Marking the 30th anniversary of the Warcraft series, Blizzard has released remasters of the first two games – Warcraft and Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness – and a big update for the much maligned Warcraft 3: Reforged as well.
Each game is available individually – Warcraft: Remastered is £9, Warcraft 2: Remastered for £12.59 – or all three within the Warcraft Battle Chest for £35.
The emphasis for Warcraft and Warcraft 2 has been to bring the games a little more up to date without affecting the original games. Both games have been given a fresh lick of paint with new graphics and widescreen output, but you’re able to switch between the original graphics and remastered ones in real time – I personally think that, however they did them, the new sprites lose a lot of the original charm and look quite mobile game-y.
Both games also have UI and UX improvements, such as tooltips and healthbars, a mission select screen, increased unit selection, redone mission intro screens, and more. Warcraft I in particular gains right-click move, band box selecting and a faster game speed to better match the sequels.
Warcraft 2 will still have multiplayer functionality, with all legacy custom maps remaining playable and compatible.
All of this sounds like Blizzard took on board the sweeping criticism of their last Warcraft remaster, Warcraft 3: Reforged, and they’ve also gone back to Reforged to bring a lot of community requested changes and improvements. Patch 2.0 is out now for Warcraft 3: Reforged, adding hotkey customisation, and updated ladder and more as quality of life improvements. They’ve also retouched the graphics, overhauling the environments, lighting and user interface… but most importantly adding uprezzed classic Warcraft 3 assets to HD and now letting you pick and choose between settings to get the classic vanilla experience or the updated one.
Long overdue, and what Reforged should have been in the first place, but good to see.
Elsewhere in the Warcraft universe, Blizzard has started a fresh lap of World of Warcraft, announcing the launch of new World of Warcraft: Classic realms that let you play the classic World of Warcraft: Classic without all the pesky expansions and updates that have been added to it in the last five years. Expect WoW Classic Classic Classic to launch in 2029.
