New Overwatch Short, “Rise And Shine”, Released By Blizzard

Overwatch is more than just a game, as the new animated short, “Rise and Shine”,  shows viewers in beautifully crafted detail. The organization known as Overwatch (which the popular game is named after) is an international task force which was formed to restore peace to a world overtaken by conflict. But once the wars were stopped, Overwatch soon became rendered obsolete to those in power and was disbanded.

The short that was released earlier today shows the importance of the organization’s exploration and research in different parts of the world. Watch it below.

The star of the short, Mei, is on an exploratory mission to Antartica, as a part of the Ecopoint Antartica program formed and funded by Overwatch. The video starts with her recording a video explaining that there’s an ice storm and that her team is going into cryogenic sleep until the storm passes. She awakens alone, 9 years later, only to discover that her team’s chambers malfunctioned and that they have perished. She’s the only survivor.

Mei is saddened by the news but realizes that the data that she collected over the past 9 years while asleep is critical information that could save millions of lives. She–with the help of her trusty, robot friend, Snowball–must find a way to contact Overwatch so that they can come rescue her, and so she can tell them about the data. When trying to figure out a way to do this, viewers see how Mei’s infamous ice gun (her weapon of choice in the game) was created. I thought that that was a nice touch to the story, as it showed Mei’s ingenuity while presenting fans with the origin of her weapon.

The main issue presented in this short comes after Mei tries to contact Overwatch, only to discover–from a video message by Winston–that her organization has been disbanded. I feel like this video has its parallels to the real world. The information that Mei discovers most certainly has to do with the ice caps (global warming), but she has no way of letting people know unless she can find a way off Antartica. With Overwatch disbanded, she is on her own.

It’s like the advocates in our world fighting to show those naysayers that global warming is a real thing: there is no easy way to do it. This is unfortunate because the effects of climate change are as real as Mei’s hair dryer ice-gun (it may seem like science fiction, yet there it is), but some just don’t want to accept that simple truth. The same can be said about those who decided to get rid of Overwatch; as long as there isn’t conflict, they believe that there are no problems in the world. Except, as Mei discovers, there’s an overwhelming amount of data to suggest otherwise.

In a way, Overwatch represents the people of our world that fight to ensure the world is a better, safer place, regardless of the influence they hold. Some are the Mei’s of the world: exploring the far reaches of the planet with the intent of bettering society with their research. And some are the Winston’s: intelligently seeking solutions to problems that threaten the fabric of our existence. But, if this short has taught me anything, it is that Blizzard may be subtlely advocating for the acknowledgment of global warming–and that’s truly an amazing feat.

In other Overwatch news, D.Va will be getting an update in the near future. There’ll also be a new map (Junkertown) added to the rotation. Both of these changes have no set date as to when they’ll be coming. Check out the video for “Junkertown: The Plan”, below.