Overwatch 2’s new animated short is a new introduction to Kiriko

Even though Kiriko launched alongside Overwatch 2Blizzard introduced herself to the world today at TwitchCon opening ceremonies.

OverwatchAnimations shorts can be a unique experience. The game’s cinematics team is uniquely skilled, knowing exactly what levers to pull and buttons to hit for maximum emotional devastation. I can still remember how Bastion experienced PTSD. His cinematic style and cheering for Mei as she slogged through the snow in “Rise and Shine.” To celebrate the launch of Overwatch 2, Blizzard released an “Unleash Hope” video, splicing hype OverwatchThere are moments in between clips that show human achievement and art, and moments where a message of love and hope is shared. This is a very cynical way to exploit emotion in a videogame that’s designed to make huge amounts of money. It’s doubly so when you consider the fact that it was created to make money. Who is playing this game?, but damned if imagery doesn’t take me out at the knees.

Kiriko’s short accomplishes much the same emotional manipulation (but in a good way!). We see Kiriko and her mom, clashing over Kiriko’s newfound independence. We also get an extremely sweet moment where Kiriko interacts with a small child who is deaf whereby we learn the sign for Kiriko’s name — a sweet nod to Danik Soudakoff, a fan of OverwatchWho went viral? for creating ASL signs for the game’s heroes. In the cinematic’s climax, we see Kiriko unleash her offensive and healing skills on a bunch of yakuza as her Slick-as hell theme song plays. Spotify has it all. Really cool.

To create more hype Overwatch 2Blizzard is giving Kiriko skins, weapons and cosmetics away as Twitch Drops. Learn more Here.

Kiriko is a difficult healer to master. However, her look and what she adds to the roster mean for her. Overwatch’s lore are incredibly cool.