Blizzard's Warcraft 3: Reforged was supposed to be another remake that took the gaming world by storm when it released. The developer was coming in hot off what seemed to be an impossible task - completely preserving and relaunching a classic version of World of Warcraft - executed to near-perfection, with World of Warcraft Classic enjoying a huge influx of players when it launched and maintaining steady and dedicated communities in the months afterward. By all accounts, a similarly redone Warcraft 3 should have had the potential for even better things, as the game had inspired Dota 2 and other titles while maintaining a competitive scene of its own well past most games in the RTS genre's expiry dates.
Unfortunately, the grim reality of Warcraft 3: Reforged is that it is, at its best, a disappointing and lackluster return to a game that deserve much better, and at worst a let down for the title's legion of fans. It's definitely a case of recency bias coloring expectations to a certain extent, since WoW Classic was such a sublimely remastered effort, but even absent that stellar example of raising the bar on remade classics, Warcraft 3: Reforged would still be decidedly mediocre. It's a game that isn't quite sure what it's supposed to be or who it's supposed to be for and that, coupled with some disastrous bugs and features, make Warcraft 3: Reforged a game that should only be purchased by die-hard fans of the game's lore and gameplay.
First, it's important to establish what the expectations were for Warcraft 3: Reforged. Blizzard never indicated that the game would be receiving a total overhaul, and that's not what happened, either. It's more reasonable to view the release as a tweaked version of the old classic, improving the extremely out-dated 2002-era graphics while preserving all of the traditional elements of RTS play that defined the game. Similarly, Blizzard has preserved Warcraft 3's RPG elements, where hero characters level up, upgrade their abilities, and generally dominate a battlefield to the point that they revolve around them. It's selfish, really - heroes always get all the glory, unlike the poor Orc peons laboring away to give them the resources they need - but it's what set the game apart in 2002 and created many of the characters that have come to define World of Warcraft, too.
In that sense, Warcraft 3: Reforged has successfully returned to what fans loved. There's a lot of micro-managing involved rather than the macro that can come to dominate StarCraft 2 while it's being played at high levels, so it also offers a different flavor than the other remade RTS from Blizzard over the last couple of years. Build orders define the best openings for each race, and each race thrives on offering something different to players, whether that's the Undead's flexibility with its lower-level units or the raw power of the Humans of the Alliance. Building up an army, using heroes to the best of their abilities, and getting lost in the staggering amount of variety offered by each race hasn't changed, and it shouldn't have. The core of Warcraft 3: Reforged's beating heart remains unsullied and it is still the best part of the game.
Unfortunately, the visuals haven't scaled particularly well with the nearly two decades that have passed since they were cutting edge, and Blizzard's attempts to fix that are up-and-down. The world itself looks vibrant and reminiscent of World of Warcraft's design, which flows well with the game and looks markedly better than it did before. Unit animations, though, are weirdly slow and look like they're being managed by wires attached to each character. Cutscenes are likewise dated and feel out of place in a Blizzard game in 2020, though how much that matters to players will vary based on how close they wanted the game to look like it used to.
The real problems arise the more technical that concerns get. Issues like keybinding being basically impossible to do on the fly make it a frustrating experience for those looking for the perfect version of their game, and it's such a crucial feature from both an accessibility and competition perspective that it's baffling it's as difficult as it is. That's to say nothing of the game's major technical issue, which has been a number of online issues spanning authentication problems, inability to make games, and dropped connections. While some of that can be attributed to launch issues - and, in fact, some have been fixed already by Blizzard - others have literally been present since beta.
For a game that's meant to be a presence in the esports scene, it's also odd that Warcraft 3: Reforged doesn't have a competitive ladder yet. Even worse, the clan system that united players of all skill levels and gave them a sense of identity and belonging while attempting to play the game online are also absent. With a game like WoW Classic paying such reverence to the smaller community details that made it so engaging, it's odd that Blizzard hasn't chosen to approach Warcraft 3: Reforged in the same manner. That's exacerbated by the fact that Blizzard changes its custom game policy quite dramatically in advance of Warcraft 3: Reforged's launch, as custom games are now the property of Blizzard. It's understandable - the company is afraid another Dota situation will happen and it will lose millions on a title essentially built in its own game - but it also dramatically impacts Warcraft 3: Reforged's replayability. Custom games kept people playing the original for years after it released, and it seems odd to discourage creators from engaging in the same practice this time around.
Warcraft 3: Reforged still features all of the game's campaigns and expansions, and they're still great. Replaying them is also just as fun as fans might remember - seeing the tragic stories of Sylvanas and Arthas unfold never fails to impress. It's the fact that they've all been packaged in something that was supposed to relaunch the title as more than it has been over the past few years and fails to do so that will be the memory most keep from Warcraft 3: Reforged's release, though. While many of the bugs can be fixed, some of the broader decisions - the less-than-impressive graphics overhaul and the custom game ownership - will not go away. It feels tough to recommend Warcraft 3: Reforged as a result, though it's still worth noting that the core of the game remains fantastic. That the best parts of Warcraft 3: Reforged are ripped straight out of 2002 and the worst are the modern changes, however, does not speak highly of the total package that Blizzard has placed on offer in 2020.
Warcraft 3: Reforged is available now on PC. Screen Rant was provided with a digital game code for the purpose of this review.
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