Overwatch fans call for Echo change after original idea resurfaces
Blizzard EntertainmentOverwatch’s resident robot Echo has polarized fans since her debut in 2020, but her original concept art has resurfaced and it turns out it’s a lot more popular than her current design.
When it comes to Overwatch there’s no hero more divisive than Echo, the DPS omnic with a talent for shredding through enemy teams.
Released in April 2020, her one year anniversary sparked an intense debate surrounding the idea of the addition of a new hero to Overwatch, with many believing it would breathe new life into the original title in light of the delay of Overwatch 2.
It appears she’s sparked more controversy, though, because some fans prefer her original concept art to the virtual version that finally made it into the game.
Overwatch fans want original Echo design
After Echo’s original concept art resurfaced on Twitter, fans have been debating whether or not the original version of the DPS hero should have made it into the game.
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While her body section remains the same, the robotic menace’s humanoid face was originally just a glowing blue light, similar to other omnics such as Zenyatta.
With the original poster writing that “Overwatch bestowed a massive L” with their design changes, they’ve cracked open the debate about whether or not the original should have been the one used.
overwatch bestowed a massive L to us for doing this to echo pic.twitter.com/acai2jtVKj
— coop !!! 🌻🌟💛 (@microrockets) April 17, 2021
Several commenters have noted that the issue is because Echo is a female robot. One writes that: “No you don’t understand! She’s the sexy woman robot!” and goes on to slam Blizzard for creating female characters that “have to be perfectly conventionally attractive no matter what.”
no you don’t understand! she’s the sexy woman robot! So she needs long eyelashes and blowjob lips!! How else will the R34 artists cope?? /s
fr tho blizzard always does this thing where all their women have to be perfectly conventionally attractive no matter what, it’s tiring. pic.twitter.com/iIU4oCZjee
— how is she that small?? (@Lemondrawp) April 18, 2021
Adding to this, another user replied “isn’t it weird that female robots primarily get human faces in media and male ones are just like all the rest,” citing Echo and Orisa’s designs as being more humanoid that heroes such as Bastion or Zenyatta.
Might be me overthinking it but isn’t it weird that female robots primarily get human faces in media and male ones are just like all the rest? In Overwatch, the subject of the tweet, both Zenyatta, Bob, and Bastion have robo faces, meanwhile Echo and Orisa have more human ones.
— True Potato (@RedTruePotato) April 18, 2021
Another version of her original art was dropped in the comments section too, with concepts two and three getting the most praise for being more robotic and androgynous.
I still love third design here with how evil it looks pic.twitter.com/NRP0uk5SGT
— Faalund (@Faalund1) April 18, 2021
Whether you’re a fan of the current Echo or feel like she needs a more neutral design, it looks like she’s here to stay because we’ve already seen her in the trailer for Overwatch 2.
So yeah, Fs in the chat for design three.