Is there a bigger game for you than WoW?

[Mattik29]

My biggest game is Gothic 2 - lifechanging experience.

[Halicia]

Historically, (for me) the Civ series has been "big", unfortunately since EU4's launch, its the biggest game ever. Easily surpassing the hours I put into WoW.

I gotta wholeheartedly agree with Witcher 3 though, and I assume RDR2 & Cyberpunk will fit those same "big" niches too.

As big as World of Warcraft is, I never forget that I am playing a game... with a crazygood singleplayer RPG though, you can get completely immersed in the story & setting and forget that you're in a game at the moment.

[Vaelorian]

Already posted something in this thread. But I wanna add that even though I quit mid legion... (and have been subbing and unsubbing from mid cata - with a straight sub from day 1 vanilla prior) - WoW has spoiled me so much that other games don't do it for me. The closest latest thing was Skyrim to match that feeling of awe, beauty and exploration. Kingdom Come Deliverance has been nice too. But other than that..... there simply are no games that capture me. Not a single one. And with that I am not saying that I don't play other games anymore. Like Civilization for example. Or other world building games etc. But none, absolutely none have been able to match or top WoW. Certainly not my initial experience until Mid Cata, nor my obsession. I just don't care. And I am genuinly saddened that WoW is currently the way it is. I don't care for accessibility. The game for me currently has been dumbed down so much, outside of raiding or Mythic+ or made redundent. And I have no illusion that it ever will be the same again. The moment the crossrealm tech started, the community took hit after hit after hit. And instead of creating more ground to maintain a healthy community they demolished it even further. No one knows eachother anymore unless you are in that guild.

[Adamas102]

define big : for me big means something not to miss, a good game, a game that can change your life, that makes you addicted and play all day for a long time, basically something like wow but not wow

I've definitely spent the most time playing WoW, but I wouldn't call it "life changing" (at least not in a good way). It's a highly repetitive game with a very limited engine. Casting judgement and holy light for over a decade wasn't particularly compelling gameplay, but it was a great time sink i guess. I'll get far more enjoyment replaying most Zelda, Elder Scrolls, or Forgotten Realms games than revisiting WoW. Favorite "big" game would still be Baldur's Gate 2.

[Muajin76]

RIFTS, if it were made, could be MUCH bigger than WoW. Due to size in content. Sadly...RIFTS won't ever get get made. T.T

- - - Updated - - -

Everquest had a better immersive feeling. Vanilla was just about raiding with friends and bullshiting over vent. In EQ the world felt dangerous, and the inconvenience of death heightened that danger.

hehe as a former EQ player of 7-8 years, i can attest to this! Bosses with death touch *yea..imagine having your mythic geared tank or dps dying in ONE hit!* corpse runs that were a pain, mobs that would track your ass down across an entire area. *pull a critter...sprint across to the zone line...wait and the critter still finds you.* death meant losing exp and you can actually loose lvls from dyin too much. *amen for experience res*

[socialmaker]

Maybe if I combine CIV 1 + Heroes 3 Complete + Diablo 2/3 +Starcraft I could balance it out.
These + WoW are probably 95% of all the gaming time for me in the past 20 years.

[endersblade]

X-COM. The months and years I put into WoW pale in comparison to the amount of time I've been playing the original and followup TFTD.

[chooi]

Super Mario World - Yoshi's Island (SNES) has an insanely big world and replay value on '80s technology cartridge. You have the standard game and then you got tons of secrets, easter eggs, special levels, star levels, essentially 'hardmodes' and so on. I've played this game a lot to clear the first time. Some runs require you to do them countless times similar to wiping on raid bosses in WoW. It is almost impossible to beat the game without help/guides, skill and patience. Everyone who makes it to the 9x% completion levels has my gamer respect.

[Halicia]

No one knows eachother anymore unless you are in that guild.

And even guildies only insofar as they need/want something from you.

I've noticed the same trend on steam & RL gaming friends as well, hardly anyone selects the game they're going to play based on the friends they want to play with, they swap out their "friends" for people that are playing the game they want. Which leads to a much more shallow multiplayer experience, imo.

[Rogalicus]

Yeah plenty. Whenever i see the 'i'm a gamer, but i've literally only ever played world of warcraft' folks on mmo champion -because i've never seen them anywhere else- i feel so sorry for them. Its like saying "i enjoy reading, but i've only ever read the hobbit" or "i enjoy music, but i've only ever listened to 'now thats what i call music 97' on repeat". Theres so many amazing, memorable experiences that making a hotbar mmo gear treadmill of all things your apex is a fucking depressing concept.

