Overwatch Archives Skins Missed Opportunity

Typically, when games try and tell their in-game story outside of the game, it’s because the narrative is a bit naff. I don’t mean stuff like the Life is Strange or Tomb Raider comics, which both expand upon an existing story, I mean the likes of Outriders’ recent short there to give backstory and establish the lore of the game. Maybe just... do that in the game? But again, Overwatch is an exception to the rule. Overwatch’s character reveals feel like you’re reading a secret diary, it’s like you’re being let in on something special, not having a crumpled up piece of paper with the word ‘BaCkStOrY’ written on it in crayon - this, by the way, is exactly what watching that Outriders short felt l


They wouldn’t even be the exception to the rule, either. Mercy’s skin is based on the history of healers, taking inspiration from Florence Nightingale, while Zenyatta’s is a deep sea diver because… well, I’m not sure. It looks cool, I gu


That’s an issue for another day though. Today, I want to focus on the Archives skins, particularly those of our queer characters, Soldier 76 and Tracer. The Archives event is running until April 27, and brings eight new skins to the game, each designed around a given character’s cultural history. Both Soldier 76 and Tracer are included in the event, but it’s extremely telling that neither of their cultural histories includes any reference to queerness. Soldier 76 is becoming Soldier 1776 which, I admit, is a good pun. The American soldier is donning the jacket of the Revolutionaries, these days probably best known from the musical Hamil


Next, the first major content update coming to World of Warcraft: Shadowlands was announced. Chains of Damnation will bring players to a new zone in The Maw called Korthia, the City of Secrets, where new quests and world activities will be availa


Eqo was a major factor during Philadelphia's Grand Finals run in the 2018 season of the Overwatch League. His versatility and smart decision making paired well with superstar DPS teammate Jae-hyeok "Carpe" Lee making them one of the best duos at the time. Both had a downturn in 2019 thanks to unfavorable metas and stuck on heroes neither quite knew how to play. If the Fusion want to make a deep run this year, Eqo will need to play to his 2018 potential. Let's see what happens over the weekend and hopefully he won't be stuck in Mei jail like he was at the end of 2


We recently learned that Overwatch 2 is due to shrink squad sizes from six players per team to just five. As someone with well over 1,000 hours in the game, who used to play on a team that averaged out at around 3,600 SR (Masters, the second-highest competitive rank in the game, accounting for the top four percent of players worldwide), I’m here to tell you that this, reader, is the absolute worst number of players any Overwatch team can h


For example, you can utilize Reinhardt's new ability to stop his charge. Reinhardt would have to slam into a wall or let his blast charge run out before stopping, but now it can be stopped manually. People would previously fly enemies off the map, but now you can stay alive as you take someone off the edge and stop to prevent sacrificing yours


Despite my praise for the designs, Overwatch is not a game with in-depth characters - it’s all skin deep. Any attempt to flesh them out usually comes through fine print in the lore, promo reels, or external material like comic books. I understand why fans want these great designs to be built upon further, and I appreciate that a hero shooter all about utilising powers and fast PvP play is not the ideal genre for deep, interconnected stories. Overwatch has two queer characters, which is more than most triple-A games, but it’s hard to give it too much credit when their queerness has been so completely downplayed. It’s often lauded for its diversity - it even once had a GLAAD nomination - but that fact is its two queer characters are white, cis, and straight passing, while there are more playable animals and playable robots than there are playable Black women. That’s not too much of a stretch though, given that there are zero Black women in Overwatch’s heaving roster right now - Sojourn will join in Overwatch 2, but that feels too late for a game with playable 32 charact


Corey dominated in the latter part of the 2019 Overwatch League season with insane Hanzo play and Overwatch2Fans.com writes high potential on a number of hitscan heroes. He earned Role Star honors for his efforts and was a big component of Team USA's Overwatch World Cup victory. He essentially carried the Washington Justice during the last stage or so of the 2019 season and while the Justice are better overall than last season, he is the most important player on their team. Expect him to pop-off this weekend as Washington tries to make a statement ea


As a - very - casual Overwatch fan , the characters have always been my favourite thing about the hero shooter. They only tell vague stories, but they’re so well designed and are bursting with such life that they feel like bigger characters than they actually are. They’re similar to comic book characters; you don’t need to have read the decades long history between Batman and the Joker, you just see their iconic designs and you instantly feel as if you know them. Whether it’s Ashe and her Wild West gunslinger aesthetic, D.Va’s e-girl vibe, or Winston the science monke, the character designs tell their own stories. That’s why the recent Archives event feels like a big missed opportun