Highlights
- Overwatch 2's sixth season brings long-awaited PvE story missions, including three paid missions and one free co-op mission called "Underworld."
- The art and cinematics of the story missions have been well-received, with the final cinematic answering a deep mystery in Overwatch about Zenyatta.
- The recent cinematic shows Zenyatta's connection to Shambali Monastery and his ability to stand, finally resolving the question of whether he can walk.
Overwatch 2's sixth season debuted with the introduction of the long-awaited PvE story missions on August 10. Titled Overwatch 2: Invasion, the quests included three separate paid missions and one co-op mission "Underworld" that is available for free. The paid storyline begins with "Resistance" in Rio, "Liberation" in Toronto, and ends with "Ironclad" in Gothenburg. Each mission comes equipped with unique cinematics before and after the gameplay segments.
Though the cancelation of the original PvE disappointed some in the Overwatch 2 player base, it seems that the most recent story missions have been overall well-received. While it was controversial that players would have to pay for them, the art and cinematics are still receiving a lot of love. The final cinematic, after the Gothenburg mission, emphasizes Zenyatta while simultaneously answering one of Overwatch's deepest mysteries.
Overwatch 2 Finally Divulges a Long-Running Secret
The lore behind the Overwatch universe is incredibly diverse due to its current roster of 38 heroes. This is already a rather large number, and it doesn't include the characters that are associated with playable characters like D.Va's MEKA Squad members or Kiriko's Yokai clan. Many heroes are connected in some way, which makes sense as several are a part of the Overwatch international task force.
Since he was one of the support characters that launched at the beginning of the first Overwatch game, Zenyatta has been a point of interest for several years now. Zenyatta was already shown to be connected with the Shambali Monastery and its now-deceased leader Mondatta. When Ramattra was introduced in November for Overwatch 2's second season, many suspected that Zenyatta and the other omnic had a shared history. This may have been because Ramattra's reveal trailer showed him as having been a part of the monastery.
The recent mission cinematic is told through one of Zenyatta's flashbacks, specifically to when Rammatra left Shambali, and before he began the terrorist group called Null Sector. In a shocking twist, the animation shows the omnic monk rising to both feet to stand next to Mondatta and Rammatra. Some believe that this was meant to symbolize the three as equals, though others opted to focus on the fact that Zenyatta was using his legs.
It's become a meme of sorts that Zenyatta doesn't, or can't, walk. He's almost always seen floating along in a meditative state, and so the idea of him walking sounds rather cursed. While Blizzard did create an animation of him walking for the first season of Overwatch League, this was for comedic effect. As such, the question still remained: can Zenyatta actually walk?
A 2019 Halloween Terror emote brought back the idea with Zenyatta shown to be planting his feet firmly on the ground and stretching his legs. A video capturing these moments was followed by comments like "No wonder this is a Halloween emote, I'm terrified" and "Four minutes and thirty-four seconds of horror." Still, people weren't certain if the emote was meant to be taken seriously.
Until 2023, many were still wondering if Zenyatta was incapable of standing or if he simply chose not to. After all, other omnics were often seen walking, rather than floating. The "Ironclad" cinematic finally puts an end to the long-running mystery by showing the omnic standing. With this secret out of the way, perhaps future PvE missions in Overwatch 2 will continue this trend of answering more questions about its beloved characters.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
