It’s fair to say that this week, Blizzard could use a bit of positive press. Without delving too deeply into what is a complex topic, their name has been in the mouths of esports consultants due to a situation with China, Hong Kong and Hearthstone, but things could pick up very soon as their MOBAS/FPS hybrid game Overwatch is set for release on Nintendo Switch.
The console is in desperate need of shooters, with the traditional PVP efforts not having made it to the Switch, and there are rumours an Overwatch DLC character will be included in the Smash Bros Ultimate roster as part of a crossover in future. We thought it’d be interesting to see which of the Overwatch heroes would best fit into Nintendo’s flagship fighter, so let’s see which new challenger might be approaching at some point in the near future...
Tracer
The most obvious choice would be everyone’s favourite Adventurer, Lena Oxton, or Tracer as she’s known in-game. In many places she is actually called a series of unprintable insults due to how annoying playing against a high-level user of the character can be, and we can already see how that would translate well to Ultimate.
Mobility would be key to her moveset, with high speed and low weight putting her into a relatively squishy category. The double pistols combined with her teleport could make for super-charged, super-frustrating version of Joker’s projectile, and provide MKLeo with all the tools he needs to finally take over the world of modern Smash. Please, for the sake of the children, no.
Winston
Now, we know that Smash already has decent representation when it comes to our primate pals, with Donkey and Diddy Kong significant factors in game and key members of the DK Crew...funkiness aside, you can never have too many murderous monkeys, and Winston would add a touch of modernity and technology to the group, as well as some amusing voice lines.
With his portable shield and Tesla cannon he could be a modern-day version of Melee’s Yoshi, with the ability to perfectly parry moves and leave his opponent open for counter-attack. Combined with his jump-pack, which Nintendo would certainly turn into a command grab, you’d have a character that would probably be a bit big for top level play, but would wreck online.
Junkrat
If you only watch Ultimate from the esports side, you won’t have seen much of the Belmont’s, but Simon and Richter can be extremely, well, infuriating to play against if you don’t have a good way to deal with projectiles. Our vision for Junkrat is the same, with all the swearing, cursing and threats to uninstall you’d expect to find when playing against a character that can zone you out.
With the Frag Launcher, mines and the infamous RIP-Tire, you could probably lose an entire game to Junkrat without ever even getting onto his side of Battlefield, and the idea of introducing the Total Mayhem ability, where you drop explosives on death, to Smash is actually quite interesting. On the other hand, it was the worst thing ever in Call of Duty, so let’s just hope that never happens.
Lucio
There are characters in Smash that can heal themselves, but the idea of a character that can heal and boost their team mate hasn’t really been explored yet. Enter Lucio, the healer you’d rather hear when playing Overwatch, at least compared to some of the alternatives, and a guy who would fit beautifully into Smash Bros Ultimate, whilst totally ruining doubles for the rest of time.
Being able to boost your team-mate and heal them would change how the teams part of Ultimate is played, and potentially give it the shot in the arm the game mode needs from a competitive point of view too. In singles, the only thing we’re sure of is his ‘boop’ being an amazing edgeguarding tool, and ending friendships wherever Smash is played.
D.Va
One of the things Ultimate really lacks when compared to other versions of Smash, and Melee in particular, is a character like Jigglypuff. Now, that might seem odd given that the pink Pokemon is actually in the newest Smash, but her effect on Melee is meta-defining, while in the latest release she’s about as effective as a Reddit protest thread about Chinese censorship in the face of, well, you get the picture.
Enter D.Va, who would control the air like some kind of Koopa Kid on steroids, from the safety of her flying mech. Adding in the self-destruct mode, which could be programmed similarly to Hero’s magic burst, would make her as annoying as any Puff main looking for a new muse could hope for, especially when combined with missiles and her Defense Matrix.
Timely distraction
Well, the options are there, and if we’ve learned anything it’s that most Overwatch heroes could be added into Ultimate in ways that would be really annoying to deal with.
Compared to Terry Bogard, a Tracer or Roadhog being thrown into the mix create more headlines around Smash, and we all know Blizzard would love a distraction right now, so don’t be surprised if you see heroes approaching sometime in the near future.
When is Overwatch coming to Switch?
Overwatch is set for release on Nintendo Switch at 8pm CEST on Tuesday, October 15th. View game details on the Nintendo website.
Pictures: Blizzard
