The Overwatch Lunar New Year is upon us! Among changes to game balance, players received some quality skins this year. Let’s discuss whether these skins are any good from an artistic background. We are going in depth on design and deciding if they are worth buying.
The Good
Sombra “Face Changer” | 10/10
Sombra’s “Face Changer” skin is brilliant for the many-faced hacker. We’ve seen Sombra in action in Volskaya, forcing political unrest. Her other sides have shown more friendly to Baptiste. Conceptually, this skin captures the personality of the mysterious hacker well. It is easily one of the best skins Sombra has received so far. Even cooler is the constantly changing mask, swapping from Geisha to what appears to be an Oni mask. An Omnic design can be seen in one of the masks as well.
Doomfist “Monk” | 9/10
It’s hard to mess up a recolor. Doomfist’s Monk skin features subtle changes that don’t quite make it a legendary skin, but still provide noticeable design decisions. The yellow and purple complimentary color scheme is used to highlight the mechanical functions of Doomfist. The golden plates featuring carved glyphs contrasts well with Doomfist’s skin tone. The piercing white eyes imply a sense of expertise. Training to be a Monk has clearly worn out Doomfist’s pupils; good thing he doesn’t need to aim to one-shot most heroes in the game.
Winston “Ancient Bronze” | 8/10
Winston’s traditional space-age armor has been replaced with oxidized bronze. The real standout in this skin is the body-paint. His glasses have been highlighted by a golden paint, directing us to his fiery-orange hair. Pictographs on his armor furthers the ancient narrative, leaving us with an honorable, regal gorilla.
The Mediocre
Lucio “Samul Nori” | 7/10
Apparently, Lucio liked McCree’s Magistrate skin so much that he stole it. On a musician’s salary, he couldn’t afford the gold-plated mechanical limbs, so he made his wood. That being said, it worked for McCree, and it works for Lucio. The ribbon flowing from the frog’s hat implies speed, although it would be nice for his skates to change from the neon green at some point.
Brigitte “Opera” | 6/10
The Joker was apparently loved by Brigitte as well, because her makeup resembles a clown. The dragon-dance themed outfit is detailed phenomenally, but no one will be looking at that, distracted by her face. Sombra’s skin had much better makeup, and while I understand the inspiration, the execution is poor. Brigitte just doesn’t look like Brigitte, although the mace and shield offer redeeming qualities.
The Bad
Hammond “Paper Cutting” | 4/10
The fact that Hammond was literally painted head-to-toe in gold is atrocious. Give him some clothes or at least a little hat. There is no way that gold paint is comfortable. The mech is well, a ball. Not much you can do with a ball and an epic skin, but you could at least make the paper cutting actually resemble a paper cutting. This design looks like it was cut by a 2nd grader making a snowflake.
Whatever Moira Got
Moira “Mask Dancer” | 1/10
I took one look at this skin and questioned whether I should even write this review, save that I have to look at it again. Where do I even start? The colors don’t match and this skin houses at least 6 different colors. The purple and yellow of Moira’s healing/damage spray contrast violently with the gaudy blue and muddy yellow. The mask may be the worst part, somehow giving Moira a bob-cut. On top of it all. Lunar New Year is supposed to be a joyous festival of good luck, and Moira represents none of those values.
At least it isn’t as bad as Junkrat’s disgusting drooling highlight intro…
The Overwatch Lunar New Year update also brought many changes waiting in the PTR to go live. Other than a reduction to Doomfist’s Uppercut recovery, no known changes were made.
