OCTOBER 2019 PCWorld 65WoW Classic is a step back in
time—and a step back for World
of Warcraft
The 2004 revival splits the MMO into two different games, and so shatters its unique
sense of history and community. BY LEIF JOHNSONF
ew of us ever get a chance to start
over from scratch, but last night
World of Warcraft players got exactly
that with the launch of WoW Classic
(go.pcworld.com/wwcl).
Blizzard Entertainment’s “newest” game is
essentially the popular massive multiplayeronline roleplaying game exactly as it played in
2004, right down to molasses-paced quest
text, a dearth of quest markers, and enemies
so tough that you feel compelled to group up
with other players to beat them. Together,
features like these made World of Warcraft’s
earliest incarnation more social than its currentIMAGE: LEIF JOHNSON