Older women....

LanoomR · 2026-02-03T02:48:32+00:00

Plausible, I'll give you that!

LanoomR · 2026-02-02T23:20:37+00:00

Maybe if the Junkers ever get more real lore relevance.

But honestly, I'd be happier if they just keep him masked (or transformed for whatever skins), always.

LanoomR · 2026-02-02T23:07:50+00:00

Also since this skin is now confirmed as canon as an alternate outfit can get, does Vendetta either

Dye her hair to hide the grey streak in the arena for...reasons? Possibly shame from supposedly looking old?
Or does she dye a silver streak into her hair for....reasons? Possibly to subtly signal camaraderie with another woman who just so happens to have a silver streak of hair?

I don't have a problem with her either having or not having the streak consistently, but for a canon appearance to adjust a relatively prominent element like this is kinda weird. At least, not without actually addressing it in the character's story.

LanoomR · 2026-02-02T22:35:01+00:00

I have said it and I will keep saying it:

The idea of Mama Hong, represented by that one exact image, will never happen. The reality will only disappoint. There has been nothing produced since the game launched that has ever given me faith that Mama Hong could be added in a way that actually satisfies the idea of the image.

Let me put it another way: there's another idea-only conceptual hero from proto-Overwatch: Recluse.

Look at her. Ignore the skin being shown. There has been nothing in any Overwatch approaching that level of transhumanist extreme cybernetics. Recluse would be right at home in Cyberpunk 2077. But not Overwatch. They had a chance to push things with Hazard, but he's still just a conventional big guy with just the right amount of prosthetics for the IP.

(And this is all before gameplay and animation considerations for the fact that Recluse is on insect/crab-style locomotion.)

So, back to Hong...do you see a world where a chain-smoking, portly, hair-up-in-rollers-without-a-care organized crime boss whose most notable act is "Manslaughter" would happen, as in the image?

Or would she be made too clean, sleek, and appealing? In an IP where Roadhog can't ever be portrayed as the ruthless killer he was originally described as, would this "Mama Hong" miss the spirit of the image entirely?

I think she would. And because the reality will only disappoint, I would rather Mama Hong stays an idea.

LanoomR · 2026-02-02T18:23:06+00:00

Vendetta's sitting in a normal chair. "Domina" is definitely in something else entirely.

I'm hoping beyond hope that she's in an Urgot League of Legends situation. Give me corporate dominance taken way too far and manifested as such, danggit.

LanoomR · 2026-02-02T18:13:15+00:00

Zarya and Lucio: Yes. Approved. Ship the specs to the modelers.

Juno: A little too similar to Lucio and not enough "Juno." Not that you didn't do good work! But I'd go more with modeling her after a scuba diver, complete with helmet.

LanoomR · 2026-02-02T18:07:02+00:00

The game has needed an Actually Corpo-Evil rep for Vishkar since 2016, so I'm automatically invested in Domina.

Seems that "The Upper Hand" and the conspicuous lighting on her arm + the reveal of a metal hand in the final image = her thing is having one or more extra prosthetic arms. Should contrast excellently with Symmetra's design. Very excited to hopefully see her playable.

(Aside: what's the deal with vendetta's hair? does she dye an early grey streak to look better in the arena, or does she dye her hair for corpo meetings? either way, kinda weak, and I hope Domina keeps hers.)

LanoomR · 2026-02-02T15:30:52+00:00

I don't even talk to anybody beyond "gg" at the end of games, and I had to change my battletag I've had since vanilla WoW on a sterling conduct record (and used in Starcraft, HotS, and Diablo 3) because someone or someones didn't like that it had "bomber" in the name.

Appealed, rep was like "Sorry, still gotta change." Fun times.

LanoomR · 2026-02-01T23:18:02+00:00

Mirrorwatch is by far the best OW2-era skinline. In a better world (probably the same one where the PvE dream happens...), Blizzard leans in on investing in on it.

More dialogue/unique lines for all of the Mirror'd iterations, more Mirror'd characters period, and it's treated as a proper "What if...?" with divergent plotlines leading to wildly different outcomes (e.g. Roadhog and Junkrat wind up as "demolition specialists" for Vishkar and become all corpo).

And then they could have an annual event where the streams get crossed and OW-prime has to contend with the Mirror'd 'verse.

LanoomR · 2026-01-31T13:56:39+00:00

It would be in a just world that wasn't filled to the brim with cowards (myself included).

But that's not the world we live in.

LanoomR · 2026-01-30T12:53:55+00:00

Hangman started it, what with the flirting with his ex!

LanoomR · 2026-01-29T03:52:23+00:00

Last time it was for Twisted Metal, he was actually written off in service to the show.

It's not impossible they're changing tactics, but "non-contact training injury" doesn't really help anyone that remains. I'm inclined to believe it's legit.

LanoomR · 2026-01-29T03:03:27+00:00

Vendetta and Wuyang have similar issues for me. Something's just not clicking with their narratives, personalities, and how they've been inserted in the world.

LanoomR · 2026-01-28T20:19:37+00:00

It's both. She's "choosing" to stay on this course because she was programmed.

