Overwatch vs. CSGO: Which is the right game for me?

In the world of first-person shooters (FPS), Counter Strike Global Offensive is one of the fathers of eSports leagues, and without the game, Blizzard's Overwatch League probably wouldn't exist. The Counter Strike series showed such great success that many other game developers tried to emulate this FPS. Blizzard Entertainment released the original Overwatch inspired by CSGO, though the Blizzard game developers implemented plenty of fun new features to add variety to the game.

Overwatch vs. CS:GO Gameplay

Overwatch 2 and CSGO are two of the most competitive games available, but they have very few similarities. They both have two 5-man teams, and both games require tactical awareness from each player.

However, they differ in many ways. Overwatch 2 relies on teamwork, group play, and often punishes players who try to take on groups individually. Though to an Overwatch Player, aim is somewhat important, your overall accuracy can be poor as long as you play smartly, group up, and play to your hero's strengths. In fact, there are some heroes, like Mercy, that rarely fire at all.

Overwatch players are involved in a much faster-paced game, as well, with short respawn times, longer team-fights, and generally fast-paced, at times chaotic, match. In more competitive mode, voice chat is highly encouraged, as teamwork is required in tougher games.

Unlike Overwatch, CSGO players have more freedom to play on their own because they are less reliant on team play. Though the two teams definitely benefit from team work, individual skill can make a huge difference in each game, and the early players need to focus on aiming and timing of strafing rather than being a team player.

CS:GO's Aim vs. Overwatch Abilities

The two games require a completely different set of skills in order to have solid game play.

Your ability to aim is vitally important in Counter Strike: GO. Players spend years perfecting the timing of shots, placing smoke grenades for cover, and successful bunny hops.

CS:GO's bullet spread is unforgiving, meaning the more you shoot, the less accurate your gun will be. In order to get the most accurate aim, you need to stand still so your gun's spray patterns are more controlled. Also, you need to fire in controlled bursts in order to control your crosshairs.

The skill cap to CS makes it a much more difficult game to get into for newer players. Additionally, because it was released in 2012, many people already know the ins and outs of the game, so the competition would be extremely difficult for someone who has just downloaded the game.

Counter Strike Global Offensive is a slow-paced FPS. Additionally, once you die in a round, your team needs to either win or lose for you to be able to play again. So playing more slowly and cautiously is a good idea for most players.

Overwatch 2, on the other hand, is a completely different world when it comes to an FPS game. The game relies on the timing of abilities rather than the timing of shots.

The game is more reliant on a combination of abilities on your team. For example, one of your team's heroes can use their Ultimate, like Zarya's Graviton Surge, to group the enemy team together. Then, a damage role teammate would use their Ultimate ability, like Hanzo's Dragonstrike, to hit the grouped-up enemies. These combos could end in a complete team wipe.

Though Overwatch series isn't relatively new, it is much more newer-player friendly, as it the timing of abilities is much easier to practice than niche gameplay involved in CS.

Overwatch vs. CS:GO - Playable Characters

Overwatch currently has 32 heroes to choose from, and each comes with his or her own abilities, including Ultimates. Gameplay is made or broken based on Overwatch players' use of abilities and timing their cooldowns.

CS:Go features plenty of Agent skins to choose from, but the abilities and skills do not change based on who you choose. The playable characters are only different in terms of looks, and you only start off with two standard skins. Skins are dropped once a week at random times during gameplay, and you can also purchase your looks through the game's store.

Overwatch Classes vs. CS:GO's Guns & Economy

Overwatch and CSGO's biggest difference is their playable characters. The games offer completely different options in terms of the characters you play.

For Overwatch, heroes are divided into three different classes: Damage, Support, and Tank. From there, you choose the hero based on their abilities. There is no way to customize what your weapons do or the features of your gameplay.

Instead of earning in-game currency, each Overwatch game gives you an XP reward based on several factors. The more you earn XP, the more levels you unlock in each season's Battle Pass.

Counter Strike: Go, on the other hand, has playable characters called Agents. Though each player can unlock skins, their loadouts all start the same at round one of each game. They don't have special abilities or ultimates, but players can improve by purchasing stronger weapons.

Like Riot Games' Valorant, in Counter Strike: GO, your equipment and weapons improve as the matches go by. You have a much better choice in modifying your equipment as you collect money from previous rounds. Here are some ways you get money:

• Getting kills
• Planting/diffusing the bomb
• Winning/losing rounds
• Eliminating entire enemy team

Overwatch vs. CS:GO Gamemode

Overwatch 2 offers multiple game modes to choose from, from fun free-for-all versions to competitive ones. Rounds for each game vary based on the game mode and map. Here are some of the most popular game modes:

• Quick Play
• Capture the Flag
• Deathmatch
• Competitive: Open Queue
• Competitive: Role Queue

CSGO offers a much more competitive experience. The teams include Terrorists and Counter Terrorists. The Counter Terrorists defend points, defuse bombs, and rescue hostages. Terrorists plant bombs at the objective, defend hostages, and attack points. A competitive game is won by the team that is the first to 16 wins, so there can be up to 30 rounds in one game. Game modes include:

• Competitive
• Casual
• Deathmatch
• Arms Race
• Demolition

Which one is better?

Objectively, you can't really argue which is the better of the two games, as they require entirely different sets of gaming skills. The first thing you may want to consider is the system requirements. As the older game, Counter Strike Global Offensive has a much lower requirement in order to play.

Many professional players, whether that be full-time streamers or eSports, played CSGO or some version of CS or another at one point in their lives. The game is generally much more serious and takes a lot of skill and patience, but once you've mastered this game, other FPS games are much less challenging for new players.

Overwatch 2, on the other hand, is much more fun to pick up and play every once and a while. You don't need countless hours of aiming practice in order to produce solid gameplay. Winning is more closely tied to the community or team you are playing with rather than how good of a player you are.

Finally, both games are Free to Play, so choosing between either doesn't have to be expensive! Download both so you can choose for yourself.