Loverwatch, a browser-based Overwatch 2 spin-off, provides a frisson of dating sim romance
It’s such a clever title, it’s almost surprising that nobody has come up with Loverwatch before. But just in time for Valentine’s Day, along comes Blizzard’s browser-based Overwatch 2 spin-off – full title, Loverwatch – Lovers Never Die – which replaces frantic gunplay with the blushing cheeks and swooning dialogue of a dating sim. The game gives you a choice of romantic partner – Genji or Mercy – and sends you off on an exotic date, all overseen by Cupid, here played by another familiar Overwatch face, Hanzo Shimada. There’s also a quite funny early sequence in a club where you try to impress your potential love interest with a selection of truly awful jokes. Loverwatch is laced with in-jokes and Easter eggs for fans, there are multiple endings, and completing it will earn players a Cupid’s Kiss Hanzo highlight intro and other perks. The dating sim is part of a wider Valentine’s Day event that also includes the PvP mode, Love of Geometry, which pits teams of Cupid-themed Hanzos against each other. Love of Geometry also temporarily restores Hanzo’s divisive Scatter Arrow attack, which was removed from the original Overwatch back in 2018 following complaints from players that it was a little too powerful for comfort. Loverwatch will be freely available to play until 28 February, though the game itself hints that it could be the proving ground for a larger Overwatch dating sim experience in the future. If Blizzard’s surprising spin-off has left you hankering after more games in the dating sim genre, we’d heartily recommend the brilliantly odd, avian-themed Hatoful Boyfriend, or the darkly subversive Doki Doki Literature Club. Best of all, the latter’s free. You can play Loverwatch – Lovers Never Die via a desktop browser right here.
It’s such a clever title, it’s almost surprising that nobody has come up with Loverwatch before. But just in time for Valentine’s Day, along comes Blizzard’s browser-based Overwatch 2 spin-off – full title, Loverwatch – Lovers Never Die – which replaces frantic gunplay with the blushing cheeks and swooning dialogue of a dating sim. The game gives you a choice of romantic partner – Genji or Mercy – and sends you off on an exotic date, all overseen by Cupid, here played by another familiar Overwatch face, Hanzo Shimada. There’s also a quite funny early sequence in a club where you try to impress your potential love interest with a selection of truly awful jokes. Loverwatch is laced with in-jokes and Easter eggs for fans, there are multiple endings, and completing it will earn players a Cupid’s Kiss Hanzo highlight intro and other perks. The dating sim is part of a wider Valentine’s Day event that also includes the PvP mode, Love of Geometry, which pits teams of Cupid-themed Hanzos against each other. Love of Geometry also temporarily restores Hanzo’s divisive Scatter Arrow attack, which was removed from the original Overwatch back in 2018 following complaints from players that it was a little too powerful for comfort. Loverwatch will be freely available to play until 28 February, though the game itself hints that it could be the proving ground for a larger Overwatch dating sim experience in the future. If Blizzard’s surprising spin-off has left you hankering after more games in the dating sim genre, we’d heartily recommend the brilliantly odd, avian-themed Hatoful Boyfriend, or the darkly subversive Doki Doki Literature Club. Best of all, the latter’s free. You can play Loverwatch – Lovers Never Die via a desktop browser right here.
