Unpacking the bizarre lore behind Overwatch’s strangest imitator

Since it launched in 2016, Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch has had no shortage of competitors in the burgeoning hero shooter genre but Shellfire stands out amongst the crowd for a number of reasons.

Also known as Hero Mission, Shellfire is a hero-based first-person-shooter developed in Indonesia. In look, feel, tone, style and format, the free-to-play mobile title veers brazenly close to Blizzard’s own team-based shooter.

Honestly, it’s a wonder that the developer behind the game hasn’t met the same fate as that of other studios bold enough to mimic Blizzard Entertainment’s intellectual property. Half the characters in the Dunia Games-developer title feel directly pulled from the Overwatch roster while the other half feel like carbon-copies of Marvel’s Avengers.

There are so many similarities here that the word coincidence feels disingenuous. Even the jingle for the main menu theme music is dripping with Overwatch’s specific tone of heroic optimism. That’s not even the wildest part though. Should you be brave enough to download the game, you’ll quickly find that the craziest corner of the Shellfire experience is the lore.

That’s right. This game isn’t just an Overwatch clone. It’s an Overwatch clone with a plot. The thirteen chapters of prose that set up the universe and the characters in Shellfire are located within the in-game Hero List screen. I’ve read them all.

Overwatch’s mode of storytelling can be convoluted but the lore for Shellfire is something else entirely.

According to the Google Play Store, at least five million people have downloaded this game. Those numbers aren’t likely to topple Blizzard’s team-based shooter from its throne anytime soon but there’s a story here so bewilderingly strange it absolutely deserves to be unpacked.

Now: stay awhile and listen.

Note — The original text has a ton of typos in it. I have done my best to correct these in favor of clarity rather than accuracy. I have any marked corrections using an asterisk.

Prologue

“When the 24th Pope launched millions of nuclear bombs into the sky, everyone thought* that earth would be annihilated in one sudden blast reigning destruction on all.”

Fortunately:

“No one* is lucky enough to destroy the world. The Earth is far powerful beyond imagination. Although it collapsed mountains, destroyed rivers and flattened cities, it never reached the core. Just like oil floating on water; while the oil burns and destroys all that is on the surface the water below remains untouched.”

Right out the gate, things are pretty high stakes. The 24th Pope launched a bunch of nuclear weapons. Savvy fans of history (or those willing to Google how many popes the Catholic Church has burned through over the centuries) may be aware that the current Pope Francis is the 266th person to hold the office. It is unclear how this unnamed 24th Pope fits into that canon or whether any Popes have ever had access to nuclear weapons.

“A few days later, when the nuclear reign of terror ended, the survivors walked out of their shelters and felt like they had traveled through space into a new world. Covered by thick dust, the sky was non longer bright. Without the sun, vegetation withered and died. The ground was full of ruin and radiation. with the sudden increase in restricted zones, people were cramped into compressed living spaces.”

The rest of this chapter is about a nameless hack of a poet making it big in the post-apocalypse with “one of humanities most headache inducing poems” — called the Dawn Psalm. This is the framing device for the rest of the story, so strap in.

Chapter 1

This chapter talks about the first section of the Dawn Psalm and specifically introduces the character of Don Quite. A “Great and Epic Knight” forced to fend for himself after his father is killed by zombies, “Don Quite traveled across the land. Wielding his giant sword of justice, he cut through zombies with anger and rage. His fierceness and bravery won the respect of people.”

After saving a group of survivors at a shelter, Don Quite reflects on his path in life and decides to stop wandering the lands and stick around to keep those living in the shelter safe.

Chapter 2

This chapter introduces a second Dawn Guard: Eins.

“Eins was left with nothing when the zombies destroyed her lab. Alone with no survival skills, Eins struggled through each day. As someone who loves alcohol, Eins watched was the people lined up to present Don Quite with lavish bottles, food and gifts. Convinced that Don Quite must have an endless supply of alcohol, he acted on his instincts. He would head to Don Quite producthouse and find his stash.”

Described as a great scientist but not a great thief:

“Eins was captured before he even entered the producthouse and took a solid beating from the people. This is like a thief trying to steal from the pockets of god himself; there will always be watchers and protectors of God. By the time Don Quite pulled Eins out of the beating, he had already been bruised up from head to toe. Seeing Eins’ brutally beat face and body, Don Quite was about to give up hope on him. When he pulled out a bottle of alcohol to disinfect Eins wounds, Eins opened his closed and bruised eyes and quickly snatched the bottle away. In a split second, Eins had drank the entire bottle.”

Our of this incident, a friendship between the two emerges. Eins begins experimenting with cultivation and develops a new source of food for the survivors.

Chapter 3

Don Quite and Eins decide to share the secrets behind their cultivation success. They drunkenly name this endeavor as the Dawn Plan and decide to rebrand their group of survivors as the Dawn Refugees.

Eventually, word of the Dawn Plan reaches an organization called Alpha Corp.

