League of Legends’ newest champion got a Sonic-style glow-up

polygon.com:

League of Legends’ newest champion is Smolder, and he’s a tiny baby dragon. Despite only being a few days old, Smolder has already received a Sonic the Hedgehog-style glow up from Riot Games. The trouble started when Riot revealed the champion on social media with a short teaser trailer introducing the dragon (and his mom, who shows up in Smolder’s kit as his ultimate ability.)

[rapid breathing] pic.twitter.com/Rk145MvNpc

Immediately, fans had some concerns about Smolder. He fits into the adorable archetype established by previous champions like Zoe and Yuumi. At first glance, he looks like he’d be more at home in a Dreamworks film than in League of Legends. It’s especially odd considering League of Legends and its spin-off games are full of dragons, most of which look bestial and intimidating. Smolder’s big eyes, round cheeks, short snout, and facial proportions felt off, which led to comparisons with the original live action Sonic. Fans took to social media to share their thoughts and even re-designs for the champion.

The immediate downgrade in dragon design from this in legends of runeterra to Smolder is insane pic.twitter.com/unVMIUKtbE

Here's my edit of Smolder! He looks a bit uncanny in the original. https://t.co/SwgwcHwo2S pic.twitter.com/KuhY62y5wu

On Friday, champion producer Alexia Gao tweeted the team had seen the feedback about Smolder’s face, and they had already adjusted the champion. Now, he looks significantly more dragon-esque. These are texture updates, so the shape of Smolder’s skull and snout largely remains the same, but blending his human face in with the dragon features on the rest of his body did wonders in bringing him out of the uncanny valley.

Hey Guys! We heard your feedback on Smolder's face