What are your opinions on the visual design of Sylas
What do you think about it ¿ Since its no secret that its pretty plain but still, people can have different percepcions and opinions. So what are yours ¿
56 Comments
[deleted]
His pose on the base skin seems like he is a jacked up version of Kayn, his smile and positioning seems somewhat similar so I imagine maybe the Kayn splash was at least a reference? The wraith skin is pretty cool but the background for Sylas isn't very elaborate I would agree, however, despite the plainness, it does suit him because he Is just emerging from a prison and showing him on just the outside with a devilish smile of someone ready to get vengeance is quite fitting for him.
He's probably the least visually interesting character we've gotten in a while. Camille would be the last "meh" champion visually I'd have to think of.
I like his character design quite a bit, simple is good when we have characters who are complete fashionistas for no reason. I also like his animated facial features as well, they are quite good for someone with such a small model as his.
My ONE complaint is the awkward use of the locked chains everywhere. Like I get the game start where he breaks free, but not when you recall and his chains rebind and he again has to break free. It's weird and awkward. Props for the stripper dance though.
My honest opinion?
He's solid eye candy. I'm really happy Riot for once decided to sacrifice realism for attractiveness on a male champ, but in this case it might have backfired in minor ways.
This is a bit nitpicky, but...
There is great beauty in tragedy and suffering, and I think Sylas would have been made much more attractive (and interesting) by some visible signs of his unfortunate fate. Think Sirius Black, who is widely regarded as one of the most beloved expressions of the same archetype (or the Count of Monte Cristo, or even that horned cringelord Blizzard takes great pride in having created). Think something along the lines of scars and tattoos, some minor expressions of vulnerability, rather than just socialist superman in chains.
Question to Rioters: Seeing the name similarity, did Sirius Black come up during Sylas development?
Sylas' design in my opinion is pretty plain, and at least from a narrative perspective I have to dock him some points for the same reason I'm critical of Kai'sa. The problem that I had with Kai'sa is that she looks too healthy, well groomed, and conventionally attractive for the type of character her lore presents her as (Survivor in a constant hard environment surviving only by adapting the very things that hunt her, thus making her feared by other humans). In game she's too clean, and her design is sleek and beautiful which makes it kind of hard to imagine that people immediately fear her when they see her, as she's essentially a hot girl in a bodysuit.
Sylas, on the other hand is a highly attractive beefcake with incredibly well-kept musculature in spite of him being held prisoner, and theoretically sustaining himself on a very limited diet and with highly restrained movement capabilities. It's not necessarily that he shouldn't have muscles, but rather that his physical shape actually looks incredibly healthy comparative to the trials and tribulations he should have been undergoing. Outside of that there really isn't much to talk about. He has big chains which are the highlight of his champion design as any Champion's weapons need to be highly visible for gameplay clarity, and he has pants. and a collar, but that's kind of it. Outside of his highly detailed Shackles, Sylas could be effectively anyone, which I suppose is thematically consistent with the idea that he's a lowborn everyman who rose up against Demacian oppression, but doesn't really make him stand out in my eyes moreso than I just have to know what he looks like for gameplay purposes.
I'm not intrigued to learn more about Sylas, I'm just kind of there and he exists. I appreciate Riot adding more beefcakes to the game as I am a personal fan of the male presenting nipple, but if I'm being honest here I think Sylas is the weakest and least inspired design Riot has put out.
Well his face is just Kayn so pretty boring lol
I'm getting pretty tired of ripped shirtless dudes, to be honest. I'm not one to complain about sexualizing characters or that kind of thing but I do think it's funny Riot doesn't sexualize female characters since... what, Elise was the last over the top one and it made perfect sense in her lore? Evelynn doesn't count because she was sexy before the rework? But virtually every male champion in the last five years has been a ripped shirtless dude. It's getting boring and it's particularly egregious in this case because it makes no sense.
If Sylas's model is supposed to be right after he escaped his execution, he could MAYBE be shirtless but would also be emaciated from being chained in prison for his whole life. If the model is supposed to be from a few months down the road, it COULD make sense that he is ripped because he is hoisting chains around as weapons but it makes no sense for him not to be wearing a shirt. He's a revolutionary and a symbol for mage rebellion but instead of being well-dressed and poignant (like his voice and lore would suggest he is) he looks like he's about to fight in a WWE match. Except he's too boring looking to be in WWE.
So overall not a big fan, Riot's art department usually does an amazing job and this has been the most meh character in years in my opinion. Even Kai'sa who was questionable to a lot of people has more unique visual flavor than Sylas. I know that different things appeal to different people as we see in the "Pixar game" versus "edgelord champ" war that happens whenever a Riot announces a champion that goes into those camps, but I think most of us would agree that Sylas is just painfully mediocre with not a lot going for him which sucks because I really like his story and gameplay.
as has been pointed out already visually he is boring, we've already got several ripped shirtless guys, why add another one
I think it's overall pretty bad.
Yeah there's some sacrifices in realism that have to be made for the sake of selling a champion, Riot wants to make money after all, but Sylas strays too far in the wrong direction for my tastes. He's hunky, attractive, well-groomed and doesnt seem at all worse for wear despite spending years in prison. It's the same issue I have/had with Kai'Sa, except Sylas is worse because they've already made the same mistake prior and are repeating it, and he's even more visually bland. She at least has the bio-suit with insect aesthetics and the hovering shoulder things, he's just a hot guy in jeans with chains.
He's attractive and a pleasure to look at, but at the cost of being interesting and believable, basically.
I think he looks boring. He misses the mark like Kai'Sa.
He's hot
So, when y'all be demanding Riot to apologize for letting Syals walk shirtless, eh?
wish his lower body was thicker to match his upper body. his upper body is super buff but he has a twink like lower body it just doesnt look all that great
He seems cool i just wish they incorporated his ult to utilize his chains like the rest of his kit.
also think his chains could look a little more unique or eye popping.
He's extremely attractive but the standard Demacian colors of gold, ivory, and blue tend to look a bit drab compared to Ionian or Noxian palettes, and since he lacks armor or any real weapon save for his chains he has no real color profile to speak of.
His particle effects are also highly contrasted dark-on-light streaks and bursts of black/white, with no real splashs of yellow or blue except for his ultimate and his E2 - Abduct.
And his sound design is extremely boring, especially when compared to our last two releases, Neeko and the Nunu Rework, both of which boasted incredible sound design, like a lot of the other champions in League's roster. His VO is also very bland, but it's not devoid of personality like Kai'sa's is.
All in all, he's a very middle of the road champion. I tend to favor very bright and loud champions like Zoe, Bard, and Lux so I'll just mark it up as him not really being my style and leave it at that.
I like him, but his silhouette is meh.
I'm still a firm believer that 2016 was the best year for champion releases, aside from Camille that is
It's fucking terrible, he skipped leg day one too many times. Not to mention a lot of his "story" doesn't even make sense.
He should not have been that buff and good looking if he was in secured prison for a over a decade...not unless Lux fed him and gave him protein shakes to get back into shape and good looks.
Looks like an 
genetic experiment gone wrong.
I think his in-game model is meant to represent how he looks in the lore. He's been out of prison for a while so he's had time to get cleaned up and everything. Only reason why his splash shows him breaking out is because its like "wow cool" and shows his ability to steal people's ultimates.