Skip To...
It is wild to see World of Warcraft has reached its 20-year milestone. With its ups and downs, the legendary MMO stands strong, especially with the fantastic The War Within expansion. However, since Blizzard doesn’t work on this game solely, other titles have joined the 20th-anniversary celebration, with the hero-shooter bringing one of the best cosmetics we’ve seen. The Overwatch 2 x World of Warcraft skins include some of the most iconic characters from Azeroth, and thankfully, most of the cosmetics do justice to these heroes and villains. Well, except one.
From Knight In Shining Armor to Leader of the Scourge
Let’s start with the one and only Arthas Menethil, or everyone’s favorite baddie, The Lich King. After looking at all the heroes that could be included in the Overwatch 2 x World of Warcraft collab, Reinhardt is the only one that makes sense to wield Arthas’ skin. Out of the bunch, this is my absolute favorite. The outfit’s details fit The Lich King’s bulky fit perfectly. Furthermore, having a tank wield the Helm of Domination is something genius. However, I would’ve loved to see Blizzard add Frostmourne as an actual weapon. While we can see it in the Highlight Intro, the studio could’ve gone beyond that to give us an actual unholy weapon to wield during a fight.
The Deadliest Sharpshooter Becomes a Banshee Queen
Widowmaker has seen her fair share of fantastic skins, but having her don the Sylvanas outfit deserves a chef’s kiss. While I don’t like what Sylvanas became in Shadowlands, no one can deny the impact the Banshee Queen has had during the course of Azeroth’s history. With her arrows piercing enemies from afar, it only made sense for Widowmaker to carry that bow in Overwatch 2. Yet, I’m in the same situation as with Reinhardt. I know we already have Hanzo as the top archer, but watching Sylvanas wield a sniper rifle feels weird. Still, the details on the skin are superb, and the Highlight Intro fits Widowmaker perfectly.
Torbjörn’s Doesn’t Shine as Bright as a Diamond
We are all familiar with Torbjörn’s old Magni skin, right? Well, this new cosmetic is just a recolor. I know some will say it isn’t and that it has a bit of diamond textures and the like, but it is basically a reskin. Yes, it looks great, and it is nice to see Magni’s diamond form outside of The War Within. However, this cosmetic is a bit underwhelming. Plus, all others have a kickass Highlight Intro, and this one doesn’t. Instead of this one, I would’ve loved to see someone from the Wildhammer clan or maybe even an Earthen since they are the new dwarves on the block. Or even better, shelf this skin and maybe add a WoW character we haven’t seen in Overwatch yet.
Zenyatta Thrall is the Stuff of Nightmares
Alright, I might be going too hard on this skin, but out of all of the cosmetics in the Overwatch 2 x World of Warcraft event, this one doesn’t feel right—at all. While I understand the reasoning behind giving Zenyatta a Thrall skin, you know, one with the elements and all that, it looks strange. Since the days of Warcraft 3, we’ve been used to seeing beefy Thrall everywhere we go. With or without armor, he is the green WoW Jesus that can control the elements but also punch your teeth out with one good haymaker. You can now see why Slim Thrall will haunt my dreams. And no, I’m not body-shaming; orcs can be slim, too, but WoW presents this race as the bulkiest and beefiest ones in Azeroth, hence why Thrall on Zenyatta doesn’t seem right.
Some cosmetics are amazing, and the developers have chosen the right character for them. However, not many games have reached the 20-year milestone and maintained a huge playerbase despite the ups and downs. While I love running around as Arthas/Reinhardt or Widowmaker/Sylvanas, I wish the other two were shelved in favor of something better.
