Grave concerns regarding Galio's Visual Overhaul
※This is a repost of a topic I have made in the LoL Subreddit, however I am not sure how subreddit threads prune as I barely post in extremely active subreddits.
Galio was a niche and unpopular champion that people would joke about as his only role was to counter against AP-heavy teams without looking at what Galio is. Galio is a guardian who was struck with grief from a murder until Poppy helped him recover his grief, acting as a guardian for Demacia since they met. However turning him into the trash he is about to become is like destroying history, a relic from League's toddler stages that was a pretty good interpretation of gargoyles in western media. I haven't played him a lot, yet Galio was one of the few characters I've really liked in the game in a way of his character instead of his kit.
His visual overhaul is not a good design in general as he is redesigned as a colossus. A colossus is a giant statue that is usually humanoid. Galio is not exactly a humanoid creature as he used to be a gothic gargoyle that was shaped to be what a gargoyle would be like if they were to suddenly come alive from the buildings they protect. When we look at the new Galio we see that he is an unholy abomination between a gargoyle and colossus that missed every mark outside of his feet and tail. We see that Galio is modeled off of western superheroes such as Superman and Batman and yet the concept of having a superhero colossus is rather strange and unorthodox to have around. A better colossus would be statues that were made in memory of the monarchs Demacia had, not a random "whatever" trying to be a gargoyle. I have seen hype for this however, yet it's mostly just stuff like the "OMG SO COOL" impulse replies that doesn't explain why he's cool and people hype that they are getting a new kit. I've noticed a lot of newer and newer champs are rather forgettable and unmemorable, as only champs like Aurelion Sol, Kindred and Azir seem to have a rather unique character that their creators put a lot of love and care into with only a hint of business smarts. I do feel that Jhin, Ivern and Tahm Kench are good characters as well but if I were to talk to people about the game, they're not exactly the kind of characters I'd mention to people who want to look at the game outside the repetitive nature it is as they seem like they are either made as a toyetic character to sell a skillset or kit to, or they are B-listers that not a lot of people would go crazy over. I feel Yasuo and Ekko are the absolute worse cases for this and with New Galio joining their ranks. They are uncreative, annoying-looking characters that people only care about because of their kits, not because of the character. You have strong characters like Renekton and Rengar roaming around, however that's because they are well-crafted with stuff like character interactions, fun gameplay, good aesthetics and interesting stories to make them actual characters with a good kit. All Riot and Tencent are doing for Galio's revamp and VO is selling you a kit, they do not care about Galio as a character, they just needed someone who would match with Demacia's holier-than-thou transformation.
Reworking a champion is not an easy job as you need to figure out what the character is and how they act. Despite the game having one-dimensional characters outside a few, I do feel Galio in a sense wasn't one dimensional as he fought grief and won. As for character reworks themselves, the only ones I saw that could be considered good in a transformation state are Karma and Warwick. These two should be the baseline on what a character visual overhaul should be, a character awakening into a more powerful state as they keep their themes and aesthetics in check. You could argue that Trundle's visual overhaul is good, however his reason of it being good is a loophole. Trundle had a "wall" in his lore that created a paradox "Why is Trundle still in the Institute of War?". However you did still have people who prefer the mutant Trundle over the icy yet healthy Trundle, and Riot was kind enough to offer a classic skin of him that kept his swampy aesthetics. As for transformation, I'd say Warwick was the best example of this because of his minimalistic changes outside the mechanical implants he has. The werewolf has become a chimera between a wolf, bat and fox and his rework implies he would receive great strength. If we look at fiction, mechanical implants tend to make the patient stronger and through said implants, it had mutated Warwick further than before as they were filled with a green batch of mystery. Karma is a bit trickier however as her backstory between her old and current versions conflict with each other as far as how she fought before she became an important figure for Ionia. However you could see her current version as a result of her experience after her battles despite her current version looking a lot younger than her old version, almost like something you would see in a story where a hero would become more and more experienced learning new forms and techniques. Now with Galio, the transition between a blue and gold gargoyle to a marble and gold statue is rather scary and off-putting. There is no transitional stages on how he even became that monster to begin with. A perfect transition for Galio would be something like this.
"As Galio tries to protect Demacia along with Poppy, he seems to have trouble finding what would help out Demacia as the spells he was crafted with started to wear out. Whatever is pristine and clean is not what they always seem, as despite the regulation of magic being enforced, Galio needs to find a way to improve himself through ugly and dirty methods. A magi have offered Galio a chance to improve the gargoyle and he accepts the deal. He was then crafted into a more durable and stronger gargoyle, donning a small golden circlet-crown around his head. The magi have also provided a gift for Galio to show he is truly a guardian of Demacia, a dark blue coat with golden plates sewn into it. The unholy crafting has also improved his abilities as he is able to tackle on his foes physically. With said enhancements he finds the magi as a second master, hoping that he will protect Demacia alongside with Poppy."
What happened was that Galio was killed off for a strange, marble statue without any way for people who want to get back into playing Galio a way to get what Galio used to be. This is absolute proof that characters aren't characters anymore, they are a digital mask that only exist to have the player buy a kit. The only way Galio would ever recover from this disastrous murder is if he is given an updated Legacy skin with his original design and updated textures rather than a blue/gold Chroma of his default.
TLDR: The upcoming Galio is a piece of trash that throws away what made Galio himself and that the only people hyping him up are those who want a new kit, not a new look for a character that keeps their identity.
