REVIEW: 75970 Tracer vs. Widowmaker

[Oky]

Cheers, Love! The cavalry's here! And by “the cavalry”, I mean Lego Overwatch sets! This is very exciting news for a big Overwatch fan such as myself, and I’m here to tell you all about my thoughts on these sets!

About Overwatch

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Overwatch, click below to get a brief summary of what it is:

 

Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released on May 24, 2016 for PlayStation 4, XboxOne, and Windows, and it has since gathered a huge fanbase and has even become a popular esport. What sets Overwatch apart from other first-person shooters such as Fortnite or PUBG is that it encourages teamwork as players are put into two teams of six, with each player selecting from a roster of nearly 30 characters, known as "heroes", each with a unique style of play whose roles are divided into three general categories that fit their role: tank, damage, or support. Players on a team work together to secure and defend control points on a map or escort a payload across the map in a limited amount of time.

This is the first Lego theme based on a first-person shooter game (unless you count the Star Wars Battlefront subtheme) since those usually go against their brand values, so many were shocked when this theme was announced. However, what makes Overwatch different from most other shooters is that it has a stylized kid-friendly look to it and takes place in the future with fictional weapons much like Star Wars, so it doesn’t violate TLG’s no-modern-warfare rule. This is also the reason that drew me to this game as I don’t like depictions of realistic war in video games either.

Another great thing about Overwatch is that it has a lot of lore behind it. While there sadly is no story mode in the game, the backstory behind the setting and its characters is revealed in web comics and beautifully animated short films. Seriously, even if you have no interest in playing the game, I strongly recommend you go check out the shorts on YouTube; they just might change your mind with their Pixar-level quality. The story of Overwatch is basically that in a future Earth, there was a golden age of technology where humans and robots called Omnics lived together in peace until the Omnics decided to rise up against the humans. A team of the world’s finest heroes called Overwatch was formed by the UN to fight off the robot uprising and they succeeded. Overwatch kept the peace for several decades, but due to in-fighting between its members and allegations of failure, Overwatch was eventually shut down. Six years later, with a terrorist organization called Talon causing trouble all over the world and a second Omnic Crisis on the horizon, former Overwatch member Winston decides to reform the team and save the world once again. This is where the game begins.

Add to that an ever-growing roster of fun and diverse characters and a relatively positive and creative fan community and you can see why TLG chose to make a theme based on this game. I bought Overwatch on a Black Friday sale 2 years ago and have been playing it almost every day since then because it’s just so fun and addictive! So let’s see if the sets are just as fun.

 

Set Number: 75970
Name: Tracer vs. Widowmaker
Theme: Overwatch
Year of Release: 2019
Pieces: 129
Minifigs: 2
Price: £12.99 / $14.99 / 14.99€
Links: S@H Brickset Bricklink
S@H description:

Quote

Immerse your favorite Overwatch® fan in epic missions with this LEGO® Overwatch 75970 Tracer vs. Widowmaker set. Based on the internationally acclaimed team-based action game, this set recreates the drone satellite from the Watchpoint: Gibraltar map where Overwatch heroes Tracer and Widowmaker battle for control of the payload. With weapons for the heroes and space in the drone satellite to sit a minifigure, youngsters will love playing with this set's instantly recognizable characters and setting. Older fans will love to show their passion for Overwatch by displaying the set by their gaming setup for all their friends to see.

The Box

The box art shows Tracer moving the payload across the Watchpoint: Gibraltar map near the start point while Widowmaker is… well, I’m not sure what she’s doing. It looks like she’s running away from Tracer which is very unlike her, plus she seems to be holding her sniper rifle by the butt.  It would have made much more sense to position her on the platform in the back trying to snipe Tracer, but oh well. The top banner sports the Lego Overwatch logo on top of the white-to-light-gray gradient that is often used in the Overwatch branding and a depiction of minifig Tracer in the same action pose that she has on the box of the game which is a nice touch. There is a Blizzard logo in the lower right corner and there is some info about the set on the left in the same font that is used for text in the game which is also a nice detail.

The back of the box looks a bit strange as it looks like it could be the front of the box. It has the same layout with the Overwatch logo in the upper left and the set info below it and another picture of Tracer and Widowmaker fighting over the payload. The only difference is the URL in the lower right, the name tags for the figs, and the inclusion of the minifig accessories and the stand for the payload. Also, is it just me or does this picture of the set look a lot more CG than the one on the front?

