Overwatch 2 Needs To Treat Its Queer Characters With More Respect

Tracer and Soldier 76’s sexuality were confirmed in comics and other supplemental materials, and you’d struggle to see them mentioned in the game itself with the exception of a few small inclusions. Emily, Tracer’s girlfriend, is an optional spray, and the time-zipping agent will mention her briefly in a piece of dialogue in King’s Row, but beyond this it’s slim pickings for the gays in Overwatch. With the sequel set to focus on narrative to a significant degree, recommended site I sincerely hope Blizzard does a better job of embracing its queer characters instead of treating them like a dirty little sec

As I mentioned before, I haven’t played the Overwatch 2 beta, so I know nothing of Junker Queen besides what she looks like. Still, what she looks like is a person who has been methodically grown in a lab in order to drive a tank, so she places high. Junker Queen also feels symbolic of all my confusing feelings towards Overwatch. Blizzard seems to have been a hellscape of harassment, and yet they’ve created such a diverse (Black women aside) cast of female characters with a range of body types. For all the oversexualised Widowmakers and Tracers, we had Zarya, Mei, and Moira putting spotlights on different kinds of women too. Junker Queen, with her exposed midriff, has elements of the Windowmaker philosophy, but also seems highly queer-coded and has the sorts of rippling muscles women are often not allowed in popular culture. In any case, good at tanks I rec

Meanwhile, he’ll see Tracer on the other side of the war, since she’s a Redcoat Cavalrywoman with twin Revolutionary-era revolvers in her hip holsters. I understand the logic behind this; lots of the other characters delve into their national cultural heritage too. Widowmaker is a Mousquetaire, Zarya a Polyanitsa warrior, Genji a samurai, and Lucio a Conquistador. But for a long time, the excuse held up in defence of Tracer and Soldier 76’s queerness only featuring off-screen is that Overwatch simply isn’t the type of game that allows for anything more. Well, the Archives skins do. There is so much cultural history in their queerness, in Stonewall and the earliest Pride protests, in the punk movement, in art, and through cultural trailblazers that speak to the heart of who Soldier 76 is far more than just putting him in a different soldier outfit from a few centuries

Roadhog’s name implies he’s something of an expert driver, so he had to make the top three. His playstyle is far more close quarters than most Tanks though, which doesn’t seem too suited than tanks themselves. While sure, tanks can roll over and crush anything in their immediate vicinity, they’re used for attacks from a distance, so Roadhog’s name gets him a medal, but his combat preferences see him settle from bro

You may have a strong ability for who you are playing, but it won’t be much use if not used right. Everyone has various scenarios that open them up for a strong move that can support teammates or devastate foes. When it comes to basic attacks, you should play around with heroes to see how you can tactically use their powers for easy eliminati

I’m sure Sigma could design a tank fairly well, and might even be able to get his hands dirty enough to maintain and fix one. But driving one? Nah. Sigma’s a nerd, and tanks aren’t for nerds. Plus, his gravity-based powers don’t seem like a good fit for a tank, even if they’re a good fit for a Tank. Also the tank too small for he gotdamn f

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

Mercy has become symbolic not just of the Support role in Overwatch but of what it means to be a healer in a video game. It stands to reason that she’d be near the top here, and she only misses out on top spot because she’s too much of an ideal. She’s the kind of friend who’s very nice, very sweet, very polite, but who you can’t help but feel bad around because of the emanating aura that she gives off. Mercy is just better than you. She sits at her oak kitchen table in her designer clothes, opens a bottle of wine and casually leaves it to breathe, then leans in with a smile and asks you what’s wrong. You mumble something shyly until she strokes the back of your hand with her thumb and tells you that whatever it is, she’s sure it will be alri