It’s an exciting time for us all this week, as Overwatch is turning two! And you know what that means: an anniversary event, and a whole heap of new skins to go with it.
While there are a whole bunch of other things to unpack, like an extensive list of patch notes and a snazzy new map (that sadly isn’t set in Australia), let’s be honest, we’re mostly just here to give our favourite characters a new coat of paint.
This time, the lucky candidates are Doomfist, Torbjorn, Junkrat, Symmetra, Bastion, Brigitte, Orisa and McCree – but as always, some have us salivating and madly saving our gold, while others are a bit… meh.
So, here are all the skins you’ll be able to look forward to, ranked from our least favourite, to the absolute top of the pile.
#8: Torbjorn
Poor Torb – our favourite bearded Swede just can’t catch a break. The damning factor for his new skin is just how dull it is, especially in comparison to some of the glorious skins he already has under his belt, like his biker and viking looks. Why bother with this one?
#7: Brigitte
This one is fine, with a nice enough Skyrim/Game of Thrones aesthetic that’s definitely appealing. But it also flies very close to the sets she can already roll with, and it’s hard not to wish we’d seen something seriously out there.
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#6: McCree
The armed-to-the-teeth Sherlock look is nice enough, but we can’t help but feel McCree’s ‘BAMF’ style clashes a little with the detective look, and overall it’s just a little drab.
#5: Symmetra
Science is indiscernable from magic in the world of Overwatch, and it’s a great idea to dress the conjurer of hard light up like a magician – but the futuristic Omnic detail on the top hat is a little naff. Did it really need to be a cyber-hat? Other than that, pretty slick.
#4: Junkrat
A bit of a no-brainer for the love-him-or-hate-him peg legged one, and aside from the Captain Jack Sparrow detail of the dreadlocks, he looks pretty on-point. We’ll still curse him to high hell every time we get grenade-spammed to death in a corridor, though.
#3: Bastion
Sure, this skin doesn’t stray too far from some of his others, but the nods to old-school Transformers (especially Soundwave and Megatron) will tickle older players, and against a backdrop like this one he also evokes the final scenes of the early Terminator flicks. What more could you ask for from a killer robot?
#2: Doomfist
Now we’re talking. Looking every bit the CEO/mega-villain with his James Bond tuxedo jacket, the classic slickness is offset by the whopping great weapon of an arm that looks to be yanked straight off Tekken’s Jack. Can’t wait to slam people into walls with that baby.
#1: Orisa
Top of the pack is, of course, this gorgeous look for Orisa, calling back to Blizzard’s World of Warcraft and its forest centaurs and Night Elves. Just a perfect makeover for a character who’s gone from strength to strength, and hopefully an incentive for more people to play tank!
Overwatch second anniversary starts… now!
The event is live now, and you’ll also be able to pick up the old anniversary skins you missed out on last time around, of course, and put them all to work on new map Petra as soon as your patch is downloaded – happy shooting.