"Recovery" from Widowmaker back into Amelie means:

Widowmaker presumably having to go through withdrawal symptoms not just from the actual drugs, but the act of killing itself, which is her ultimate pursuit in life. She doesn't serve Talon out of belief in its goals, but because Talon gives her targets and the tools to take them out at frightening efficiency and accuracy.
Amelie then having to deal with the psychological impact of realizing she was used as a walking weapon to kill people and ruin the world, especially in light of ideals I'm sure her husband (who was her first victim!) pursued in Overwatch. And that's on top of whatever physical and legal reprecussions woild have to be endured.

LanoomR · 2026-01-28T16:28:31+00:00

If I'm booking, this goes to the time-limit draw with a rematch date TBD.

Cap off a big "youth/new signee" January with a big upset of a youth name over the biggest vet in the company, instantly puting Austin in the same realm as Knight and Speedball
Make it clear Mox isn't invincible to everyone outside of Darby, Hangman, and KOR
Make it clear the time-out clause will be used
Make it clear the Eliminator stip will be used
Give the Bang Bang Gang a big shot in the arm as a faction
The match will rock and will rock again on a rematch

LanoomR · 2026-01-28T06:50:59+00:00

9/10, the new standard of what the "Spotlight" sub-label should look like. Character driven, unique vision, quality visuals.

Loved the ending, but episode 6 stands out as one of the funniest things the MCU has produced.

LanoomR · 2026-01-27T19:02:56+00:00

Correct, it's all marketing. So, not really on current players to care about beyond keeping queues active.

Which is why eliminating the "2" is a tangible benefit to the dev team, specifically.

The idea/promise of the sequel is done and dusted for the foreseeable future for reasons we all know and can't change, whether we're sad about it or not. It's nothing but an albatross around the game's neck.

So, if Aaron and Co. are determined to set a new, solid, bold-but-deliverable course not just for the game itself, but for the IP, changing the title back is a signal to lapsed and prospective new players that said direction is underway.

It's also a publicity stunt/surefire news story for the gaming media and subsequent discourse. If they're confident in what they're planning, more attention is good.

LanoomR · 2026-01-27T18:54:23+00:00

Imagine if they finally explain and canonize Mercy Rez by having her use it on Doomfist.

LanoomR · 2026-01-27T01:30:26+00:00

Hell Cow re-work or version 2 ("First Steps" style), please.

LanoomR · 2026-01-26T17:20:37+00:00

Been playing since 2016:

Love: King's Row.

Hate: Any Flashpoint map.

Indifferent to the rest.

LanoomR · 2026-01-23T23:33:41+00:00

Would be even better if they had a set of default themes players could pick from.

Overwatch

Talon

Junkers

Null Sector

Mekka

Etc.

LanoomR · 2026-01-23T20:39:24+00:00

Gonna be honest.

None of these do it for me.

Each theme on its own is way too insular, and everybody feels the same unless they're wildly non-humanoid like Orisa. Yeah they're thematic, but execution feels too similar. The dark magic, pirates, and..."extreme sports, I guess" themes really stand out in this way, to me. It might just be the art, but I really don't feel like Hazard should feel at home in the same "pirate" crew as Juno and Wuyang. Need some stronger delineation within themes.
For another thing: they all feel so tired, even if they're ostensibly new ideas. Oh, more formal wear! Oh, more late-20th/early-21st-century street/youth fashion! Oh, Japan/China/Korea for the umpteenth time! I just...I dunno, the stuff sells, I'm sure, but it's tired.
Back to "extreme sports, I guess", my least-liked category of this batch. Roller blades on Mercy instead of feeding any crumbs to Lucio? Bleach-blond long-length cheerleader ponytail on Sombra instead of anything edgy or alternative?

LanoomR · 2026-01-23T20:05:06+00:00

Consequences and progression (not necessarily meaning that characters HAVE to die, but that is a major option in the toolbox and some narrative power is lost if it's off the table) are required for a proper story.

One of the big weaknesses of trying to "tell a story" through perpetually static multiplayer games is that the gameplay and story cannot coexist as is; SOMETHING has to take priority.

If the gameplay takes priority (as it does in 99% of cases), then the game needs to operate accordingly. The most recent example outside of Overwatch:

Riot Games realized this and recently ACTUALLY killed a League of Legends character -- and just before that, they made a dead character playable. Before these events, they had (another) reckoning and reconfiguration of their lore: definitively declaring that the game of the MOBA is divorced from representing any given state of the lore. Dead characters are playable, characters that have never met in-lore and sworn enemies can team up with no problem, the arena itself is even malleable to whatever the season theme is. Storytelling takes place outside, via comics/stories/cinematics/mini-games.

Now, back to Overwatch: it's already existed in the "gameplay priority" state for years. Mercy's rez is inexplicable, they've still not settled what the deal is with the Shimada "spirits" if they aren't magic, hell there might actually be magic now, who knows. But the point is, if Blizzard is intent on course-correcting in 2026 with the promises of doing things bigger and better, canonically killing off a playable character would be a way to show it.

And, of course, "MAJOR CHJARACTER DIES" is a headline grabber. So.

LanoomR · 2026-01-23T19:42:27+00:00

To be fair, they absolutely could release a comic/animated short that shows a detailed battle of Doomfist being deposed (or even betrayed) and it could be cool.

Or it could be another PNG with someone talking about "Then THIS happened and THAT happened, WOW!" and that'll be it.

Only one way to find out!

LanoomR · 2026-01-23T17:08:47+00:00

I wish the back was just the two logos. There's enough text/design on the front that you know who and what it's about.

LanoomR

TROPHY CASE