Senju, a character who is not particularly well-explained or described at this stage, sends several underlings to investigate. When they arrive at the shelter, they’re attacked by several Dawn Refugees who “wanted to experience what it felt like to beat Eins”.

Unfortunately for them, Senju’s underlings don’t mess around. Many are killed. Don Quite is attacked. He kills two of the underlings and maims the third.

After this incident, 17 young men approach Don Quite and ask him to train them in his ways. These recruits formed the first generation of Dawn Knights.

Chapter 4

Senju strikes back.

“Taking with him multiple shoguns, he set off towards the Dawn Refugees*”

By the time he arrives, the Dawn Knights have fully trained and Eins has armed them with enough weaponry to upgrade from a small shelter to a “small base camp”.

We also get some backstory for Senju in this chapter:

“Senju had always been the acting hand of the Alpha Corp. Completing countless missions. Assassinations to him are like a stroll in the park. Penetrating this small fortress is nothing to him. Splitting up with underlings, his underlings attacked the storage, research center and other important areas to wreak havoc. Senju, on the other hand, headed towards Don Quite’s room to perform a stealth kill.”

For various reasons, his plan fails. After retreating, Senju plots against the Dawn Guard.

“He made up his mind that day. The Dawn Guards must be destroyed before they realise their potential.”

Chapter 5

By day, the Dawn Guard battle against zombie hordes. By night, they face off against Senju and his shoguns. Eins develops a complex trap that more-or-less resolve the zombie threat.

He then begins work on a new scheme called The Cybertron Plan. As part of this, he develops a new weapon called Omega. He then passes away from liver failure as a result of his alcoholism.

Two months after that, Alpha Corp attacks. Things go poorly for the Dawn Guard until Omega activates. He is a mech who can transform into a jet. The tactical advantages of this eventually see the Dawn Guards triumph.

A memorial for Eins is held following the battle.

Chapter 6

Don Quite departs the Dawn Guard HQ in order to investigate that 24th Pope’s hometown. Before leaving, he mourns Eins’ death and recalls a conversation they had about the 24th Pope — revealing that the religious doesn’t age or die of natural causes because he has been digitized into a virtual consciousness.

In a flashback, Eins speculates that some kind of computer virus may have caused the pope to fire the nukes back in the prologue.

Eins protege, Naomi, supports Don Quite’s desire to investigate the Pope’s hometown. She goes with him to examine the imagery of angels at the church in the home town to aid her in the development of a rescue robot named Mech-Angel.

Chapter 7

“The 24th Popes hometown is* one of the many small territories that make up the Holy Country. Most of the people living under the Holy Country control are religious teachers. In addition, these small territories also provide most of the country’s economy. Aside from preaching to the gods of the Holy Country, these territories also produce young priests and even Popes.”

The 24th Pope’s grandfather is described an ambitious and aggressive ruler who expanded their territory and stole the throne from his predecessors before passing it on to his son.

“The Holy Country now belongs to Alpha Corp. Unable to get in, Don Quite could only set his sights on this small territory that made it out.”

Don Quite makes his way to the town, expecting a castle but finding a crater instead.

“The dirt around the crater seemed tom have been burnt as if a giant ray had burned the entire castle.”

We then get introduced to Downey.

“Downey is rated very poorly in the Dawn Psalm. If it weren’t for his allegiance to the Dawn Guards, it would probably be lower. He has three distinct characteristics: filthy rich, stubborn and a dirty mouth.”

Given that in-game model for Downey is a not-so-subtle knock-off of Marvel’s Iron Man, that description is, uh, interesting.

“The story of how Downey and Don Quite met is one to tell as well. When Don Quite was glaring over the hole where the Pope’s castle once was, Downey came out of nowhere and pulled Don Quite into the hole.”

Chapter 8

If the last chapter left any doubt about Downey’s similarities with Tony Stark, this one quickly dispenses with it.

“Downey comes from a family of firearm dealers. Before D-Day, their family business had spread across the world and they were dealing with many people. it’s not exaggeration to say that any weapon displayed by any country, their family also had it. They even had the latest weapons that no one had. When D-Day came, Downy lost everyone in his family but they left him a massive fortune. Using his fortune and intelligence, he built himself a high-tech armor.”

Don Quite asks Downey to join the Dawn Guards. He accepts. Two days after leaving the crater, the pair are attacked by an unknown assailant. They work together and their attacker — a Silver-Haired woman with a sniper rifle — is eventually forced to retreat.

An excerpt from the Dawn Psalm identifies this woman as The Black Widow.

Chapter 9

Time passes and things escalate.

“The Dawn Guards are beginning to stabilize and now have 27 bases with over 100k soldiers.”

On the 5th anniversary of the organization’s founding, the Dawn Guard welcome into their ranks the “world’s greatest gambler” — a guy called Stephen. A minor misunderstanding escalates into a scuffle.

