Summary
- Overwatch's success is thanks to deep lore crafted for each hero, shaping maps and experiences.
- Zenyatta and Illari highlight the importance of tying new heroes to the wider story of Overwatch
- Illari's unique background as an Inti Warrior offers a fresh narrative thread for the game's evolving lore.
One of the major reasons behind Overwatch's success over the years is the attention that Blizzard has paid to the worldbuilding and overarching lore of the franchise. Not only does the title's wide range of playable heroes do wonders for its variety of gameplay, but it also allows Blizzards to craft intricate backstories for each character that contribute to a wider narrative. While it might be easy to forget about in-game, this lore shapes a lot of the maps and experiences of the franchise, with each hero having their own role that continuously evolves as the game progresses.
Of course, with the Overwatch franchise first launching in 2016, some heroes have had much longer to make their mark on the IP's story, with new characters being added post-launch and creating a backlog of fresh stories to be told. For a long time, the support hero Zenyatta was considered by many players as a hero who needed and deserved a more prominent role in the spotlight, with his long presence in the game not being reflected in things like narrative cinematics and in-game events. Despite this long-held opinion, the recently added support hero, Illari, feels extremely disconnected from Overwatch's wider story as things stand, and this needs to change going forward.
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Illari Needs More Ties To the Wider Lore of Overwatch 2
Zenyatta is one of the most longstanding playable heroes in Overwatch, being a part of the original roster of characters when the IP launched in 2016. A support hero, Zenyatta has always stood out thanks to his presence as an Omnic, with Omnics referring to robots across Earth that eventually revolted due to mistreatment at the hands of their human creators.
This robotic revolution is known as the Omnic Crisis, arguably being the single most important event in Overwatch's lore. Rather than fight against humans, Zenyatta joined a spiritual group of Omnic monks known as the Shambali, where he formed a deep connection to the Omnic tank hero, Ramattra. The relationship between Zenyatta and Ramattra was at the forefront of Overwatch 2's PvE narrative, with an epilogue cutscene setting up a further deep-dive into Zenyatta's lore, although it is doubtful if this will see the light of day thanks to the cancelation of PvE.
While Zenyatta has some ties to other heroes like Genji, the hero never got the cinematic and narrative love that other characters like Bastion and Reinhardt received, yet another hero has a more pressing claim to further narrative expansion in Overwatch 2. Illari was added to Overwatch 2 as a new support hero in August 2023, opening up a new element of Overwatch lore that is still largely unexplored almost a year after her introduction.
Illari Should Be the Start of a New Wave of Overwatch 2 Lore
Illari is the last of the Inti Warriors, a Peruvian group of soldiers that can harness the power of the sun. In a tragic accident caused by the unpredictable extent of her power, Illari's augmentation with the sun caused an energy blast that wiped out the rest of the Inti Warriors, with little else being known about her story. It has been confirmed that Illari studied the life of another Overwatch support hero, Ana, as part of her training, so it is clear that there are a lot of narrative threads that Blizzard could use to tie Illari to the wider lore of the IP.
While it is a shame that Zenyatta's potential storylines may have no follow-up going forward, the continual addition of new heroes to Overwatch 2 is currently outpacing the lore and central narrative of the franchise. With new heroes like Venture having already been added following Illari's introduction to Overwatch 2, Blizzard needs to start expanding upon the game's fresher faces, and Illari's background is perfect for starting a new wave of lore to make the game's many stories tie nicely together once again.
Overwatch 2
- Released
- August 10, 2023
