Exile’s Reach isn’t perfect, but it’s damn good content. In several ways, it recaptures some of that Vanilla magic.
You’re an adventurer, and really a nobody. You’ve been shipwrecked on a strange and unfamiliar island (which is beautiful and immersive, by the way), and you have to progressively make your way across the island and through the story. A journey in every sense of the word.
There are typical Azerothian elements present, such as Murlocs, Harpies, Ogres, and even simple spiders. Whimsical gnomes and their inventions, shamanistic totems, and, and… the list goes on.
This has me thinking.
Dragonflight is pitched to us as a return to the norm. Traditional fantasy and Warcraft. In a way, that’s true! But Dragons are still, well, mythical creatures. And in Dragonflight, they’re everywhere. To the point where there’s little room left for more simple things, like Murlocs and Gnolls.
So whether Blizzard has decided to revamp Azeroth, or they’re bringing some type of super content (Avaloren) on the other side of Azeroth with the next expansion (11.0), I’m happy with either as long as they’re simple.
Just let me roam around little villages and forests, and solve common problems. Give me basic weapons and armour (in HD), and a story that’s easy to digest. We kill the leader of the local cult in a nearby cave, or fish out a dropped locket on the bottom of a lake.
This all just sounds so incredibly stress-free. Fun. Immersive.
Let’s go! Back to the basics.