One month in after her announcement, Overwatch 2 players seem to have not quite decided what they think of the game’s unofficial mascot, the ninja / shrine maiden / healer dps, Kiriko.
As Overwatch’s newest playable character, Kiriko reflects a very strong character design, that’s also informed by her game design. Her healing ofuda is ostensibly her main function, but the critical damage dealt out by her kunai makes her a potent lethal character, assuming you are a high level player yourself. Kiriko’s other abilities, including her teleport, and power boosting ult, simultaneously effectively support her abilities as a healer and potential dps.
In fact, players noted that her Protection Suzu, which cleanses negative abilities of other characters, effectively makes her the perfect foil to damaging attacks, such as Sombra’s hack, Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord, Junker Queen’s rampage, Mei’s Blizzard, and Reinhardt’s earthshatter. Aside from neutralizing everyone else’s ults, the short cooldown on Protection Suzu means no one can get an ult in. The word to describe it, of course, is unbalanced.
Other players noted that she seems to have been designed around the push maps. Her abilities are all perfect for negating the challenge of getting around the maps and being in proximity to your teammates.
However, in spite of her strengths, there also seems to be inconsistencies in how she has been programmed. One reddit ran down some noticeable issues, such as how her wall climb doesn’t work consistently, and why it’s difficult to heal an ally, if there’s another ally in front of them with full health.
Of course, we have a nice little guide on how to play Kiriko ourselves. As we had noted, Kiriko’s strengths come out best when she works closely with her team, as opposed to trying to take the lead, or do things solo.
Of course, there are some fans who don’t like Kiriko’s appearance, voice, and similar things, but it would just be expected that Blizzard wouldn’t be able to please everyone on that account. For what it’s worth, Overwatch 2’s English voice actor is the very authentically Japanese-American idol and voice actress Sally Amaki.
Fans might have been happier if Blizzard had cast a veteran voice actress, who is more experienced at hitting the beats fans are used to getting, such as Katie De Sousa, or Bayonetta’s Jennifer Hale. D.Va herself was voiced by Charlet Chung, a Californian of Japanese and Korean descent, who’s also a veteran actress from the 2000s. But what Sally may be lacking for in experience, she makes up for in being authentically herself, and fans shouldn’t take that for granted.
Overall, Kiriko is a great choice for beginner and seasoned Overwatch 2 players alike. Given fan feedback, she may be needing some rebalances and fixes, to be a fairer and more consistent character.
Source: VG 24/7
