I’d say it’s a little bit of both. Though less horrifying than you’d think.
Overwatch, at its core, is intended to be a world where there’s hope and optimism. Like no matter how bad it gets, there’s always going to be someone who’ll stand up and say ‘no, it doesn’t have to be like this’. This is reinforced in every animated short and in many of the comics and in nearly every interview or lore discussion video I’ve ever seen.
Hope. Sometimes hope is an old soldier remembering what it was like to give a damn, Sometimes hope is a woman determined to make the world better through sheer force of cheerfulness, or a man who uses song to fight oppression.
And sometimes hope is a young woman called into service for her country. She’s the kind of person that thrives on being a celebrity, and she’s probably actively encouraged by her superiors to liven things up.
It’s all about morale.
Her country is under attack. Her people are scared and suffering. But there’s this woman, barely an adult, risking her life to protect them. And she’s good at it. She could be partying, gaming, living her life and instead she’s out there fighting these monstrous kaiju-like omnics that are threatening everyone and everything she loves.
And she broadcasts it, so her people, and the world at large, can see exactly what she’s doing. Maybe she makes a game of it, but Hana has always taken her games seriously. She was a competitor. It was her life
And people back home sleep a little easier. They smile more, and they laugh when Hana taunts the monsters at their doorstep. Back home, a child wants to be her. On another continent, someone watches her videos and thinks ‘I can do that too’
