With Overwatch 2 just a few days away, players are getting the first look at several new features, including hero-select animations.
Overwatch 2 is receiving a new set of hero-select animations, which might not be the most major change. When players go to select a character from the original game in Overwatch 2, they will be shown a new pose of them, and as a recent video shows, some of them are wildly entertaining.
The world and heroes within Blizzard’s universe seem to be distinct and interesting, which also has been one of the Overwatch series’ greatest strengths. This is reflected in a variety of ways, which include conversations at the start of the match, highlight intros, and emotes. Comics, short stories, and animated shorts have further fleshed out the characters, and the sequel would include new ways to display the cast’s personas, such as souvenirs and the aforementioned hero-select animations.
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Each of the hero-select animations was gathered in a video posted by Reddit user Free Way33, which begins with Tanks. D.Va invites her in much the same manner she would in-game, while Doomfist and Junker Queen keep staring at the camera. Orisa spins her new spear, Reinhardt proudly poses, and Roadhog inhales some gas. Sigma’s animation is awesome since it earlier time period than his backstory trailer. Wrecking Ball, on the contrary hand, steals the show as Tank, with Hammond rolling forward, punching open the roof of his mech, and gazing into the camera.
There are several cool animations in the Damage role too though, including Bastion interacting with Ganymede and Ashe playing with a bullet. Echo’s animation, like Sigma’s, is a nod to her origin story trailer, while Junkrat’s is suitably loud and over the top. Sombra’s hero-select animation is pretty funny, as it begins by only showing her arm as she managed to hack. While Tracer blinks into the frame, Symmetra needs to enter through a portal, and Widowmaker’s simple removal of her goggles makes for a solid animation.
The Support heroes round out the video, with the newest hero Kiriko arguably having the best intro of the bunch. The graphic shows her falling from the air and pulling out her healing ofuda before looking into the camera, with the overall pose being very sleek. Other high points include Mercy descending from above with a golden glow behind her, Lucio jamming out to music, and Zenyatta illustrating his orb mastery. Moira’s utterance during her animation also is worth watching so it perfectly encapsulates the mad scientist vibe.
Overwatch’s charm is on full display with these fresh animations, whether it’s Hanzo making preparations for his bow for a fight or Winston saying hello to the player. Though some aspects of Overwatch 2 have been critiqued, the hero-select animations have been commended.
