World of Warcraft Review (PC)

As history has often predicted and illustrated over decades of worldwide expansion, MMORPGs have a unique power that no other genre can replicate: to remain perfectly evergreen and primed for ever-evolving adventures that can, and often do span generations. Take World of Warcraft, for example. In its double decade of existence, the beloved MMO has traipsed into hundreds of territories, both within the realm of Azeroth and beyond, with thousands of quests, raids, dungeons, and activities available to keep its coal reserves fully stocked and its planet-wide fan base drowning in fresh content. Say what you will, but that’s evergreen, and not to mention a perfect example of how to defile the hourglass of traditional post-development lifespans. Frankly, not a lot of MMORPGs can flaunt that same pedigree of power, but for Blizzard Entertainment, it’s a natural birthright.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an advocate for the lore; it matters only that you acknowledge that World of Warcraft has the power to span a quarter of a century and, more importantly, respect that, die-hard fan or not, Blizzard has a certain way of weaving worlds and adding fresh strands to seasoned ideas. Believe it or not, World of Warcraft remains one of the best MMO franchises on PC, and it’s due to Blizzard’s continued expansion and devoted mindset towards the future that it will also continue to evolve and prosper. It helps, too, that the MMO has not one, but two facets to keep the engines burning, both in its rolling vanilla form and, of course, in its Classic version.

A World Within Worlds

To be perfectly honest with you, it would take months to walk you through World of Warcraft and its vast corridors of PvP-embroidered features and open-world quests, raids, and dungeons. Moreover, it would require an extensive set of encyclopedic scrolls to enlighten you on its lore and characters, dilemmas and cataclysmic events. Say, if this review was written twenty years ago, then you wouldn’t have all that much to talk about. As of the time of publication, however, you more or less need a four-hour lecture just to understand the rudimentary details. But, for an MMORPG that’s punching two decades old, I guess it doesn’t really come as too much of a surprise.

While World of Warcraft didn’t necessarily pioneer the MMORPG, much less spearhead the modern format, it did help to bring it into the mainstream. Before its arrival, MMORPGs were self-contained ports of call that befell a niche market. In the wake of various overhauls among major creators, however, Azeroth went from being an ambitious venture to a cult staple with a lot to offer. A handful of expansions later, and World of Warcraft found eternal life within the fists of avid gamers. And as for what came after, well — you don’t need a course on it to understand its impact on the market.

To Azeroth and Back

I often feel dumbfounded that World of Warcraft still has the capacity to foster new techniques and ideas. If, say, Blizzard abandoned the base game and settled for retelling the same tale through its Classic version, then I probably wouldn’t have as much to praise here. And yet, even at a ripe ol’ age, Azeroth has been more than exemplary in its quest to keep the blood flowing across two vessels. On the one hand, you have the long-standing vanilla version—a vessel that, quite rightly, needs no formal introduction, but also requires a doctorate in history to truly understand. But on the other hand, you have Classic—an alternate version that allows nostalgia-craving veterans to return to the roots of their adolescence and bathe in the golden era of Azeroth’s ascension as an MMORPG. And frankly, there is a lot of content stuffed into each version — to the point where you would most likely need to devote an entire gap year just to capitalize on the endgame goodies and post-“completion” raids, quests and spoils. But, that’s an MMORPG for you.

Thankfully, World of Warcraft has always been able to illustrate its natural ability to ponder the best of both worlds. Take the base game, for example. If you desperately want to jump directly into the fray and unlock vast amounts of gear and PvP-related items, then you can. Similarly, if it’s steady progression and old-school role-playing that you desire, then Classic also has all of the necessary tools to provide you with that kind of beginner-friendly experience. The point is, World of Warcraft has an infectious spirit that can appeal to a lot of different players, and it doesn’t just bleed through its signature infrastructure; it leaks out through a seemingly infinite supply of seasonal events and expansions, too.

Although the core gameplay and dated audiovisual elements haven’t changed all that much since its global debut, World of Warcraft still harnesses one of the most memorable settings in modern MMORPGs. And not just that, but an incredibly in-depth character development system that allows for thousands of possible combinations and synergies, classes and skills, among other elements. It’s still a relatively simple game at heart, but then, that’s more of a boon, if anything; it feels approachable and comfortable. It’s also as complex as you want it to be, in that it doesn’t force you to use all of the tools at your disposal to fully appreciate the world and its opportunities. But, that’s a fine line that I’m not willing to cross, for argument’s sake, anyway.

Verdict

There’s a stupendously epic and diverse MMORPG here that deserves the credit for being an instrumental part of the genre’s monopolization and general ascension into superstardom. World of Warcraft, being a poster child for cult MMOs, deserves that attention, as does it deserve the brunt of the acclaim that it has been actively seeking for the best part of a quarter of a century.

To say that World of Warcraft is the best MMORPG on the chopping block might be a bit on an optimistic statement. Having said that, there’s no turning a blind eye to its natural ability to weave compelling stories and breathe life into a seemingly impenetrable world of quests and dungeons, expansions and lore. Frankly, Blizzard has 20-20 vision on what it takes to remain competitive and ironclad, and that’s something that, when all’s said and done, only the MMORPG elite can truly brag about.