Antarctic Peninsula is a new Overwatch 2 map that takes players to Mei's home away from home, challenging them to beat turbulent snowstorms while popping heads and taking names. However, how will the team ensure that the location does not become the site of Paris and Temple of Anubis-style massacres?
For a while, the Overwatch 2 team has been eager to investigate Mei's home away from home, calling it a "step in the process" of constructing the multiplayer game's overarching narrative.
I want to know what the design philosophy behind the map was: is it one that encourages teamwork, or one that has long corridors that are ideal for widowmaker mains like me?
“We like to achieve a good balance, which allows you to play a lot of different heroes,” level designer Trey Spisak tells PCGamesN. “On the Icebreaker point, the one with the big ship, it’s a little more flat than others, so heroes like Reinhardt or Solider 76, and characters who are more boots on the ground with less mobility might be a little bit better.
“But when you get down to the sublevel below Point A where they're doing the ice drilling, for example, there's a lot of verticality – particularly around the point.” We try to find a nice marriage.
I also wanted to know how the team has integrated community feedback into Antarctic Peninsula, especially considering how vocal fans have been about previous assault maps like Paris and Temple of Anubis, which were both removed after ongoing backlash.
The modes are similar enough that tight choke points and sites with one entrance might still be problematic, while not strictly the same – Antarctic Peninsula is a control map after all.
Spisak says when it comes to developing these new maps, we're careful not to create these super-gnarly, impossible to get through chokes with no other options. “We're trying to make it so that we don't have to go back and fix things like that,” she adds.
This makes me very happy as a person who has terrible memories of playing in Paris. The Antarctic Peninsula is beautiful, rich in history, and a brand new look for the game's icier locations. Oh, and it also has real penguins – what more can you really desire?
Antarctic Peninsula is getting ready for the Overwatch 2 season 3 release date, which is getting hot. Check out our Overwatch 2 tier list to stay ahead of the competition, as well as our list of Overwatch 2 Ramattra abilities, in case you haven't quite mastered him yet.