If Overwatch players are dissatisfied with something, they voice their opinions. Sometimes, however, it lands with people who are not responsible at all.
Among Overwatch players, emotions can sometimes boil over. When a series of defeats occurs or a particular hero is consistently a thorn in their side, frustration can easily arise. But not all players are able to direct their frustration and criticism properly. This is what Matilda Smedius, the voice actress behind the Overwatch hero Brigitte, recently experienced.
Smedius is attacked on Twitter: Smedius occasionally receives messages on Twitter, making her the target of dissatisfaction from some fans. She then has to hear that “someone just wanted to tell her that Brigitte has ruined Overwatch”.
Smedius responded promptly and explained:
“I know I shouldn’t spend time on such people, especially when 99.9999% of my online interactions are super positive and supportive (I love you all so much), but it just confuses me so much why people send me such a message.”
Apparently, she received such messages more frequently.
In a later tweet, she then explained:
“I understand, FINE, if you think that a character has ruined the whole game – you have the right to think so – but maybe just give constructive criticism to the developers instead of harassing the voice actress.”
The community is offering a lot of support: After Smedius expressed some thoughts on Twitter about the topic, she received a lot of support from fans. Many hundreds of comments praised her for her work or explained what a valuable character she voiced. Smedius thanked most of these commenters.
Why is Brigitte so unpopular? For many players, the implementation of Brigitte still poses a problem, even so many months after her release. She was initially considered a “jack-of-all-trades,” who could not only heal but also function as a solid off-tank, deal good damage, and even apply crowd control effects.
Although Brigitte has gone through numerous nerfs and is by no means as strong as she used to be, she is still seen by many players as the epitome of what is wrong with Overwatch. According to former pro Seagull, however, Tracer is actually the cause of the problem.
This phenomenon is, by the way, nothing completely new. Some players associate the voice of a character with the character behind it. Similar observations can be made with actors when, for example, actors who portray villains are insulted on the street because they did something terrible in the context of a film.
What do you think about such reactions from the community? Is it understandable that players vent their frustration in this way? Or is such behavior just embarrassing?
Are you already familiar with the current issue in the Overwatch League? There are massive boos!
