These forums seem like there’s a lot of negative reviews of Shadowlands, so much so that you’d think this was the end for Warcraft, and that Blizzard is finished.
However, I believe whats representative on this forum is actually the minority that happens to be incredibly vocal.
I decided to check the overall reception of this expansion to see if my hypothesis was correct.
References Cited below.
- Metacritic: Score: 82%
- IGN: Score: 8/10
- PC Gamer: Score: 80%
- Game Informer: Score: 8.75
IGN had this to say on the Expansion
" The 10 levels you’ll spend getting to know the Shadowlands definitely live up to the standard of quality I expect from Blizzard in terms of zone design, music, and affecting character moments. And at max level, this is probably the most compelling World of Warcraft’s beckoning call to stick around has ever been, mainly because of Torghast and the chances it presents you to craft your own legendary items. But the fact remains that max-level play is designed to keep you around as long as possible with a limited amount of drip-fed story and repetitive daily and weekly activities, even if Shadowlands has more of them, and they’re more fun, than any previous expansion. Don’t get me wrong: this one ranks highly in the pantheon, up there with Legion and Wrath of the Lich King, partly because it makes some honest and substantial attempts to reinvent the tired endgame formula. I’m just still not sure if it goes far enough to hold my interest, and subscription dollars, in between the meatier story drops in major patches."
PC Gamer had this to say:
"Torghast is such an amazing addition to WoW, but there are times where I can’t escape the feeling that I’ve run this marathon before. I love that Blizzard swings big on its expansions where other MMOs are happy to stick to a template, but it also makes everything feel inconsequential. I can bust my rear grinding my Covenant, but a player who starts playing a month from now will catch up to me with minimal effort. When a major update comes out, the goal posts will be moved back and all that hard-earned gear will be worthless trash compared to whatever new stuff is available. It’s hard to see the value in investing tons of time into the game when everything is so fleeting.
Fortunately, unlike Battle for Azeroth, a lot of Shadowlands’ new features are inherently fun enough that I want to keep playing even if I’m concerned about the bigger picture. The four new zones are dense with surprises and treasures, Covenants are an exciting way to customize my character, and I’m enjoying the more subtle storytelling and worldbuilding now that the main campaign is over with."
Game Informer broke it out into categories:
CONCEPT:
Save the world by entering various realms in the afterlife, meeting old friends and enemies along the way
GRAPHICS
Breathtaking and striking environments make it hard to imagine that the game is 16 years old
SOUND
The core sounds of World of Warcraft haven’t changed much, but there are always unit barks and meme-worthy boss quips to enjoy
PLAYABILITY
A revamped and customizable levelling process makes Shadowlands a great time for new or returning players to join in
ENTERTAINMENT
Shadowlands adds some daring elements into the mix while also retaining many of the same hooks that have kept the MMO going over the years
REPLAY
High
It seems like the game was an overall success showing that the blatant rage posts found here is a vocal minority. It would seem Blizzard got it right with this expansion according to the industry. I would suspect that goinng forward Blizzard will continue to make content utilizing and building what it has done in Shadowlands.
My personal opinion, WoW is WoW… it is what it is, love it or hate it.
