World of Warcraft was a new world that we discovered together with friends – and continue to discover today. Alone the first griffin flight after storm wind …
To the top list: The 100 best open world games for PC
The historical significance of World of Warcraft is well known: it did not reinvent the genre of online role-playing games, but opened it up to the mass market; it has shaped millions of people, influenced millions of lives and produced its own culture. Kek.
What fascinated us especially at the launch is the feeling of discovering a new world in Azeroth and Kalimdor – with friends. We explored locations, fathomed connections, exchanged ideas (»Do you know where I get material from?). That created community, welded the community together.
The quests mostly consisted of standard tasks (“Collect eight wolf ears”) and hid their beautiful stories in test windows that were clicked away a million times, but the Warcraft world was full of memorable moments:
The first griffin flight from Ironforge to Stormwind (when there was no deep orbit), the first steps in the Barrens (this chat!), The first fearful sprint to the Scarlet Monastery (The Horde can be anywhere!). And the feeling of moving in a world with a rich history that we ourselves knew from the strategy games.
Those who only jump from one raid to the next or from one daily quest to another today may not know this feeling anymore. That is one reason for the success of WoW: Classic, the search for the good old days. We will never forget them.
Note: Markus’s video transmission is unfortunately jerky, that was probably due to the long line into the Bavarian high mountains.
Place 10: Kingdom Come: Deliverance – “What have I cursed!”
9th place: Fallout 3 – “That was a real eye opener”
8th place: Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag – “One of the most beautiful open worlds”
7th place: Morrowind – “That was love at first sight”
Rank 6: World of Warcraft – “It was like discovering America”
5th place: Horizon Zero Dawn – “Fantastic Ideas for an Open World”
–
