Overwatch has been in the news lately, and like always, it’s a weird mix of emotions. They’re adding new heroes, which is cool. They’re also changing the name from ‘Overwatch 2‘ back to just being ‘Overwatch‘, which is only a small piece in the messy puzzle that is the gross mismanagement, broken promises, and disappointed fans from everything regarding Overwatch 2. I know that I was one of those fans that jumped shipped because of this whole debacle, and I’ve yet to go back and play the game again since.
But I will always remember just how much I used to love Overwatch back in the day. I have so many hours in that game, and so many incredible memories. Heck, I’ve mentioned it on this blog before, but Overwatch is the reason I ever got a PlayStation 4, which in turn means Overwatch is responsible for my love and adoration of so many amazing games and series.
And there’s one incredible thing that Overwatch used to do all the time, which was produce these fantastic animated shorts for new heroes. These things were awesome, and of the same jaw-dropping tier that you’d seen in a theatrical animated film release. I have to imagine it cost a fortune to produce these, and yet they made a ton. I never get tired of watching them, and I highly recommend them to anyone who has yet to see them before.
But with so many…which ones are the best? Well, this article will serve as my personal ranking/recommendation of which ones I love the best, and which ones you should check out if you’ve only got time for a few of them! And all of them will have a link that takes you right to YouTube to watch it!
Let’s get into it!
(This list will only be including the main CGI animated ones. There’s a ton of shorter ones, ones in different styles, or other spinoff animations. Those won’t be on this list, or we’d be here all day.)
16) Reign of Talon ~ SHORT
This is the newest short released (it came out about two weeks ago), and I swear it isn’t the lowest spot on the list just because of that. It just doesn’t have a whole lot going on. There’s a Sombra cameo, which is super cool, but it’s otherwise a very simplistic and straightforward short. Vendetta is pretty cool, and the best part of the short is the opening minute where she laments a familial loss and swears revenge. But aside from that, it’s basically just a cool-ish fight scene for the rest of the short.
15) The Wastelander ~ SHORT
This short shares a lot of the same issues as the previous entry, which is also why it ranks low on this list. About 90% of the short’s runtime is a single fight scene, and there isn’t a whole lot going on outside of that. I also don’t really like how Junker Queen directly talks to the camera, it feels immersion-breaking in a way none of the other shorts are. I will give credit to how inventive the fight scene is, particularly the use of some truly engaging camera movements and choreography. But it ultimately ends up feeling a bit empty by the time it’s over.
14) Rise and Shine ~ SHORT
I don’t really have anything against this short to justify it placing low on this list, and it’s more because of what this short doesn’t do than anything it does. Like, in all honesty, this short doesn’t really have any flaws. I just find it a bit boring. The opening minutes of Mei waking up drag on a bit too long before the (very well-done) reveal of the fate of her fellow researchers. Mei’s attempts to build her freezing gun also last a bit long for my liking, and I don’t find her climb up the communications tower super engaging either. I am willing to admit this comes to a personal taste thing, though, and could see someone else ranking this short much higher on their own list.
13) Hero ~ SHORT
This is a fun short that I feel suffers from having one of the slimmest runtimes out of any of the Overwatch animated shorts. Like the Mei short in the previous entry, there isn’t a lot this short actively does wrong, I just think it needed another few minutes. The entire first half of the short doesn’t even have Soldier 76 in it, instead setting the scene with the young girl he’ll end up saving, and the thugs he’ll beat up. It all works out in the end, but I can’t help but feel that Soldier 76 almost feels like a cameo role in his own short because of it. There’s nice worldbuilding here, though, and some of the most effective displays we get of an Overwatch hero using their in-game abilities but in animated short form.
12) Kiriko ~ SHORT
Compared to many of the other shorts on this list, this one has some of the lowest and most grounded stakes (barring, you know, magical fox-girl powers). It’s really just about a group of thugs harassing some residents of an apartment complex, and Kiriko coming to their rescue, though it does also mix in some nice moments of Kiriko trying to bond with her mom. To an extent, I feel like the mother-daughter stuff doesn’t get as much time as it should. Still, it’s a fun short with some really noteworthy visual stylings that make this short unique. Plus, the little girl screaming and running at the thugs with an axe is a delight to watch!
