Some of the best art and zone design in franchise history (again).
New graphics technology delivers a more immersive overall experience.
A big focus on solo play and alt-character play.
The Worldsoul Saga kicks off a new multi-expansion story with the shadowy entity known as Xal’atath as its central antagonist.
An abundance of interesting dungeon designs.
Many Hero Talents feel underbaked, with boring designs and a lack of animations.
Endgame world questing variety feels quite limited and could get repetitive quickly.
The Worldsoul Saga kicks off a new multi-expansion story with the shadowy entity known as Xal’atath as its central antagonist.
That means I’ve been playing World of Warcraft (often known as WoW) for 20 years.
I am old, and so is its player base.
Blizzard seems to have acknowledged some of that in a big way inWorld of Warcraft: The War Within.
World of Warcraft: The War Within sports a lot of recent tech advancements for facial animations in-engine, coupled with pre-rendered cinematic scenes for more evocative character delivery.
Since the game’s launch, I’ve been playing almost non-stop.
I’ve completed every single main and side quest.
This review is both for veteran players as well as interested potential newcomers, but also Blizzard itself.
Anduin Wrynn, one of the game’s central characters in recent years, is haunted by the events of Shadowlands. Don’t worry Anduin, we all are.
My issues with WoW: The War Within do little to dent the overall experience right now.
One is Final Fantasy 14, and the other is World of Warcraft.
I certainly wasn’t alone in thinking that, either.
In The War Within, players can unlock the neutral Earthen stone dwarf race, giving Horde players access to the dwarf model for the first time.
Thus sets the stage for The War Within.
Although much of her plans remain utterly shrouded in mystery.
The Ringing Deeps has its dysfunctional Titan machines and a seemingly tyrannical, corrupt steward to deal with.
Hallowfall in particular has been a major hit with players, with its intriguing alternating holy-shadow crystal impaled through the ceiling.
Dornogal on the surface sees two factions of Titan-loyal and Titan-disloyal Earthen fight through frosty relations.
Some of the beats here are quite familiar territory.
It even has a similar dungeon, complete with a “find the spy” event.
In dark corners of Azj-Kahet, corruption seeps into the very earth.
Some of the pacing of these areas clearly fell on the wrong side of development timing, too.
But it’s all the more jarring when other aspects of the story delivery have been so good overall.
Besides a couple of minor gripes with certain aspects of pacing, the overall delivery has been fantastic.
A huge new emphasis on account-wide progression has made playing alternate characters far more fun. World of Warcraft even borrowed Diablo’s famed campfire character select screen! (As Diablo 4 is seemingly losing it… whoops.)
Indeed, everything in Khaz Algar feels like it has lived-in depth.
I feel as though World of Warcraft’s music delivery has taken a leap forward too in this expansion.
Indeed, that sense of “RPG” has really returned to World of Warcraft in recent years.
World of Warcraft remains incredibly fun in endgame, and may even be truly fun for solo players for the first time.
This makes dipping into other specs, characters, and experiences far more easy than it has ever been.
I mentioned in the intro that Blizzard seems intent on delivering shorter gameplay loops where possible.
It remains to be seen if Delves can stand up to the test of time.
In Delves, players are accompanied by a seasonal hero that can be levelled up and equipped with various abilities.
In some cases, they even detract from the flavor.
Many of the Druid Hero Talents, for example, are all elven themed.
What if I’m a troll druid?
World of Warcraft’s Hero Talents system have been great for some class fantasies, and awful for others.
or a Kul Tiran druid?
Furthermore, I’m incredibly nervous about how these abilities will be balanced over time.
What if I don’t want to choose between an Elven-themed or a Shadow-themed Marksmanship Hunter?
The War Within’s Cinderbrew Meadery dungeon likely retains some kind of world record for the most bee-related puns per minute in a video game.
What if you’re stuck with lameness forever?
The first raid tier will also become available, set inside the traitor Nerubian Queen’s palace.
Over all though, I’ve had a ton of fun already with the base expansion experience.
There’s a vast amount of potential to be explored in the depths of Khaz Algar still.
Perhaps we’ll see new zones open up in deeper cavern systems.
We have no idea who the second raid tier antagonist will be.
Khaz Algar somehow manages to feel expansive and creepily intimate at the same time.
Will we get additional allied races, such as the heavily-teased Harronir?
Will Blizzard finally add player housing (sorry)?!
Only time will tell.
Long may Warcraft live.
The biggest downside of WoW remains its new player experience.
For veteran players, The War Within represents a great moment to return to the fold.
If you’re not overly concerned about the story, there are still tons of reasons to play.
The profession systems are heavily involved and rewarding for those who enjoy that punch in of gameplay.
I’m curious to see if Blizzard can keep up the momentum.
