It’s the Lunar New Year in Overwatch, and that means Capture the Flag, a new map, and skins. There are some excellent pieces in this bunch, with a little more thematic consistency than we sometimes see with other events. There’s also a more limited selection than we’ve seen before, which might come as something of a relief for those trying to round out a collection and something of a frustration for those whose favorite character is not represented here. You can check out all the new skins below, along with a handy ranking.
#6 — Widowmaker/Black Lily: It’s a fine skin, just not quite up to par with the rest of what we can see in this update. Widowmaker’s Black Lily skin revolves around a simple black silk dress that touches off her femme fatale persona with the embellished high heels to match — the fleurs de lis on her knee and hand are touches that keep this costume a little more grounded in her basic character than some of the other skins here. The best part for me is probably the reimagination of her weapon, which looks like some sort of high-end rifle out of a cyberpunk future.
#5 — Zarya/ Xuanwu: There’s a brute force to Zarya’s Xuanwu skin that works well with her character. One of the most fun things about Overwatch skins can be the way they draw on global iconography, and today I’m learning about the four symbols of the Chinese constellations, all of which are represented here. Xuanwu is associated with the Black Tortoise of the North, and the tortoise is a fitting metaphor for the defensively-oriented Zarya. The Black Tortoise is often depicted entwined with a serpent, which we can see in her gun. It’s a little haphazard as far as skins go, but gets a bump because I’m digging this constellation theme.
#4 — Mercy/Zhuque: Mercy recently got a massive nerf that’s reduced her necessity in competitive play, so it’s nice to see her making an appearance here. Zhuque is the Vermillion bird of the South, representing fire and summer, manifesting itself here as a relatively grounded re-imagination of Mercy in a silk robe touched off by those fiery wings.
#3 Phara/Qinglong: Qinglong is the Azure Dragon of the East, and our third symbol of the Chinese Constellations. This one is hard to miss, from the dragon claws gripping Phara’s shoulders to the dragon head on her helmet. Like Phara, this costume is solidly militaristic, even if it doesn’t necessarily feel all that different from some other Phara skins. Phara hasn’t gotten a tremendous lot of love recently, so nice to see something for fans to work with here, however. It’s a solid skin and not without its majestic qualities, just not quite as transformative as some others.
#2 — McCree/ Magistrate: This may not be quite this high on other people’s lists, and I could see why: it’s not as flashy or as colorful as the other skins we see here. But something about the simplicity really works for me here: McCree’s standard look is something of a throwback to the late 19th century American West, and I like seeing that historical concept re-interpreted through the lens of a different culture. McCree’s skin succeeds, like a lot of my favorite skins, for how it manages a quintessential McCree-ness in a totally different context.
#1 — Genji/Baihu: I’m reasonably hyped for Dynasty Warriors 9 at the moment, and that’s likely the reason the Baihu skin is working as well for me as it is: it makes those same references to Ancient China with just that same overwrought touch. Genji’s Baihu skin this is a perfect mixture of flashy and restrained, with everything that makes this character who he is. It’s Genji not as a silent ninja but as a battlefield-dominating warrior, and that’s great. Baihu is the final symbol of the Chinese constellations here: the White Tiger of the West.
A note: if anyone notices anything either incorrect or just ill-informed about my research into the Chinese iconography here, let me know. I always like the way that Overwatch gets me Googling interesting things like this, but I’m not quite an expert in the imagery here.
