Rumbling About Warcraft's Mobile Arclight

Warcraft Arclight Rumble "Lineup" Cinematic Still. Taken from Blizzard.

With the recent reveal of Warcraft Arclight Rumble, I decided to (yet again) use that opportunity to write an article when I couldn't really settle on specific topic. Another Warcraft "article" every few weeks after my dramatic concussion of "Eternity's End" post and scuffed observation of Shadowlands is ridiculous and somewhat sad, but we all have some issues. Besides, it's about a mobile game and pretty much everyone knows that many gamers tend to dismiss that side of the industry and direct their attention to it solely for a quick joke about disgusting monetization.

Although many concerns and point of criticism regarding mobile games are usually very valid, I'm actually somewhat more tolerable of them. Probably because I played quite a few of them on my phone and tablet back in a day, which offered me a certain perspective on this side of gaming. Obviously I couldn't donate in any of those, so in "crucial points" I had to watch ads, suffer or just stop playing. Either way, I actually have a couple of things to say about Arclight Rumble and not sure about more worthy topic for this week... So yeah.

Lighthearted Observation.

First of all, this game looks better than Reforged. I knew I would be able to mention that about mobile Warcraft title. While some people describe the art style as too generic (a couple of my friends even compared it to concept art for unfortunate remaster), my view on it is more calm. It probably could've been better, but overall works in this specific case. I even liked some concept art they've shown in Developer Overview, which made it worth watching... Right, that "deep dive" of sorts and Gameplay Preview were hard to watch. I heard about Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin and its Chaos meme, there's no need to remind me through forced cringe, for a lack of better words.

"Warcraft Comes To Mobile"
Screenshot.

The game itself seems okay. Nothing really grabbed my attention, but there was also nothing specific to criticize (yet). I would say that, when it comes to mobile games, what you see is what you get and looking at it is better way to understand what gameplay is all about instead of trying and read the description from a guy who is new to it. Part of me expected some elements of base building as a way to tie in closely to classic real-time strategies, but Blizzard picked another direction. A lot of people are comparing it to Clash of Clans or Clash Royale, which apparently still exist (don't think I ever heard about the second one until recently though) and I still haven't bothered to actually look at them. Never cared about them before and that didn't change now, even though it might help predict what kind of game Warcraft Arclight Rumble ends up being.

At least it manages to do a better job at feeling like a part of Warcraft franchise as opposed to Shadowlands, Reforged and probably even Dragonflight. Announcement Cinematic followed in the footsteps of Hearthstone Animated Shorts like Hearth and Home by using the same visuals... I mean, even models with tavern aesthetic. Don't be surprised to see some Minis and Arclight machines (or whatever they're going to be called) in World of Warcraft since there's no way they wouldn't reference them like they did with Hearthstone since Mists of Pandaria. It was nice to see them getting factions almost right by separating the Horde and Undead, but they've also left night elves in Alliance and modern mishaps would likely follow shortly. Blackrock and Beast teams show the potential for more factions/teams to being introduced later on... They really added Sneed to the Horde camp? And didn't rename him? Huh.

Miniature Intent.

Now let's redirect our attention to those Minis, the clear stars of Warcraft Arclight Rumble. Obviously they're going to be the main target for game's monetization and that's the main concern for many people who are curious or interested in it. While developers reportedly confirmed the lack of lootboxes, gacha mechanics and even NFTs in Arclight Rumble, I'm sure there're other ways to include certain in-game purchase that could get worse in the long run. Even though I haven't kept a close eye in Hearthstone for a long time, its current state on that front doesn't seem to do the game any favors.

Whatever Blizzard decides to do in order to get money from Arclight Rumble players, Minis will play the key role in there. Collecting small figures is appealing to many people and developers' focus on that fact reminded me about a few real statues that were released by the company a few years ago. I'm talking about some Warcraft Legends Greymane & Saurfang Statues from Blizzcon 2018, as well as Orc Grunt and Human Footman based on Reforged designs that were given away to certain attenties of Blizzcon 2019. I would say that they're somewhat close to the art style used by Warcraft Arclight Rumble and that observation reminded me about toys for life concept that was used in Skylanders series and some Angry Birds titles, for example. There's no way that Blizzard wouldn't make real-life versions of these Minis and they might as well try to copy Amiibos by offering bonuses for new mobile title if you scan these figures via camera on your device.

Conclusion.

To be honest, it's not just Blizzard who managed to be excessively cringe during the reveal of Arclight Rumble. Many reactions from people on socials media and such are just as awkward to read. There're a few signs that Warcraft 3 would become an actual topic of discussion again, but a couple of replies from Mike Ybarra is all we got for all. Besides that, Blizzard went over all World of Warcraft & Hearthstone annoucement already and only then showcased a game that's meant to introduce new type of players to the franchise  or those who don't really play on computers anymore.

When it comes to the game itself... It's fine, I guess. Beta testing in certain regions will start at some point, which will offer us a proper look on the game itself and its monetization model. Maybe Blizzard wouldn't spent as much time on its development as Diablo Immortal, but I doubt they would decide to suddenly make a PC version of the mobile game again. I don't think we should expect that in this case since Warcraft Arclight Rumble just feels like more of a mobile title that wouldn't really translate well onto computers. As for me, I don't think I will follow it closely. Probably would've tried it if I had newer hardware, to be honest. Despite this, I think it might end up being great for a mobile game.