Highlights
- Overwatch 2 fans praised a fan-made animated pixel art inspired by Illari, the support hero who wields solar energy.
- The pixel art recreated a scene from Illari's Origin Story video and received compliments for its attention to detail.
- Despite debate over Illari's power level, her addition to Overwatch 2's world was well-received, and players hope for further development and connections with other heroes.
An artistic Overwatch 2 fan created an animated pixel art inspired by Illari. Released last August, the Overwatch 2 support hero harnesses the power of the sun to heal and protect her allies.
Hailing from Peru, Illari is the last of the Inti Warriors, a group of noble protectors and masters of harnessing solar energy to use in combat. Her kit includes a Solar Rifle that launches long-range attacks (left-click) against opponents, and a medium-range healing beam (right-click) towards allies. She also launches an explosive ball called Captive Sun that slows and damages opponents upon contact. Illari's Healing Pylon activates a floating pylon that heals allies within its range. This ability was nerfed when Illari entered Overwatch 2's competitive mode, along with her ultimate knockback ability Outburst.
Many Overwatch 2 players became fans of Illari's overall design, especially after Blizzard released her Origin Story video, which showed the hero accidentally decimating all the Inti Warriors. The bright cinematic became the inspiration for Reddit user vixit_art's animated pixel art. They used the last scene in Illari's Origin Story, where she's holding a ball of light with the landscape of her village in the background, to create their artwork.
In the comments, many Overwatch 2 fans praised vixit_art's work, and saying that it can be a great desktop wallpaper. One netizen got into the details and complimented the wind effects in the background and how Illari's braid moved flawlessly. This isn't the first time vixit_art created pixel animations of Overwatch 2 characters. Over on their Instagram, @vixit_art, they shared works inspired by Widowmaker, Lifeweaver, and Symmetra.
Illari's addition to Overwatch 2 was received positively by the playerbase, even though there were some who believed that she was an overpowered support hero. But many avid players also believed that making her overpowered right out the gate could help Blizzard set a new standard in balancing future heroes, especially since previous support characters faced many challenges when they were released.
Overwatch 2 has long built a compelling world that players can immerse in even outside the game. Illari's lore introduces players to another part of Overwatch 2's world, but some players are looking for interactions and connections between her and the other heroes. If Blizzard could find a seamless way to include Illari in other heroes' storylines, then Overwatch 2 might feel even more invested in her story. It's definitely possible, especially if the developer plans to improve and hype up the support hero further.
Overwatch 2 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Instagram
