What is Overwatch?
Most people are familiar with what Overwatch is at this point. The tactical shooter was released in 2016 and immediately received praise from most major critics. The game features first-person shooter combat. Two teams, each consisting of six players, must fight against each other in other to complete different objectives. These objectives are different depending on the maps.
The gameplay isn’t the only thing that makes Overwatch popular though. Blizzard has worked hard to fill the game with a vibrant set of characters. Each of these characters is completely unique from one another in terms of both gameplay and lore. Blizzard’s good support for the game has also kept it relevant for all these years. New events are constantly added to the game and there are little to no server related issues.
What is LawBreakers?
LawBreakers is also a first-person shooter game that was released a year after Overwatch. The game was officially released on August 8th, 2017, however, an early access version was available before this. The game was released on PC and PlayStation 4 but a version for Xbox was never released. LawBreakers tried to take a unique approach to the first-person shooter genre. The game featured low gravity mechanics and slightly relied on strategic play.
Two teams featuring five players each had to complete different objectives in order to win. There were two separate factions in the game and each faction had the same 9 roles. Each faction had a unique character for every role, meaning that players could not choose any characters from the opposing team. For example, the Law faction had one character for the ‘Titan’ role while the Breakers faction had another. The characters in these roles had the same abilities and equipment, so this didn’t make a huge difference.
LawBreakers vs Overwatch: The Main Differences
Both Overwatch and LawBreakers offered unique takes on the FPS genre. Regardless of this, Overwatch was much more successful. Check below if you want to see the key differences between the two games.
Gameplay
Overwatch takes on a tactical approach and is one of the most popular shooters games to this. The game heavily relies on teamwork and composition instead of just relying on skill alone. Players have to develop effective strategies for each map. As mentioned, the game features 6v6 combat. One team must complete a specific objective while the other team must stop them from completing the said objective.
LawBreakers did focus a little on tactics and composition, however, the game wasn’t totally reliant on it. As mentioned, the game featured low gravity mechanics. This was certainly a newer take that hadn’t been tried many other games. The gravity mechanics made the game fun and each role felt unique and fun to play with. Similarly to Overwatch, both teams had to complete different objectives in order to win.
Player Base
Overwatch has always had a large player base. The game has been going strong since its release. Even the release of Fortnite was unable to have a huge effect on Overwatch’s player base. The game was played by millions at the time of its release and is still actively played by millions to this day.
LawBreakers, on the other hand, was one of the many games that suffered from Overwatch’s success. The game failed to become as famous as Overwatch, even though it was a fresh breath on the FPS genre as well. Many critics liked LawBreakers, but the game couldn’t get a large enough player base in order to keep itself alive. In 2018, Boss Key productions ended support for LawBreakers and removed it from Steam and the PlayStation Store. This is why the game can’t be played anymore.
Modes and Events
Overwatch has a few different modes that keep the game from getting repetitive. On top of this, new events are also regularly added to the game which keeps players attached to the game.
LawBreakers had a lot more modes in comparison to Overwatch. This was great as the game never felt too repetitive because of this. There weren’t many events in the game and it relied on its different modes to keep players entertained.