The general buzz about Overwatch last week was the release of a new hero on its public test region (PTR): Doomfist. Immediately, players welcomed the new character with glee. Finally, a melee based character in a first person shooter.

via Overwatch

What intrigues the most about Doomfist is that, for the first time, the lore behind his character is solid. Reading over the story of his childhood, adult life, and involvement with Talon, it seems like Blizzard did a good job of it, for the first time since they’ve released a character.

As we’ve seen with other character releases, it seems that Blizzard did not care about how its characters worked into Overwatch’s lore. Sombra seemed to come out of nowhere, a rogue yet globally heard-of hacker (and borderline technomancer). While her character was, no doubt, incredibly cool, she was not only overshadowed by the massive ARG that hinted at her, but by the fact that in the game, she felt very out of place. In addition, many fans thought that Ana and Sombra were similar at one point. One of Ana’s alternate skins looked much like the Sombra that the ARG promised, confusing players after Ana’s launch prior to Sombra’s.

Suddenly, we had a sixth attack hero that didn’t have a set role. In all honesty, and as Blizzard devs have said in the past, she was supposed to be a support hero. Whether she would have worked out better that way is to be left a mystery.

In addition to his story being well-crafted, many have pointed out that Doomfist’s alternate skins celebrate his Nigerian heritage rather than display it as a costume. This has been a point of distress for some fans in the past: first with Symmetra’s vampire skin, and again with Sombra’s legendaries.

Only time can tell how Blizzard will handle future characters. If Doomfist is any indication, it’s realistic to think that, at least lore-wise, Blizzard is listening to what we have to say.

Cover Image via Overwatch.