REVIEW: ‘Overwatch 2: Genesis,’ Parts 1-2 — “Dawn” And “Innocence”

The central moment of the Overwatch lore has always been the Omnic Uprising. The threat it posed to humanity gave birth to Overwatch, bringing together the heroes players have come to love ever since the game’s release back in 2016. But what caused the Omnic crisis? How did the Omnics come to be? These questions are looked at in Overwatch 2: Genesis Parts 1-2 as the first installments in a series of six shorts that explore the lore of Overwatch.

Taking a documentary-style approach to its narrative, this presents the history of the world of Overwatch through interviews with new characters from that setting, who witnessed the events these episodes cover. The advancement of AI, humanity’s growing dependence on it, as well as the construction of the first sentient Omnic are all explored in the series’ first six-minute episode. While such a short runtime doesn’t allow for too much depth, it nevertheless does a good job of laying out the important decisions that lead the world toward the looming crisis.

The visuals do a great job of recreating the classic documentary feel in Overwatch 2: Genesis Parts 1-2. The interviewees are allowed to express plenty of emotion visually as they recount the steps leading up to the creation of the first sentient Omnic. This visual expression is coupled with solid voice acting to deliver some well-executed and believable performances.

The climatic moment of the first entry sees the birth of true sentience in a machine. This moment is handled amazingly well. The animation zooms in on a small element and expands it, using the simplest of human expressions to visually articulate the momentous weight of what is occurring in the scene.

While the first half of Overwatch 2: Genesis Parts 1-2 chronicles the rise of Omnics and humanity’s achievements, as one would expect, the second half sees the war that follows come into being. The new details concerning the whys of the uprising were interesting to me, especially as it casts a different light on the Omnics’ part in it compared to what my understanding had always been.

And of course, with humanity on the brink of destruction, we see the rise of Overwatch. As the series introduces us to the core team that founded the group, Soldier 76, Reaper, Anna, Reinhardt, and Torbjörn, the presentation does a wonderful job of delivering the sense of hope and promise that the Overwatch brand has always leaned into.

While the emotion is wonderfully presented in the team’s arrival in Overwatch 2: Genesis Parts 1-2, I wish they could’ve leaned into the action a bit more. With so little of it in the episode, it would’ve been nice to see Reaper going full-on guns blazing or have a shot of Reinhardt plowing through a line of Omnics in his iconic charge. What we get instead is fine, if a bit generic. Some nice shots of Anna sniping are as interesting as these moments get. They do the job, but I can’t help but wish for more.

Overwatch 2: Genesis Parts 1-2 delivers some fascinating insights into the lore and world of Overwatch. It gets important information to viewers in a manner that is fluid and interesting. If you are big into the world of the game, this series looks like a must-watch for sure.

Overwatch 2: Genesis Parts 1-2 is streaming now on YouTube with new episodes dropping on Thursday.