Blizzard Releases Two Very Different Videos for Hearthstone and Overwatch

Gamescom is happening now, but there are surprisingly few bits of news coming out for it, considering. That might change as we march closer to the weekend, but for now, in lieu of any game reveals or DLC announcements, Blizzard has released a few videos: and given they're something like masters when it comes to in-house cinematics, it's definitely worth giving a look even if you don't care for their games themselves.

It seems Blizzard is just releasing a storm of these videos, as the first was released a few days ago, called "The Plan", which is about three minutes of awkward sketch comedy to reveal a new Overwatch map. Their next video, "Rise and Shine" is different. Dramatically so.

Give it a look when you have 10 minutes to spare.


 

In "Rise and Shine”, Mei wakes up years after being cryogenically frozen to find that Overwatch has been disbanded, the world is very different than the one she knows, and that she is the last surviving scientist at Ecopoint: Antarctica. With limited resources and time, Mei must use science to figure out a way to get help.

It has two things the internet loves: cute girls and science. It's unfortunate that there's also all that drama in the mix otherwise it'd be perfect. Speaking of Drama, our second video from Blizzard has none of that, but it does have a not-as-catchy-as-you'd-hope musical number.

Harth Stonebrew’s Tavern is a special place. If you strolled among the packed tables and raucous laughter on a busy night, you’d overhear stories of exhausting travel and perilous adventure—and of lucky voyagers somehow finding the tavern just when they needed it the most.

For the colorful cast of characters who call it home, the tavern is more than just a place to put up their feet or toss back a tasty brew. For them, it’s where the magic of hospitality fills the air, and good times are shared by everyone who happens through the door. In the tavern, the joy of the unexpected or the thrill of competition can be found at any hour.

This one, while vibrant and colorful and undeniably fun, is a bit weirder. The latest expansion to the game was just announced and typically these videos have something to do with the release of new cards or adventures. This one, though? It seems like it's the five minute pilot to some kind of wacky kids show. Blizzard has been more and more... "aggressive"? In the expansion of their IP and brand, funding books and movies and the like, so... could this be a cheeky way to introduce us to some kind of Hearthstone-themed kids show?

Probably not. They're typically more forthcoming about these things. But that would be super... weird, right? Like, I'm not the only one who would find that weird and really suspicious, am I?

But for now, let's just enjoy it for what it is: some goofy, well-animated fun. Unlike Rise and Shine. Exactly the opposite of it, actually.