Blizzard, the videogame company best known for their Warcraft series, have finally released Overwatch – the “highly stylized team-based shooter set in a future worth fighting for.” And while I’m having a grand ol’ time getting my butt beat, it’s the impeccably crafted cinematics that wow me most. They’re short films, essentially, telling a brief story for individual characters. And even if you have no desire to play the game, please do give these a watch. They’re so good, they might as well be Pixar shorts.
This first cinematic was released a year and a half ago, and it introduced us to the impressive world of heroes Overwatch boasted. Two kids, the younger of which is far more enthused about his surroundings, walk around a museum, when all of a sudden a fight breaks out with several of the heroes and villains of the world. The two kids are caught right in the midst of it, and what ensues made for a very compelling trailer.
Recall follows Winston, as he debates whether or not it’s worth recalling the heroes of Overwatch. While he mulls this over, he is attacked by Reaper, as well as receives poignant flashbacks to when he’s a baby gorilla in a lab on the moon. What follows is probably my favorite of the collected cinematics, if only because it’s so heartwarming.
Alive interestingly follows a villain, Widowmaker, as she attempts an assassination. Tracer, a member of Overwatch, comes to the rescue to stop her. This is perhaps the most interesting character study of all the cinematics, because of its vantage point.
Dragons is a tale about the two scions of the Shimada clan, Hanzo and Genji. Besides bbeing a great short about family struggle, it also boasts two of the game’s coolest characters. It also does a great job showing off their special abilities.
Hero is a short about a young Mexican girl who gets caught amidst a dangerous quarrel between the Los Muertos gang and Soldier: 76. The latter is tasked at investigating the gangs illegal activities, but complications arise. This short makes the best use of the worldbuilding they’ve come up with, and is extremely entertaining to boot.
Geekritique
They’re great, Overwatch movie anyone? Let’s get the ball rolling Blizzard.
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I’d be all over that.
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I’d watch it.
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I was previously not interested in this game. It seemed very cartoony and childish to me and I felt that was a strange combination for a high energy fight/shooting game.
After watching those videos I’m hooked! It really seems like they struck a good balance with animation and mood. The quality of the videos is astounding. I really think Blizzard just raised the standard there.
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That’s exactly how I felt about the game.
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The game is well done but the cinematics are so good I watched them all before I played the game, hahah. Great write up! Blizzard did good again. 👏🏻
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Same here. They’re the reason I have the game.
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Blizzard always have best in class cinematics. I remember cheating my way through Warcraft 3 just to watch the scenes (I absolutely hated the storyline but watching them sweet animations was always great).
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Haha that’s pretty great. Oh, if only YouTube were around then.
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Pixar-esque, exactly. That same whimsy and heart runs throughout each one, albeit in slightly different ways. I finally got some time to play yesterday and I am quite pleased.
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The game has an interesting draw, and it’ll be interesting to watch grow, as they add more characters.
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I wouldn’t mind watching an Overwatch movie if its anything like the shorts.
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That… That’d be epic.
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No surprise there, Blizzard always makes excellent cinematics.
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So, so true.
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These are awesome. I’d rather watch them than play the game, lol.
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The game is good too, but these actually have a bit of story to them. I need story.
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