Omega and Noami’s Mech-Angels, who are now being mass-produced, observe the fight and call in Don Quite to help resolve things peacefully. As a result, we learn Stephen’s backstory:

“When D-Day came Stephen was having afternoon tea with a mob boss. Having realized that the food and tea were prepared by the boss’ wife, he immediately showed great appreciation and gratitude. When the explosions began, he hid with the family in one of the boss’ strongholds and narrowly escaped death. However, when Stephen returned to his mansion, he found nothing left bu the bodies of his wife and children. He didn’t care to explain much of what happened after but only said that he met Sophie. Sophie helped him heal his wounds and now he wanted to take her with him from the Dawn Guards.”

Who is Sophie? Unclear but I think she’s meant to be one of Naomi’s Mech-Angels.

Regardless, Stephen and Don Quite make a bet over the fate of Sophie. He loses but Naomi frees Sophia anyway. Closing out the chapter, Don Quite asks Stephen a cryptic question and he sets off in search of the answer.

Chapter 10

Blink, a child who claims to be from the future, shows up looking to join the Dawn Guards. He meets with Don Quite and reveals that sometime in the future, the Dawn Guards will be betrayed, Don Quite will be wounded and ultimately overwhelmed by by Alpha Corp.

Blink explains that he’s been sent back in time to identify the traitor.

The Dawn Guards hold an all-hands team meeting to discuss these revelations. They decide to bait Alpha Corp into attacking while also launching their own assault on Alpha Corp HQ. This maneuver is called the War God Plan.

Don Quite wonders what Eins would make of the situation. Noami takes him aside and explains that she’s managed to backup Eins consciousness and has begun experimenting by successfully transferring a gorilla consciousness into a mech. For now, human trials are deemed to risky.

Chapter 11

Naomi makes a duplicate of Don Quite’s consciousness and transfers it into his armor, so that he can essentially be in two places at once. This ploy doesn’t work but Don Quite lies and tells Naomi it does. She leaks his location to Alpha Corp, who then attack and destroy his physical body.

Both Alpha Corp and Dawn Guard then gear up for the final battle.

“Over the past 5 years, the Dawn Guards had developed their city into a massive fortress. In the wake of the Alpha Corp. attack, they could still defend themselves for quite some time. On the other hand, the Holy Country was not as equipped defensively.”

Chapter 12

“When the attack began, the 24th Pope was taking a walk in his small courtyard reminiscing about his childhood.”

During their final fight with the 24th Pope, most of the Dawn Guard strike team are initially mesmerized and incapacitated by the Pope’s mental abilities. Thankfully, Sophia is able to resist. She helps the team recover. The fight continues.

Meanwhile, back at Dawn Guard HQ, Senju delivers a lethal blow to Don Quite’s mechanical body — thinking he has won. Don Quite then successfully awakens his new artificial bodies and turns the tide of both battles.

In the midst of the chaos, Stephen calls Don Quite in the middle of the battle and yells the world ‘Guiltless!” at him. This dues ex machina saves the day as the word turns out to be the 24th Pope’s kryptonite.

“All it took was Don Quite to shout out “Guiltless” for the Pope to become distracted and flustered. It was at that moment, that Blink and the rest of the team unleashed* all of their fire power onto the Pope.”

Chapter 13

“ The Dawn Guards HQ suffered immense casualties during the battle. However, the citizens never gave up and decided to build an even greater city on its foundation. One year later, Dawn City was established.

Senju takes control of the remnants of Alpha Corp. Don Quite apologies for being rude to Stephen when he called during the battle. Blink chooses not to return to the future. Naomi begins working on a floating city.

“As Dawn City developed and stabilized, Don Quite was finally able to relax. He collected and stored various types of drinks and alcohol in his room but no one ever saw him drink it or him drink with anyone.”

“I’m waiting for someone.”

So there you have it, folks. The plot of Shellfire. I like to think it speaks for itself but if you want a quick-fire summary of the plot described above, try this:

The 24th Pope uses nuclear weapons to bring about the apocalypse and rule over the ashes. In the aftermath of these events, Don Quixote teams up with an alcoholic scientist to rebuild society.

This leads them into conflict with an evil robot ninja and forces of Alpha Corp. It also earns them find new allies in the form of Iron-Man, Trunks/Ezrael and Twisted Fate.

Eventually, a trans-humanist scheme triggers a climactic battle between the two factions. This leaves the 24th Pope dead and the triumphant Dawn Guard on the precipice of a new golden age.

Wait, how does the gameplay of Shellfire fit into this?

If you’ve made it this far and are wondering how the team-based shooting of Shellfire actually fits into the post-apocalyptic fable described above, you’re not alone. It’s not really intuitive how the story above leads into the experience of playing this particular mobile multiplayer shooter.

Funnily enough, the loose framing for the actual gameplay of Shellfire isn’t all that different from that of Overwatch. Everything that matters in this particular fictional setting has already happened. The shootouts that make up Shellfire itself are more-or-less an epilogue to the story.

Where Blizzard are gearing up to move the narrative forward with Overwatch 2, the world of Shellfire seems likely to remain in stasis. The Dawn Guard have won a decisive battle but the forever war with Senju and Alpha Corp goes on.

Shellfire is available on Android and iOS. More information can be found on the Shellfire website here.