It’s been a little over a year, now, and there’s no end in sight for the Overwatch train. Regular updates in the form of new maps, heroes, and modes help keep the game fresh. But there’s still plenty to explore. Characters like D.Va, Lucio, and Pharah could use some more shine. As the game lacks a campaign, all of the story content is essentially subtext and subtle map Easter Eggs. That’s where the animated shorts and comics come in.
Short though they are, the comics are a nice way to inform the world of the game a little bit. At least until Blizzard’s ultimate story goal becomes a reality. They did cancel their initial Overwatch graphic novel plans, so they’ve got something up their sleeve. The latest of their net comics is Wasted Land, featuring none other than everyone’s favorite Australian outlaws – Junkrat and Roadhog.
This comes at the perfect time, too. The game is setting up to release the Junkertown map soon, as it’s been in the PTR for quite some time. They even introduced it with a funny little cinematic. Junkrat and Roadhog also got some pretty significant changes in the game, proper, not long ago. Roadhog’s had his damage cut, but Blizzard recently gave him a mobile heal to compensate. Junkrat’s tire got a buff, and he now has two charges of his mine. Suffice it to say, the two of them have been getting a lot of attention, lately.
But more than that, there’s also quite a bit of buzz around certain elements of the map. It’s no shock that Blizzard hides Easter Eggs to tease significant characters in the Overwatch lore who may or may not be coming to the game. They also did it with the last new map, Horizon Lunar Colony, where they teased a character significant to Winston’s backstory. This time around? The map has led plenty of people to speculate about the possibility of the Queen of Junkertown being added to the game. She already has a voice, and what looks like a model for a weapon (possibly two?). So it’s possible. The comic only adds to that idea even more. While she doesn’t make a direct appearance in the comic, she does have a presence.
Could she be the next playable character? What about the mysterious ‘Hammond,’ from Horizon Lunar Colony? Blizzard’s been dancing with the idea of Athena becoming playable for a while, now. Could she be up next? Whatever route they take, Blizzard seems to have a pattern, releasing new characters every four months. With Doomfist having been released in July, much like Ana, it looks like there are yet a few more months to wait.
Wasted Land can be read on Blizzard’s site.