Overwatch 2’s latest cinematic is the subsequent huge step within the sport’s journey

From the primary reveal of her character in a small thumbnail portrait in 2016 to her official debut in Overwatch 2 some six years later, Vivian Chase, name signal Sojourn, has been on a journey. In the present day, that lengthy journey takes a brand new course as Blizzard reveals her first animated quick, bringing newfound depth to her character and to the Overwatch franchise total. 

In an unique interview with The Verge, Sojourn’s creators speak about her new cinematic and her place on the heart of Overwatch 2’s story.

Sojourn occupies a peculiar place in Overwatch’s canon. She is a vital determine within the sport’s lore as a pacesetter within the Overwatch group, a world army drive assembled to guard the world from a lethal robotic rebellion, and because the orchestrator of its eventual downfall.

From a growth standpoint, Sojourn was meant to be a playable hero lengthy earlier than Overwatch launched in 2016. Throughout a livestream at Blizzard, former sport director Jeff Kaplan stated that the team began development on her as far back as 2014 / 2015. 

Regardless of her growth historical past and significance within the sport’s story, Sojourn was only introduced in 2022. At the moment, I spoke with the Overwatch development team, they usually advised me that as a result of Sojourn “strikes the storyline ahead,” they wanted to attend till the sport’s story was able to be moved ahead.

Nearly all of Overwatch’s animated shorts have served as hero introductions, giving gamers a really feel for who these characters are and what motivates them — however with out actually transferring the sport’s precise story ahead. 2016’s Recall short initiates Overwatch’s story with the revival of the Omnic Disaster and Winston recalling all of the outdated Overwatch operatives to combat them. That plot didn’t transfer once more till the Zero Hour quick launched six years later and once more at this time with Sojourn’s quick, Calling.

Within the quick (which, curiously, isn’t debuting on-line however throughout the Overwatch 2 sport shopper), Sojourn is subjected to an impromptu interrogation by a former buddy named Tremblay. He suspects she engaged in vigilante actions the evening earlier than in violation of the legislation that ended Overwatch. Through the interrogation, Null Sector, the evil robotic faction, begins an invasion of Sojourn’s hometown of Toronto. Sojourn leaps into motion, revealing she was certainly the vigilante Tremblay sought. 

Although the reveal that she’s a masked vigilante and that her quaint Toronto residence is definitely a high-tech command heart evokes huge Batman power, to me, Sojourn is extra like a magical woman — Sailor Moon’s Sailor V, to be particular. She’s already a hero who adopts a second heroic persona the identical means Sailor Venus dons a purple masks to change into Sailor V. Sojourn even has her personal transformation sequence of kinds wherein she swaps out her civilian cybernetic limbs for tactical ones. I additionally loved that Sojourn has an lovely corgi, Murphy, who has cybernetic legs like she does.

I used to be curious why the builders selected Sojourn, of all of the heroes, to be the engine that drives Overwatch 2’s story. The “2” in Overwatch 2 naturally implies it’s the successor to the primary sport, and inside Overwatch itself, there are a number of heroes who’re the organic or ideological successors to different heroes. Pharah is Ana’s daughter, Brigitte is Torbjörn’s daughter, Genji is Zenyatta’s disciple, and the latest hero (for now), Kiriko, is a bit sister-type to Hanzo and Genji. It will make sense, then, for any of them to be Overwatch 2’s point of interest.

“Somebody must go the torch to the brand new group,” mentioned Overwatch 2 artwork director Dion Rogers. “Somebody who’s accustomed to the negatives and positives of what Overwatch used to do.”

In that sense, Sojourn’s position in Overwatch’s story is pragmatic. Greater than another character, she represents Overwatch’s outdated guard, and with characters like Lúcio and Baptiste becoming a member of Overwatch for the primary time, she’s the most effective match to mentor the brand new children on the block.

However although she could also be a mentor to Overwatch’s latest members, she has a little bit of a contentious historical past with its older ones.

“Sojourn was in cartoons. Among the new Overwatch members grew up watching her on TV,” mentioned Overwatch 2 lead narrative designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie. “However then there’s folks like Jack Morrison [Soldier 76] who was in command of Overwatch, and he completely holds a grudge.”

The event staff couldn’t go into higher element however did tease that there will likely be battle when Sojourn will get round different outdated guard operatives whose lives have been upended by Overwatch’s finish, an occasion wherein Sojourn performed a giant position.

Sojourn’s a sophisticated character whose sturdy ethical code conflicts with the realities of life.

“She testified in opposition to Overwatch as a result of she had this very black and white ethical code and he or she felt like Overwatch was working in a grey space,” mentioned Overwatch cinematic director Ben Dai. “But it surely’s fascinating to see that after years of retirement, she began doing stuff that’s within the grey space herself.”

That battle is on the coronary heart of Overwatch’s total story. Although she is probably not the literal illustration of Overwatch’s subsequent technology the way in which Pharah, Brigitte, Lúcio, and Baptiste are, her story is emblematic of Overwatch’s total thesis as a sport. 

“Sojourn performed a significant half in why Overwatch was shut down,” mentioned Jurgens-Fyhrie. “I believe she’s central to [Overwatch 2’s story] as a result of with Overwatch being again, that’s a direct problem to the selections she made. Her complete story is that she sees what Overwatch can change into and goes to be working by that in her personal time.”

Jurgens-Fyhrie’s reply could sound acquainted to keen-eared Overwatch lorehounds. Within the Recall quick, Harold Winston, a scientist who’s a father determine to Winston and from whom the ape takes his identify, tells him to “by no means settle for the world because it seems to be, however dare to see it for what it might be.” That philosophy is repeated all through the sport’s historical past.

Sojourn’s battle with what Overwatch was when she shut it down and what it might be now that it’s slowly returning is emblematic of Overwatch’s total ethos as a sport that represents an idealistic and optimistic future. 

Her story is Overwatch’s story, and it’s lastly time for it to unfold.

“What I actually like in regards to the cinematic, is that it has an excellent direct connection to what’s subsequent for the sport,” mentioned Rogers. “She thinks she’s going to save lots of her metropolis, however in the end she’s going to want to save lots of the world. So her journey remains to be going.”