World of Warcraft returns with its latest expansion, the second of the three part Worldsoul Saga, Midnight. This massive overarching story has been keeping fans of the MMO intrigued for the past couple years now, and as of now we are, nearly, halfway through the fate of Azaroth and what is starting to feel like a Marvel Comics level of world destruction. The main question though, is what is new in Midnight, and how does it compare to the rest of this game’s longevity?

Welcome to a new expansion!

In Midnight there’s a new race, the Haranir, but in this particular review, we didn’t focus on playing it with them, instead testing new specialisation for the Demon Hunter class, Devourer. It should be no surprise then that I jumped in immediately as a Demon Hunter to embrace everything this had to offer. Devourer is a DPS class, you’re there to make sure enemies and bosses go down, especially in dungeons and raids. The Devourer has a lot of sustainability, the skills have quite a lot of self-healing effects, making solo play a lot easier than it normally is, with less reliance on healing potions.

That said, it seems like the trade off is a bit of DPS. Where I typically play a regular Hunter, it felt like my damage output wasn’t quite at the same level, but I wasn’t watching my health pool quite as much. Maybe as better gear becomes available this will be a better class for groups, but right now it feels more built towards solo play, and I felt the need to change specs and abilities when doing raids.

There are a bunch of new areas in Midnight to take in while you adventure through this new iteration of Warcraft. The two key ones are very different from each other, which makes for a brilliant juxtaposition visually. The first is The Voidstorm; it’s dark, eerie, and primarily only two colours, red and a deep blue. The Voidstorm is essentially void of all light, it lives up to its name. On the other side is Eversong Woods, which is bright and vibrant. Unfortunately for everyone, the Woods are infected and dangerous, but it looks lovely!

Look at how pretty and vibrant… and on fire… the forest is!

New areas obviously means new raids, new dungeons, and new delves. Team up with random players, or with your guild, and jump into this new content filled with new bosses, lore, and everything else you could expect. In total there are eleven new delves, eight dungeons, and with season one, three raids. The Voidspire is the longest of the new raids, and also the coolest looking. The Voidspire features a dual dragon boss which is fun to try to work out for the first time, but the real jewel in the crown is the Crown of the Cosmos, the final boss of the raid. There definitely have been tougher bosses, keep in mind this is an early raid in the expansion, but this boss will test the patience of teams without a doubt until you’re used to some of the attacks, mostly because it requires a lot of movement.

I forgot how overwhelming dungeons and raids can feel, the new ones really helped get back into the flow.

One of the biggest new sections added in Midnight are player houses. Who would have thought it would take this long for houses to be a staple. Upon entering the houses area, you get to look around for the perfect property. These areas are instanced, so if you find the perfect spot, but someone already took it, you can load a new neighbourhood where maybe someone hasn’t already taken the plot you want. There’s a lot of furniture collection this expansion obviously, with some of it even coming in the form of drops. It’s a fun little side thing you can do after you’re done with the story and while you wait for raids, but it doesn’t feel like it has any real “significance” outside of just being aesthetically pleasing to yourself, and your neighbours if they care to look around. 

As usually, the voice acting in Midnight is outstanding. Even during times I’ve been on a break from World of Warcraft, I still watch all the cutscenes because the story and voice overs are a ton of fun. One thing I will say, Midnight suffers from the same thing as Catching Fire, Reckless, and any other second in a trilogy you can thing of. No matter how good the story is, there’s always a sense of “give me more,” but having to wait. Midnight is following a story that was told really well, and is leading up to a big conclusion. While there’s obviously a lot more to come during the life cycle of this expansion, I can only talk about what’s available, and so far I’m just wanting more from the story.

Overall, I have had a lot of fun returning to World of Warcraft and experiencing what Midnight had to offer. I even got to spend time gaming with some old friends because it’s all they play. The new areas look really good, the cutscenes are great, and the new raids are a ton of fun. I just want more story now instead of having to wait for further seasons! Definitely a good time to jump into World of Warcraft though if you missed The War Within, the full story so far will keep and lore fans hooked!

World of Warcraft: Midnight is available now on PC.

A copy of World of Warcraft: Midnight was provided by the publisher.