The old saying holds that you can’t go home again.
This is especially true in gaming, as you can never truly grab hold of that lightning in a bottle that is experiencing your favorite games for the first time. I think every gamer has their own list of titles that, if given the chance, they would love to experience with fresh eyes just one more time. For example, 2015’s Life Is Strange is a game at its most effective when the player doesn’t know what’s coming, making for a narrative that twists and turns into something magical.
I’d give just about anything to play Life Is Strange anew. Alas, that isn’t how life or video games work. On the flip side, that doesn’t mean game publishers don’t try their hardest to capture that essence, bottle it up, and sell it back to the consumer as pure nostalgia.
Take, for example, the curious case of World of Warcraft Classic which launched two weeks ago.
Few games last as long as WoW, and certainly not for 15 years — and still going. The popularity of World of Warcraft has dwindled since those days of Superbowl advertisements and celebrities gushing on Jay Leno and other late-night talk shows about how their secret obsession is the beloved MMORPG. Yet, the game still goes strong and publisher Activision-Blizzard looks to bolster its subscription numbers by giving long-time players the thing they’ve always wanted.
Another chance at that first time.
WoW Classic is simple: There is now a separate set of servers that replicate the very early days of Warcraft, warts and all. No quest tracking, no auto-looting, no easy traversal. If the retail version of World of Warcraft is Disney World, pushing players through themed rides meant to delight and not challenge, then its retro counterpart is a hike through the unmarked wilderness without any supplies.
It would be an understatement to say that WoW Classic is a different, more rugged, and harder experience. Younger WoW players may look at such obtuse design and wonder why anyone would want to go back to such an archaic period, but those who lived through that era know.
There’s a certain bit of magic that comes along with the early days of World of Warcraft, a period where online gaming and communities were very different than they are today. The likes of Discord and the advent of free voice chat has changed how we communicate and play games in the modern age. World of Warcraft was one of the first games to take the idea of meeting and playing with strangers seriously, and not as a passing fad.
Your guildmates were almost family in this strange, open world. And much like how Fortnite today is basically a chat room for young gamers that also happens to be attached to a video game, World of Warcraft was a digital watering hole and meeting ground for the downtrodden.
Is this still a meaningful experience in the year 2019?
For the most part, yes. There’s still sort of an unwritten vernacular between players that remember the classic days of Warcraft. Not to sound like a grouchy boomer and lament about how “back in my day we helped people with the quests and didn’t just yell at them to go look it up on Google” but there’s a certain community aspect to WoW Classic where part of the fun is being lost and confused along with everyone else.
In my 30 hours or so back in the classic version of Azeroth I’ve seen people more willing to be helpful with advice or just talk in general chat. Maybe it’s the nostalgia goggles, but people, so far, appear to be in the spirit of the thing and remembering the macro levels of community that exist in World of Warcraft.
Of course, your mileage will vary. It’s a rare thing to be able to go back and experience an MMORPG in this way, as once the servers shut down for most games they’re never to be seen or played again. That said, the experience is very much like the hiking analogy I made before: Not everyone wants to rough it and go off into the wilds in search of a challenge. Some people like the theme park ride. I won’t lie: I like the “line up and see the story unfold” nature of retail World of Warcraft, in part because I enjoy the story and lore.
That won’t be for everyone, and neither is World of Warcraft Classic. Only time will tell if fans stick with the nostalgia servers or if it turns into a waiting game of eventual boredom. Either way, WoW Classic is a rare and amazing thing. For better and worse Blizzard has given fans a time machine.
If only we could leave the Chuck Norris jokes at the Barrens border. Some things just need to stay in the past.
First Published September 12, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
