Gaming News “All in one” is why I will enjoy this MMO RPG video game again and again
2023 is over. After a year of games that ended with the Game Awards ceremony, the year gives way to 2024. A time of transition that often allows many gamers to look back on the past 365 days. Personally, I’ve been partly occupied with my favorite game of all time. A question that may seem hopeless, but it allowed me to understand why this game had, has and will hold a special place in my memory.
Opinion ticket
This article is an opinion piece. They are by nature subjective and therefore do not reflect the opinion of the JV editorial team.
A few days ago I shared my feelings about it the sterile GOTY controversy. In my opinion it is too difficult to choose a game of the year with given factors. His sales? This is not a guarantee of the quality of the title. His influence? Less than a year after its release, it’s difficult to measure. His merit? Also difficult to measure. Furthermore, this suggests that other competitors are earning less or perhaps nothing at all. I then came to the conclusion that GOTY was, first and foremost, one’s own GOTY. That the cup doesn’t matter in the end: as long as we get drunk.
Although this thought developed little in my mind, it had the advantage of questioning me. Besides my game of the year (not mentioned anywhere in “Oscars“2023 of video games”), which titles continue to surprise me over the years? With my body stuffed with Christmas chocolate and smoked fish, I was able to devote much of my remaining energy to this question. Unless he’s the only one on the list (I admit, the list is limited), he’s always the first one that comes to mind and stays well above the fray. Since 2004, it has been World of Warcraft that has systematically managed to grab me in the stomach. A fact made all the more proven by the fact that I have hardly stopped publishing Warlords of Draenor since 2014.
There is no need to elaborate on the game’s diverse qualities. They will be different for everyone, especially since World of Warcraft offers three very different experiences: World of Warcraft: Classic, with its season of discovery; World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic and World of Warcraft Retail (the newest expansion is Dragonflight). So it’s not about arguing in an endless debate about which formula is the best. Quite the opposite.
A universe in which we want to spend time
Blizzard’s massively multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in November. Since 2004, the world of Azeroth and beyond has seduced gamers, establishing itself as one of the most iconic games in the genre, if not the most played in the West. This statement should be taken with a grain of salt as Blizzard never revealed the numbers and although Final Fantasy XIV has probably effectively disputed them for several years, WoW remains an expert on the subject.
A huge player base that he inherited primarily from his universe. The world of Warcraft emerged long before WoW. Warcraft games are primarily RTS real-time strategy games. References of the genre that have even given life to other types of games: MOBAs like Dota 2, League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm or even Pokémon Unite. But if they exist, it’s also because they’re inspired by other titles released before them. The Blizzard developers were inspired by the game Dune 2, but also by Warhammer, a science fiction universe from the 80s. The aesthetic touch of the Games Workshop figures is said to have served as inspiration for the artistic team. It’s also difficult not to see inspiration from the world of Dungeons & Dragons or similar literary works Lord of the Rings.
Warhammer and Warcraft: Who plagiarized whom?
In short: World of Warcraft is based on decades of science fiction and fantasy inspiration. Something that can be seen and felt in the writing of the universe. There are detailed lore in which everything is often linked: the War of the Ancients; the appearance of the Scourge; the conflict between primalists and dragons (dragon flight). There’s a colossal cast of characters that we’ve come to love, but more importantly, respect over the years. It’s hard not to understand the madness of the dragon Malygos, who loses his wife after one of his best friends betrays him. We also share the desperation of the Titan Sargeras, sent (almost) alone to repel the lieutenants of evil, and who will end up corrupted… As long as we have a modicum of interest in its story, the game gives us back a hundredfold. With WoW, it feels like the more you learn, the less you know. What I find even stronger and more interesting is that absolutely nothing seems Manichean. Something that, on the contrary, will not end with the World Soul saga that begins in 2024 with the expansion The War Within. I am convinced.
World of Warcraft: What I want, when I want
The From Scratch guild is the fourth guild in the world to defeat Gul’Dan in Nightborne Palace on Mythic difficulty (2017). Photo credit: From scratch.
These intrigues very often unfold in the course of raids: a type of content that forces players to cooperate and is mandatory for anyone who wants to follow the campaign through the game. While certain encounters are sometimes chaotic, the same feeling always arises once a boss is defeated for the first time: that of belonging to history, of having achieved something that was bigger than us. A sensation that continues more than ten years later because the gameplay serves the narrative.
But if I still enjoy learning new things from the history of WoW for ten years now, that’s also because the game keeps refreshing my interest in it. However, the core gameplay hasn’t changed much since 2004: it’s still mostly about mashing buttons to cast spells or skills to defeat enemies.
The new talent tree, which reuses certain abilities from old expansions, has done a lot of good for the game. Photo credit: Blizzard Entertainment.
In fact, the context has changed over the years. World of Warcraft has become more accessible since the Cataclysm/Mists of Pandaria era. Talent trees have been slimmed down; the simplified skill system (two-handed weapons, defense, etc.); the revised experience gain… modifications that were not to everyone’s taste (see the emergence of “old-fashioned” official servers since 2018), but which for me allow to enliven the gaming experience and make it more interesting, for the same given time. At the time of Classic, for example, it was unthinkable to have every class in the game at maximum level without playing for hours. Then, due to lack of time, we were forced to dedicate our experience to a single character. However, as the expansions progress, each class (or even specialization) really shows off its own playstyle at its maximum level. I enjoy fluttering and World of Warcraft allows it on several levels, but most importantly on the most important level: that of my mood and my desires.
The Fief, Innovation Majeure from Warlords of Draenor.
WoW, it’s a toy box that always gives me what I want. An atmosphere in which you can no longer see daylight? I can start with a specific character that I try to equip with the best equipment. Do you need rest and relaxation? I can travel continents looking for the frames I’m missing; Go fishing or even complete quest sequences that I haven’t completed yet. There are a variety of activities that I can resort to, regardless of my state of mind. A philosophy that Blizzard seems to share. With each expansion a new hobby was added. Pokémon-style mascot battles, managing an agricultural field, a kind of dwelling and, more recently, flying on a dragon that can be compared to a racing game… I can’t wait to see what Blizzard reserves for Battalion players (a sort of hub that focuses on supporting characters) and The Chasm!
To become this character’s best friend, you have to fish!
WoW: the king of gaming services
Since 2017, the world of video games has emerged the emergence of numerous service games (or GAAS) : Titles that try to retain their players as much as possible through updates that offer diverse and varied content. For Fortnite, for example, collaborations (LEGO, The Witcher, Dragon Ball, etc.) are excuses for the return of players. In Apex Legends or League of Legends these are often the new playable heroes. A decision that has its logic: as publishers rely more and more on just a few titles, it will inevitably be more interesting to produce a long-term game with new content. Be it from a financial perspective in terms of the expenses involved or the thorough development of a working license (Diablo 4 is proof of this).
A process that then spreads across the market, with the result that the players no longer know where to turn. In fact, GAAS really gains value in the long run and it’s difficult to know which games we should invest our time in. I wonder, as my colleague Carnbee put it five years ago: Serving games for whom? A variety of service games that probably exist due to (or thanks to, it depends) the MMOs, of which WoW has been a representative for almost 20 years. The king of the genre probably remains the model to follow. It offers content that adapts to all types of experiences, in a world with a rich history that brings together all types of players.
From their experience, everyone will highlight different qualities for World of Warcraft. And that is his main quality: adapting to the changing desires of his players under all circumstances. An essential virtue for every GAAS. In other words, World of Warcraft is a kind of video game Metamorph, an all-in-one game. At my service, he continues to give me what I want and transport me year after year. And I’m sure it won’t stop anytime soon.
