The holiday season is on its way, and with a new holiday comes new cosmetics inOverwatch. Holiday-themed character skins have been part ofOverwatchsince the game’s early years, and Blizzard has done a lot of experimenting with its game’s cast, their personalities, their standard designs, and how compatible they are with thematic tropes related to certain events. For example, it should come as no surprise that Winston, the muscular anthropomorphic animal of the group, ended up getting a werewolf skin on Halloween, stereotypical clothes and all.
Inevitably, the game’sWinter Wonderland 2021event ends up giving players an opportunity to collect numerous new skins for diverse characters. Predictably, these costumes are either Christmas or winter-themed and tailor to the characters’ individuality.
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Ice Wraith Genji
This is the most straightforward of the new costumes regarding the winter gimmick. In fact, it is one of the only skins without anything related to Christmas in its design.Genji’s familiar lookis kept intact, but cold shades of blue and icicles have been added to complement the event. There is overall a recurring motif of appropriately pointy icicles Genji’s sword and shurikens are now ice-themed with this skin, and the latter have the aforementioned icicles on their tips. While this skin does lack the Christmas spirit compared to the others, it competently represents Genji’s character while integrating itself into the event’s theme.
Mistletoe Symmetra
AlthoughSymmetra is not known for romance, whether it is sarcastic or sincere, the idea of giving her a mistletoe-themed attire is not so farfetched in practice. The traditional red and green color scheme is effectively applicable to the regular pattern on Symmetra’s outfit. It is also consistent with the general idea of theming a skin around mistletoes. However, the aforementioned mistletoe only appears as the skin’s answer to the question of replacing Symmetra’s headgear.
Peppermint Bark Brigitte
Peppermint Bark Brigitte is the oddest of the new skins, since it is not blatantly based on Christmas or cliches surrounding winter. Brigitte’s hairstyle differs from the one found inher previousOverwatchskins. By having reddish hair with pigtails, she is reminiscent of the equally Swedish Pippi Longstocking. Her suit does have an ideal palette for the season, as it is mostly white with cyan accents. Although Brigitte’s new skin does not have something that is obviously related to the season, there is still some subtle theming. Her suit is covered in drawings of candy canes and her weapon has the familiar white and red pattern. It takes a keen eye to notice these details immediately, though.
Reindeer Orisa
This skin is arguably the strongest of the lot because of how closely tied to the Christmas theming it is and due to how appropriate it is for the character. Orisa is a robot with a centaur-like body. As such, a skin based on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, who is a quadrupedal ungulate just like a centaur’s lower half, is entirely compatible withOrisa’s physique. Her four legs prevent the costume from being uncanny, and they give off the impression that she is a regular robotic reindeer.
Sleighing D.Va
The pun in this skin’s name says it all.D.Va’s signature mechnow resembles Santa’s sleigh, and D.Va herself wears an amalgamation of typical Christmas clothing. Like Brigitte, her attire can be seen with a candy cane pattern, and her coat has pictures of snowmen with rabbit ears. This skin does not do much to stand out, but it still fits D.Va.
Snowboarder Baptiste
Snowboarder Baptiste is the most straightforward and self-explanatory of the new skins. It is not based on anything related to Christmas, nor does have anything typically winterlike. It simply consists of Baptiste wearing the necessary clothes and accessory to snowboard. While it is the easiest of the new skins to comprehend, it is also the least vibrant.
Snowman Wrecking Ball
Wrecking Ballhas the most typically Christmas look out of all the characters that get a new skin. The eponymous ball is the part of the character that gets the snowman traits. Indeed, the wrecking ball itself is white as snow, with the expected carrot nose, rocky smile, and red scarf. Hammond, on the other hand, is dressed like Santa Claus, beard and all.
Wooltide Tracer
Tracer has a history of being the most overrepresented character in the realm ofOverwatchskins, and considering she is basically the game’s mascot, it is not a shocker. This event continues the tradition ofspoiling Tracer, giving her fans the most aesthetically simple skin of the bunch. Her shirt is primarily white and her pants are red, and her tuque has the same pattern as a Christmas hat without actually being a Christmas hat. Unfortunately, Tracer’s new skin may be too simple for some, as her latest look is less distinct than even the getup worn by Baptiste.
Overwatchis out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