The top has some copyright information and 1:1 scale images of the minfigs.

The bottom has some choking hazard warnings.

The choking hazard warnings continue on one side of the box while the other has a render of the two minifigs in action poses.

Contents

The box contains three unnumbered bags, a loose 6x8 plate, an instructions booklet, and a sticker sheet.

Noteworthy Parts

Even thought this is a fairly small set, there are several pieces of note. Those include some printed pieces such as a large dish to represent the drone's charging station, a 1x1 cylinder with a slanted red cross, and the good old white slope with a radar screen with controls. There are also a few parts in rare colors such as the A-Wing fins and a neck bracket in white, the ingot tile in flat silver, a 1x1 round tile with pin holder in red, and 2x2 plates in dark azure (not pictured). In addition, we get a new gun mold in black and white. Hmmm, I wonder which one belongs to the good guy and which to the bad guy?

Instructions

The first pages of the booklet show instructions on how to sort the parts and retrieve digital building instructions using the Lego Life app, although the instructions for these sets are not available yet as of this writing.

Here is one of the instructions pages. The call-outs are pretty clear and the build pops nicely against the light blue background. However, I noticed an error on this page where it tells you to turn the build around even though the building step doesn't require you to do that. Are they trying to make the build last longer by making you do pointless tasks like this? Nice try, Lego.

At the end of the instructions there is an image that lets you know that this set can be combined with 75975 Watchpoint Gibraltar and there is another ad for Lego life telling you to scan the QR code again to unlock some stuff in the app.

The last two pages list the inventory.

The Minifigs

As you probably figured out by now, this set includes minifigures of Tracer and Widowmaker. I guess it makes sense including these two in a set together given the encounters they’ve had in the cinematic trailer for the game and the short “Alive”. For those who don’t know, Tracer a.k.a. Lena Oxton is a young British adventurer and hotshot pilot who was left with "chronal disassociation" after a failed test flight of an experimental aircraft. She would randomly disappear for long periods of time at first until Winston invented a chronal accelerator for her which allowed her to control her time-jumps and made her one of Overwatch’s best agents. She’s also lesbian, bringing some much needed LGBT representation to the Lego world, and she's kind of the mascot for the game, so it’s nice to get her in the cheapest set. Widowmaker a.k.a. Amélie Lacroix on the other hand is literally a cold-blooded assassin who used to be married to an Overwatch agent, but was brainwashed by the terrorist organization Talon to kill her husband and become a living weapon for them. So yeah, pretty much the polar opposite of Tracer.

Both figs look great and come with cool new hair molds. This is a pleasant surprise especially for Tracer whom they could have easily just given Kai’s hair from Ninjago. I really like Widowmaker’s gunmetal goggles with red highlights and purple hair in the back. They both have nicely detailed torso printing which extends down to their legs. Widowmaker’s torso features one of the biggest cleavages we’ve seen on a minifigure to date. Are we sure this set is meant for 8 year olds?

Here are some screenshots of the two girls from the game. Overall, I'd say they look pretty spot-on. The only thing that would have made them more accurate is dual-molded arms to represent their short sleeves and maybe some more printing on Tracer's legs, but I don't think it's necessary.

For all the weapons in this theme, Lego decided to go with a brick-built approach using the new gun mold that I highlighted earlier which actually works quite well. Tracer comes with her pulse pistols and Widowmaker comes with her rifle which is known as the Widows's Kiss. She also has a grappling hook like she does in the game to get around the map. Sadly it doesn't come with any rope, so there's not much you can actually do with it, but I appreciate the inclusion nonetheless. Tracer also comes with a lightning bolt attached to her back to represent the zig-zagging trail of light that she leaves behind when she blinks in and out of time which is a nice touch.

Both of their torsos have back printing with lots of nice silver details.

Their heads are also double sided, giving Tracer a confident grin and Widowmaker a winking expression for when she's looking into her sniper scope.
The good thing about their weapons being brick-built is that you can convert the Widow's Kiss from its sniper rifle configuration to its submachine gun mode by simply removing the barrel and scope.

The Build

Aside from a bit of SNOT, the build is pretty basic and quick.