11) Calling ~ SHORT
This is one of the more experimental shorts, as nearly the entirety of it takes place in a suburban living room between two people having a simple conversation. And I don’t know if it’s just me, but the writing quality in this short feels exceptionally high, with some great character dynamics and tension between the two leads. There isn’t a lot that really happens here, which is why I ended up ranking it around the middle of my list. Also, Sojourn isn’t a character I have much personal connection to, which influences my opinion. But believe me when I say that this is still a really good short that feels more like a scene ripped from a character drama film than a promotional video for a hero-fighting video game!
10) Zero Hour ~ SHORT
This was the bombastic animated short used to announce the official reveal of ‘Overwatch 2‘ (which I guess doesn’t exist anymore after the recent name rebranding). And while we could talk for hours about how disappointing the Overwatch 2 game ended up being, there’s no denying how fantastic this short is. Bombastic action, incredible music, high-stakes energy, and all of our favorite heroes coming together for (speaking in terms of in-universe) the first time in years. It ends up feeling like not only a grand reunion, but also a hopeful and uplifting moment for the world of Overwatch, to know that heroes are back in action. It’s even got a few funny moments and gags too!
9) Alive ~ SHORT
I adore Widowmaker to bits, and equally love this short, but I couldn’t put it any higher on the list without ignoring how the remaining entries are just better across the board. This was the second short that they ever did, and it’s obviously stellar in terms of production quality and visuals. It’s a little lacking on strong character building or an emotional journey, though it definitely doesn’t lack for emotional resonance in-universe (given it involves Widowmaker assassinating a key figure). The action is superb throughout, and Widowmaker comes across like an intense and unstoppable threat given how relentless and clever she is. It’s one of those rare moments of heroes losing, which is always refreshing to see (in moderation, of course).
8) Honor and Glory ~ SHORT
And the award for the most depressing Overwatch short goes to this one, and I definitely have to say that the emotional core here is what carries this one hard. The heroic final stand (and sacrifice) of Reinhardt’s mentor is devastatingly effective, and Reinhardt’s character arc in general is very solid here. The final thirty seconds are also basically perfect. I only have two realm qualms with this short. The first is that the action feels a bit stilted in this one, in a way that is always jarring to me (this could just be a ‘me‘ thing, but everyone feels stiff in this short, like the choreography is off). Secondly, because it hinges so much on that emotional finale, I think this short loses just a bit of magic the more you watch it (unlike how rewatchable many of the others are). Still super good!
7) Shooting Star ~ SHORT
This short placing so high on the list is a bit of a personal bias choice, but since this is my list who is going to stop me? I’m not even going to beat around the bush. This short places as high as it does because the music is simply INCREDIBLE. The Overwatch soundtrack is always good (both in-game and also for these animated shorts), but this one goes above and beyond. Most especially, the part that plays from 2:55 to 3:40 gives me goosebumps every single time. But putting aside the music, this short is filled with high-octane action, edge-of-your-seat tension, a cute central relationship between the two leads, and some underappreciated introspective character moments from D.Va. This is one of the more underrated shorts, for sure.
6) The Last Bastion ~ SHORT
It’s been done to death a million times before, but this short uses the technique of not having a single line of spoken dialogue throughout its entirety, telling a story without words. And, by golly…it works really well here. In the absence of a single voiced line in the English language (or any language), this short’s story is carried entirely by environmental and visual storytelling, and also a beautiful soundtrack. Bastion might be a very hated character by IRL players of Overwatch, but it’s not hard to feel sorry for the poor robot and his bird buddy. It’s a short that is both breathtaking and also melancholic, and it’s understated method of storytelling makes it one that almost anybody can immediately understand and enjoy even without knowledge of Overwatch at large.
