Petra, New Deathmatch Map, Announced for Overwatch

New map, same Deathmatch

By Cole Henry | May 21, 2018 | 2:46pm

Images via Blizzard

Video Games News Overwatch

Petra, New Deathmatch Map, Announced for Overwatch

Blizzard announced a new Deathmatch map, Petra, for Overwatch in a new trailer released via the dedicated Overwatch YouTube channel. The map is desert-themed, with interior ruins that wind in and out of what seems to be a cliffside or desert rock formation, and there seems to be an emphasis on vantage points for ranged characters like Widowmaker, as well bottlenecks where close-quarters combat—think Doomfist—reigns supreme. Danger seems to lurk around every corner of the sunken ruins and erosion-washed rock faces which, through the lens of Deathmatch, is a plus because forcing conflict is the name of the game in Deathmatch.

Petra’s art design is an intriguing blend of forgotten architecture and futuristic preservation efforts among a vast, unnamed desert landscape where time seems to have forgotten the modern pieces of technology as much as time has warped and destroyed a lot of the ancient architecture that makes up the bulk of the map. Deadly cliffs offer ample opportunity for vantage points and ownership of the higher ground, but such a tactical opportunity comes at a price. Players can easily fall to their deaths if they do not watch their feet as they traverse and fight their way along the narrow cliffs. Environmental folly also comes in the way of a time-worn bridge that snakes across the map that, if put under too much pressure, can collapse to reveal a pit in the dark recesses below. Finally, there is a prominent green jump pad that, if one is lucky enough to use, will boost the player to the higher, advantageous points found on the battlefield that Petra has become.