The thing is, it's very difficult to judge an expac until a few months in.
But, i will admit, after 2 zones cleared, i am not impressed. It seems discounted, by the numbers stuff. Actually, it feels like a side story cause so little of relevance happens. Just a lot of lets say "cameos" for the sake of it. No big delving into backstory, who these chatacters were and what our character was to them.
Yeah, i've been underwhelmed. But, of course, this is just the release part. BfA had a really cool release part in my opinion. But the later game was not so great.
The impression i have of Shadowlands so far is that it's small and side-story-ish. Sylvanas should have been dealt with in BfA. It's a plot thread that has been dragged far too long. I think the end game will be better than BfA and that is important, but i do think it was designed in a pre-bfa era where they thought Legion did everything right, when it didnt.
So, SL is gonna suffer from the legacy of the previous expansion, and i believe the next expansion will be crucial and needs to bring WoW to a new era. If it's more of the same, i dunno. I even think these SL years will be difficult. We shall see.
On that note, i do wonder who the next creative director will be, if rumors are true.
There seem to have been quite a few departures from the team lately and i expect turmoil in the near future over it, but lets see if a new leaf is turned.