This. I feel like current WoW players just have low standards due to not playing anything else for so long.

[Cæli]

This. I feel like current WoW players just have low standards due to not playing anything else for so long.

the possibility that WoW is the ultimate video game is not zero however. takes great experience to answer the question, you would need to play like 1000 games to know for sure. the crazy thing is that WoW can possibly be this game. and it's pretty much a fact that wow holds up other game experiences, especially for those who like to collect everything. might be a con at this point.

good games existed after the release of wow that's also pretty much a fact, but bigger or better ? that's the question

there's too many to discover anyway in a current lifetime already in every category, movie, books, music, video games.

and I think that on the contrary, regular wow players have HIGH standards, not low standards.
kind of when you goes from a life in a cave to a life in a comfy house, your standards increased so much that you just don't like the idea to downgrade the pleasure.

[Rendark]

There are a lot of game that are "bigger" and "better" then WoW. Total War Warhammer 2 comes to mind.

[Eluvium]

Only game (series) that has rivaled WoW in my lifetime as far as hours played are concerned are probably Football Manager & the Civ franchise (mainly civs 2 to 5).

[Deleted]

Black Desert Online

My personal opinion to whom this game is intended for:

-People who enjoy PvP and World PvP
-Gameplay is a mixture of fighting games and MMORPG's
-Is incredibly addictive seeing your gear score grow.
-Very Grindy (i grew to like grinding with this game...is kinda addictive)
-The game will overwhelm you with stuff to do...you can do a billion different things.
-Farm World Bosses to get gear
-Farm money and built your empire
-The graphics are beautiful and the game is full of details (like my clothes being full of blood while i kill hordes of mobs AND after a while you can mildly see the stains of blood in clothes)

This game is 100% for ME.
Dont know about you guys...but this is my kind of game

EDIT: You need tons of help while playing this game. So find a guild or make a friend to explain you the details.

[TheWorkingTitle]

The only games that rival WoW to me in terms of how much I enjoyed it and how absorbed I was in it while playing are...


- Runescape Classic

- Warcraft 3: RoC's Custom Game scene

- Mass Effect series

- Witcher series

- Skyrim

- Golden Sun series

- KOTOR series

- Fortnite

- Overwatch

[Kyphael]

Yes, Rift.

...

Buahahaha! Just kidding! WoW is the be all, end all game.

[deepr]

Does it have to be "big"? Bigger isn't always better.

Sometimes it's the smaller, concise games that provide the most enjoyment. At least for a while.
When I'm not into a big game like WoW, I'm playing indie titles.
Turn based games? Invisible Inc, Into The Breach, Slay The Spire....
Platform games? Dust: Elysian Tail, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells
Etc.
Lots of great games out there.

[Deleted]

BDO always *sounds* interesting on paper, but when I've talked to people - even people who are totally in love with the game - they come right out and tell me that doing anything requires either complete dedication to grinding until your fingers bleed or spending money or both.

At that point if I really want some compelling PvP I might as well just play an actual fighting game, not a Korean grind machine.

Its the best of both worlds

1) Fighting Game
2) MMO

But you are right, it requires dedication. Like Puupi told me "BDO is not a sprint, is a marathon"
Its true you grind a lot, but you can just do it with moderation.

This game already changed my personality.
I was used to the instant gratification from World of Warcraft.
But this game trained me to be patient...VERY patient.

Its a huge mountain to climb, and you need to set objectives for you 1 or even 2 months in advance its insane

[Ladyoftheforest]

The Metal Gear franchise, for me. Loved it long before WoW ever released.

Same. Still the pinnacle of gaming. It appeals to me on two fronts, heart and mind: got my mind blown many times and shed more than a couple of tears. Looking forward to the movie.

[Vaelorian]

The Metal Gear franchise, for me. Loved it long before WoW ever released.

But that is not really the point of this thread is it? I mean I loved Zelda, Final Fantasy (non mmo), Mario Kart (SNES) and few others. Long before WoW came to be. But even those games.... newer or older versions are in no way matching up to how I felt about WoW. Not my initial experience (vanilla) nor when I quit for the first time (Mid Cata).
These games that I mentioned before did "tickle my obsession gland" but only for a very short while in comparison.