I am not an expert in Overwatch. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that some data was lost when my accounts merged, the word ‘minutes’ appears on my Most Played Heroes list more than the word ‘hours’ does. I am not an Overwatch die-hard who can tell you the best counters, the new meta, or the perfect strategy. I just pick the characters I like and who seem fun. Occasionally there is a disconnect here - Sombra is cool but I can’t play as her - but mostly, I stick with favourites and hope for the best. Unfortunately, Overwatch 2 has delivered a double body blow to my love of Mei.

The Chinese scientist was my most played hero in the first game by a considerable margin. However, with the launch of the latest game, she is being quickly caught by Zarya, D.Va, and Ashe. Mei’s ability to freeze has been taken away, making her significantly less fun to play as. She can still block people with her wall and can defensively hide in ice herself, but her main gimmick has gone. I don’t think she was ever that viable a pick anyway, but at least she had some neat abilities. Now she just does damage and can create walls. Not much to it.

Related: Guessing How Well Every Overwatch Tank Could Drive A Real Tank

I’ve found Ashe to be a lot more enjoyable to play as, and that’s another part of the problem - it’s not like I’m short of options. I love westerns and the general aesthetic and aura of cowboy stories, and Ashe leans into these tropes brilliantly. She’s wry and romantic, while all of her abilities still work. I’m not married to Mei (such is the tragedy of life), and my experience with Overwatch is limited enough that giving up my main brings about little more than a shrug. For those who have racked up considerably more hours than me on the clock though, taking away one of Mei’s core abilities while claiming to be the same game feels insulting. You can’t even go back to the original Mei because the first game has been taken offline.

Live-service games tweak heroes all the time, of course. Hanzo, for example, is likely to get a nerf soon. But this doesn’t feel like a typical tweak to the meta, and instead like Blizzard has changed Mei just because. It’s not only her gameplay that has changed either - it’s her look too, and that’s another major letdown.

All of the characters have new skins for Overwatch 2, some better, some worse. It’s all down to personal preference, and most of the dedicated players have skins for their main anyway. Even with my limited playtime, I have a simple palette swap skin for Ashe in my closet. With Mei though, the skin seems to fundamentally change her.

Mei is a larger woman, with thick thighs and chubby cheeks. Some skins have struggled to grasp this - her regular skin is an overcoat, and when special skins take that away, they can struggle with her waist. But still, in a game full of slim and slender feminine ideals, Mei was doing it for the big girls. Unfortunately, her new look is much slimmer, the coat less bulkier, and more determined to show off her small waist. Her face is slimmer too, the cute cheeks replaced by a sharper, more shapely visage. Not only has Mei’s main gameplay gimmick been taken away, but her aesthetic appeal has too. We have lots of slim, beautiful women in Overwatch to play as. We have no one else like Mei.

Overwatch 2 was supposed to be the same game as Overwatch, only with a battle pass, but it’s not Overwatch without Mei for me. She’s always been my best girl, but things just aren’t the same now. And it’s not me, it’s her.

Next: The Games Industry Is Truly Repellent