WORLD OF WARCRAFT: DRAGONFLIGHT
Breathtaking in every sense of the word. Its gorgeous landscapes and monumental sense of scale in worldbuilding make for an impressive entry into the long term, but its movement and flight bring a chaotic sense of freedom to the game. While what is ultimately present in Dragonflight are some solid improvements that remain tied to World of Warcraft’s gradual aging systems, the trip to Dragonflight is still intriguing. After a notably long time between Shadowlands and Dragonflight, players are immersed in a new expansion during a challenging time of peace between the Alliance and Horde. Narratively, the time has come – militant and pragmatic alliances during a time of world threats have made it seem silly to continue this particular feud – and this opens the door for much more subtle storytelling in the future. At this point, and rightly so, much of Dragonflight’s history involves a reasonably simple villain and a focus on the dragonkin.
The dryness that colored much of the Shadowlands worlds was necessary to convey the bleak landscape but did little to make the zones memorable or fun. That problem doesn’t exist in Dragonflight, which contains a beautiful array of biomes that feel ripped straight out of fantasy. There is a dutifully conveyed sense of freedom in exploring these zones, which feel untouched and burst with discovery. Dragonriding – Immediately rewards players with a travel mode that will eat into hours of their game time as they fiddle around with tricks and twists. The new Draktyra race and their Evoker class are also welcome additions. Abilities such as a Deep Breath allude to past raid bosses, while other abilities draw on the thematic issues of every Dragonflight in World of Warcraft’s history. Evokers are most interesting because they feel like a class very different from any other in implementation – they play a bit more like an action-RPG character than the usual spins of established classes. Charging attacks, correct timing, hypermobility – it all feels more modern. The talent tree and professional system overhaul are also welcome elements of WoW: Dragonflight. Characters again feel like they are the product of player-set preferences rather than following the obvious progression path in the talent tree, and the satisfaction of hitting a single dot on a skill in the desired tree remains one of the classic, undeniable draws of gameplay. Its combat systems can never escape its simplicity, and its graphics can only be moved upwards. That’s not to say that combat isn’t fun – it is – or that Dragonflight isn’t great – it’s aesthetically amazing! – but rather, everything is contextual to the fact that Dragonflight and the rest of the game are at the mercy of almost two decades of progress. This leaves Dragonflight in an interesting position. It’s also a reminder that the ceiling on WoW ends up being so high-technically and practically, Blizzard can only do so much with each expansion without the risk of reworking the game too much and losing its solid player base. For WoW fans, Dragonflight is fantastic. Its end game is yet to be seen, but even the simple journey of leveling up and exploring the Dragon Isles is well worth it to gain entry. For newbies and veterans who have expired, it’s still easy to recommend World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. It’s worth noting that for all the new trinkets and exciting innovations, it’s ultimately the same game underneath it all, for better and for worse.
Thus, World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is definitely worth your time. You will see many cool locations and changes. And enjoy your time. If you are starting fresh or looking to jump back into WoW, make sure you head over to our peripherals review section to make sure you have the best weapons available for your upcoming battle.