Warcraft 3: Reforgedwas Blizzard’s chance to stir up fan nostalgia and bring back an old, beloved game that can’t be played anymore in its original version; instead, fans are furious over the newly released game and its many shortcomings. Fans expected a lot of this remaster, butWarcraft 3: Reforgedis so disappointing that fans are accusing Blizzard of a bait and switch.
The originalWarcraft 3was the pinnacle of real-time strategy games when it released in 2003, and fans loved pretty much everything about it. In fact, some loved it so much that theDotamod was created, and eventually snowballed into thesuccessful (and independent)Dota 2.
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When Blizzard announced itsreimagining of the originalWarcraft 3during 2018’s BlizzCon, the company promised a lot to its fans. Not only wasWarcraft 3: Reforgedsupposed to get greatly updated visuals, but it was also supposed to get expanded mechanics, balance changes, and an expanded custom game creator. The reality didn’t deliver at all; first and foremost, fans are discovering that the updated graphics promised for the game aren’t nearly as nice as what was promised. In fact, some improved camera-work from theWarcraft 3: Reforged2018 demo is actually missing from the final product.
But that’s just the surface:Reforgedis also riddled with bugs and connectivity issues, missing a bunch of features, and has a merged client that imposes limitations on players that weren’t present in the original. Blizzard is also apparently determined to preventanotherDota 2situation, as per the company’s updated terms of use for custom maps. Under the new terms,Blizzard owns everythingrelated to custom maps, and nothing in even fan-made maps can be reproduced anywhere else; essentially, if anotherDota 2did happen, Blizzard would have the rights to it. The new terms also mean the end of old, classic custom maps like Anime fight and Defense of the Ancients.
Whatever Blizzard was trying to achieve withReforgedit clearly missed the mark by a mile, and it’s unclear if the developer has plans to add big post-launch changes to improve the game. Previous remasters includeStarcraftandWorld of Warcraft Classic, which both went over well with fans, but it seems thatReforgedis just a big step in the opposite direction.
