what it used to be, and the global peacekeeping unit has established a clandestine branch.
Blackwatch, this secret unit created to do the jobs Overwatch doesn’t have the authority to, is the focus of Retribution. Set on the new Rialto map, this PvE game-mode features Gabriel Reyes before becoming Reaper, Moira, McCree and Genji, fighting against Talon operatives. In the opening cutscene, Reyes’ darker side is shown when he guns down the person of interest the group was supposed to capture.
If you haven’t played Retribution, you’ll have to wait until next year. Uprising was also made available once more via Archives, so new players could participate in that snippet of the game’s storyline as well. Overwatch Archives will return, presumably next year, with a new mode and storyline for players to delve into alongside Retribution and Uprising coming back for encores.