The Completed Build

Once you finish the satellite drone and put it on its charge station, you're done. EZ GB (Easy, Good Build).

As I mentioned earlier, the XR-9 is the payload of the Watchpoint: Gibraltar map where you need to escort it to the rocket so that Winston can launch it into space and re-establish Overwatch's communications network. Below you will see a screenshot from the game. I'd say they nailed the look of the drone and its charge station. One thing I noticed, though, is that they moved the "WP-G" text off from the center of the station since they can't print in the center, but that's okay.

The way they used a hinged window frame to allow the drone's head to peek out of the hull is so simple yet brilliant, and the use of hinges for the engine intakes is pretty clever too.

The whole thing has a very sleek look. I love how they used those black curved wedge slopes to round out the front of the wings and the nose.

The only thing that bugs me a bit is how the stabilizer fins stick out so much at the back. It would have been nice if they could have used some inverted slopes to make the transition between the fins and the body a bit smoother, but oh well. I like the use of the profiled 2x2 bricks for the engine exhausts.

It looks especially aerodynamic when viewed from above. Here you can also see that the engines are firmly held in place via Technic connections.

Play Features

Even though this is just a simple drone that moves from one point to another in the game, the set designers were able to fit some play features in it. The 2x3 tiles in the center of the XR-9 can be removed to reveal a small cockpit that you can seat a minifigure in. Of course, since it's an automated drone, it doesn't make much sense to have a cockpit, but I suppose it could just as well be a maintenance hatch with the drone's computer inside it.

There is also a storage compartment in the back that contains a health pack like the ones that you find hidden around the maps in the game. Again, there is no such thing on the XR-9 in the game (unless there's some secret hack that I don't know about), but the health pack looks great and adds play value, so I'm fine with it.

Spare Parts

There are a few small studs and things left over after the build, including extras of the rare white neck bracket and red pin holder tile.

Ratings

Design: 5/5 - The designers managed to recreate the satellite drone from the game perfectly and the fact that you get one of the check point markers with it to use as a stand is great.

Build: 3/5 - Aside from one or two clever part uses, the build is pretty average.

Minifigs: 5/5 - 2 Minifigs is not a lot considering that you get twice that many in Star Wars sets of this size, but the two that we got come with great new hairpieces, double-sided heads, multiple accessories, and a satisfying amount of detail.

Playability: 3/5 - You can swoosh the drone and open its secret compartments which give you decent amount of playability, but there's not much else you can do with it.

Parts: 4/5 - There are more rare parts in this set than I was expecting. The printed elements and the new gun molds are especially neat. Not a bad for such a small set.

Price: 4/5 - 11.6 cents per piece isn't ideal, especially with only 2 figs, but it's not bad, and the new molds make up for it a bit.

Overall: 4/5 - This is a pretty good little set. If you're just looking to dip your toes in the Overwatch theme, this is not a bad way to do it. The minifigs are great, the set is accurate to the game, and it includes some cool parts, all for a decent price. Plus it's a nice addition to 75975 Watchpoint: Gibraltar. See my review of that set to see how the two can be combined.

Thanks for reading and please check out my other Overwatch reviews! If you'd like to learn how to do high-quality reviews like this, come join the Eurobricks Reviewers Academy! Special thanks to TLG for sending me these sets for review. Lego Overwatch sets are currently available for pre-order, so go and reserve your sets now!

What do you think of this set? Will you be buying it? And who do you think will win this duel, Tracer or Widowmaker? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll above! Oh, and before you flood the comments with "Maybe I'll be Tracer" memes, don't bother. I'm already Tracer.

[Digger of Bricks]

On 12/16/2018 at 5:06 AM, Oky said:

Here are some screenshots of the two girls from the game. Overall, I'd say they look pretty spot-on. The only thing that would have made them more accurate is dual-molded arms to represent their short sleeves and maybe some more printing on Tracer's legs, but I don't think it's necessary.

It's not a "bomber" jacket exactly, but I would've wanted Tracer's jacket to be a darker shade of Brown and her "sherpa" collar to be a bit more prominent, as so it could at least resemble a "bomber" jacket more closely.

[WhiteFang]

The best Overwatch entry level set. It is perfectly nice looking set to savour this theme especially with Tracer in this set. Thanks Oky for this review.