Recently, Riot unveiled the cinematic “Still Here” for the new 2024 season. The content of the clip revolves around classic combat scenes between Aatrox, the Morgana sisters, Kayle, and Tryndamere against “The Reaper of Runeterra,” Kindred… But notably, it is Yasuo’s striking “Godfather” appearance that stands out – the beloved (and often criticized) “national hero” of the LoL community. Accordingly, Yasuo’s older version has been particularly well-received by the League of Legends community as this is the freshest image Riot has brought in the cinematic ahead of the 2024 season.
However, alongside this, a new skin for Yasuo was also revealed by Riot, based on the character’s appearance in his older age shown in the cinematic. This new skin is temporarily called Yasuo Forseen (translated: Yasuo the Prophet) and suggests that Yasuo has gained the wisdom, knowledge, and experience… sufficient to become a swordsman and prophet. However, the issue arises when people notice that Yasuo Forseen bears a striking resemblance to Yasuo Shadow Assassin, which was released last year.
In reality, since both skins revolve around Yasuo’s older image, it would be difficult to expect Riot to create two completely different designs. However, the fact that both skins are almost identical, differing only in weaponry, color schemes, and splash art design is indeed concerning. Some opinions suggest that perhaps Riot has truly “run out of ideas” for this Yasuo skin line. The challenge lies in finding champions with an impressive character design like “Old Man” Yasuo that Riot is building. Moreover, apart from Yasuo, few purely human champions generate significant profit for Riot’s skin lines.
However, with the impact from the cinematic, as well as everything Yasuo has “built” throughout League of Legends history, both skins will undoubtedly receive appreciation, especially the newly launched Prophet skin. The only thing is, the audience will surely look forward to Riot creating truly distinctive skins, especially after the controversies surrounding the upcoming Ultimate skins for Samira and Lee Sin, the Celestial Dragon.