5) Infiltration ~ SHORT
Sombra is one of my favorite video game characters of all time, so of course her debut short had to rank pretty highly on my list here. Thankfully, her short also happens to be really good, so I don’t need to go out of my way to pretend not to be biased (and look, I could’ve ranked it even higher, you know). Unlike some shorts that are almost entirely dialogue, or almost entirely action, Sombra’s short neatly divides its focus between two distinct halves. So you’re treated to a ton of fun and creative action, a few humorous bits, and a surprisingly fantastic leitmotif for Sombra in the first half. Then, we get some really tense dialogue-heavy scenes as Sombra confronts (and proceeds to blackmail) her target. It’s a lovely short that did a wonderful job in selling millions of fans (myself obviously included) on Sombra.
4) Reunion ~ SHORT
This short’s biggest weakness is just how much is stuffed into it in terms of character introductions and long-term storytelling, but that’s also its only real flaw and it doesn’t even impact things too much. Otherwise, this short is perfect from start-to-finish, and one of the animated shorts I could watch over and over without getting bored of. From the jaw-droppingly gorgeous visual of that slice of pie at the beginning (why does it look so deliciously lifelike?), to the nail-biting Wild West standoff between Ashe and Cassidy (at this point still called McCree), to the hectic shootout to cap it all off. This short is just really dang fun, and manages to perfectly evoke the feeling of a classic Western while still doing its own thing in the Overwatch universe. Also, I just really love the banter between the two leads. I could watch them sass each other all day.
3) Recall ~ SHORT
This was the first character-specific animated short that ever released, and it’s also the one with the biggest impact on the worldbuilding of Overwatch as a whole. So I find it particularly impressive that, despite being the creative team at Overwatch‘s first attempt at a character-focused animated short, they completed knocked it out of the park. In just a few short minutes, it does everything it needs to do to introduce you to Winston, the current in-universe politics and situation, presents a backstory that serves as the emotional crux of the short, establishes a threat, and then has a fun and cathartic action sequence. Honestly, I wouldn’t fault a single person who ranks this as their favorite of the Overwatch shorts, just because of how strongly made it is. Also, I can never help but smile when Winston presses the button at the end and the theme song kicks in!
2) The Cinematic Trailer ~ SHORT
The OG debut trailer that introduced the world to Overwatch, and it just does it so effortlessly and splendidly. If you ever had the need to introduce someone you know to Overwatch, this single short would be all you need to sell them on the universe that the game takes place in. I mean, even putting aside the opening expositional monologue (performed diegetically, thanks to the museum setting the short takes place in). Some villains show up to do bad stuff, some heroes arrive to save the day, and a few members of the populace get caught in the middle (and also demonstrate their own courage too). It’s fun, it’s exciting, the music is great, and all these years later it’s still really hype to see Widowmaker get decked across the room as the music crescendos! I also really like the message of ‘the world could always use more heroes‘, as not only does it serve as effective marketing for Overwatch the game, but it’s also just an inspiring message!
1) Dragons ~ SHORT
And yet, for as much as I love the above entry, I just can’t give the top position to anything other than “Dragons“. It isn’t just Overwatch‘s best animated short, it’s one of the best short films I’ve ever seen, and I love literally every single thing about it. I love how it is framed back-and-forth between present-day action and an old-style narration, and I love how the narration ends up tying in beautifully with the theme of the present-day story. I love the fight choreography between Hanzo and Genji, and the creative ways they use unique tricks and their in-game abilities. I love the cinematography, especially for the shot pictured below, the closing shot, and the close-up of Genji’s scarred face. I love how emotionally complex it portrays the relationship between these two, with every moment of hesitation and thought portrayed so wonderfully thanks to the excellent animation.
And then, above it all, I adore the music in this short. Like several of the other shorts on this list, it crafts a unique leitmotif that gets played throughout the short, and it gives me chills every time I watch the short. It’s a theme that is both sad but also uplifting, wonderfully elevating what was already a great short to true masterpiece status.
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
The Contrarian Corner 