The Warcraft series is brimming with personality, and the updated art style only emphasizes that strength. In a throwback to one of the game’s classic meta easter eggs, when you click a pig enough times and the little critter will explode in a fountain of blood and bones, leaving a large crack in the ground where it once stood. Instead, Reforged’s visual style brings the game more in line with World of Warcraft, making it more familiar for new players.Ĭharacters are more detailed and expressive than ever, with even subtle tweaks bringing new life to the game. Gone are the days of flat textures that become harder to discern as time goes on. The real selling-point of Reforged is its aesthetic updates, which modernize the original game’s outdated graphics. Warcraft III is still very much what you make of it, and that’s a testament to the original game’s robust suite of content, which are all well-preserved here. It’s too early to tell if Reforged is stripped of its freewheeling feel of 2002, but judging by the list of wild maps currently available, it seems like the community isn’t letting Blizzard get in the way of their creativity. The stricter policy has stirred up the game’s community who worry about how it may limit the creative freedom that led to DOTA. At one point, I opened up a Star Wars-themed mode and found myself laughing as a giant Death Star cruised over a chaotic battle scene.įunnily enough, Blizzard has put out a new acceptable use policy alongside the tool, which that map technically now violates. After nearly two decades, custom content still remains the heart and soul of the game, with players pumping out wildly diverse creations that are a delight to behold. This is a fine-tuned competitive experience that could take a lifetime to master.įinally, there’s the game’s custom element, which allows players to create their own maps and modes via an extremely powerful (and complicated) level editor tool. It’s easy to see why people still play the game 18 years later. While the mode features a slew of balance tweaks, the general flow remains unchanged. The versus multiplayer remains the core of the game for experienced fans, and Blizzard is careful not to rock the boat. The addition of a Story difficulty setting helps soften the game’s learning curve, making it friendlier for new players. Blizzard has smartly fortified that idea by making it more accessible in Reforged. It’s a space to slowly gather skills and see all the different ways the game can be played. The missions take players through a slew of diverse scenarios, from wave defenses to focused exploration, and introduces each playable race along the way. The story still serves as an excellent fantasy adventure, but it also doubles as a useful tutorial in retrospect. That starts with the game’s massive campaign, which collects every mission from both Reign of Chaos and the Frozen Throne expansion. Mastering the game is a three-pronged approach. Reforged doesn’t change anything fundamental about Warcraft III, and that’s its greatest strength. It’s simple on its surface, but slowly grows more and more complex the deeper players dive into its hybrid strategy-RPG systems. The gameplay sees players gather resources, which allow them to build structures, gain new troops and obtain upgrades that will help them in battle. It’s a fast-paced game where players need to beat their opponents in an arms race that rewards efficient multitasking and careful planning. If anything, the new release only reinforces what’s so enduring about the strategy classic.
While it’s not the full remake some fans were hoping for, Warcraft III: Reforged is an effective, unfinished remaster that uses much welcomed graphical updates to highlight the original game’s strengths. Landing in the modern landscape that the original inadvertently shaped, Reforged gives us a rare moment to reflect on Warcraft III’s legacy. In that vein, Warcraft III: Reforged, Blizzard’s new remaster of the 18-year-old strategy classic, comes at a fascinating time. It’s impossible to guess history’s trajectory when dealing in hypotheticals, but we rarely stop to think about how much old favorites have shaped the gaming industry’s future. Without a leg up, does the latter go on to become a massive mainstream success that changes the industry’s approach to games-as-a-service forever? Similarly, Warcraft III’s commercial success wouldn’t have helped World of Warcraft gain early momentum.
In turn, Valve never acquires the rights to the mod and goes on to create DOTA 2, a game that sets the stage for the modern esports boom. In this reality, nobody uses the game’s world editor tool to create Defense of the Ancients. Imagine, for a moment, a world without Warcraft III.