World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

What to Know

Critics Recommend

Average Score

Total Reviews: 27

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World of Warcraft: Shadowlands does not disappoint, introducing some great new characters and stories to create one of the most compelling WoW experiences in many years.

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Critics Recommend

Critic Reviews: 27

Critics Consensus

# Reviews: 27

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands does not disappoint, introducing some great new characters and stories to create one of the most compelling WoW experiences in many years.

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Critic Reviews for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

Reviews

High Score - 90/100

Low Score - 30/100

Silver TIER

67% of scored reviews fell within the range of 80 to 86 / 100

Steven Messner (PC Gamer)

80/100

“Ambitious but uneven, Shadowlands is an exciting evolution of World of Warcraft.”

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Oli Welsh (Eurogamer)

Recommended

“A far-out new expansion and major levelling revamp see Blizzard’s veteran online world riding a new wave of popularity.”

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GameCentral (Metro GameCentral)

Recommended

“So far Shadowlands does not disappoint, with the question of which of the four covenants to soul-bind to being a particularly tricky one, as you get to grips with the endgame content of world quests and dailies. Shadowlands is reminiscent of aspects from earlier expansions, such as Wrath Of The Lich King (even including the grind), but it has a style all of its own and a good sense of momentum that, so far at least, makes it great fun to play.”

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Read the Reviews (27 total)

Outlet	Author	Score	Date	Quote	Read
Attack of the Fanboy	Brandon Adams	4.5 / 5 stars	12-03-2020	Post-launch support will ultimately determine Shadowlands’ fate, but as it currently stands World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is a fantastic expansion that once again proves why Blizzard’s 16 year old juggernaut remains the king of the MMORPG genre. While we may be touring Azeroth’s afterlife ourselves, it’s clear World of Warcraft won’t be sauntered off into the great beyond any time soon.	Read review
BaziCenter	Javad Mohseni	8.5 / 10	12-10-2020	The latest expansion pack for the hit series World of Warcraft is just at the beginning of its journey, and is off to a strong start. The gameplay experience is still very fun and the amount of new content is insane. Only time will tell how successful this expansion pack will eventually be, but for now we can do nothing but to enjoy it.	Read review
But Why Tho?	Adrian Ruiz	8.5 / 10	12-01-2020	World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has expanded the worldbuilding to such a scale that every new dungeon or quest is a chance to explore lore new and old. At the end of the day, I can’t ask for more than that.	Read review
Destructoid	Chris Carter	8.5 / 10	11-27-2020	World of Warcraft: Shadowlands hasn’t quite wowed me in the way that Legion did, but it’s an improvement upon many concepts from Battle for Azeroth. There’s a clearer story that seems to have more embedded bones, with a more pronounced set of zones that stand on their own. As always long-term support remains to be seen, but for now, WoW is still one of the best MMOs out there.	Read review
Digital Trends	Josh Brown	3 / 5 stars	12-01-2020	As it stands, Shadowlands feels a little lost in translation. Blizzard spent the better part of the last year saying how it wanted its juggernaut MMO to feel more like an RPG again — where choices matter and rewards and plentiful. Yet, oddly enough, Shadowlands feels more bereft of that than ever before, becoming something of a jumbled experience that sits awkwardly between being an open-world “sandbox” MMO and a more linear “theme park” one.	Read review
Eurogamer	Oli Welsh	Recommended	12-22-2020	A far-out new expansion and major levelling revamp see Blizzard’s veteran online world riding a new wave of popularity.	Read review
Game Informer	Daniel Tack	8.8 / 10	11-30-2020	Shadowlands adds some daring elements into the mix while also retaining many of the same hooks that have kept the MMO going over the years	Read review
GamingBolt	Will Borger	8 / 10	12-04-2020	It’s impossible to know how an expansion will turn out at release, but an interesting story, gorgeous visuals and audio, a great leveling experience, and good endgame mean Shadowlands is off to a good start.	Read review
GamingTrend	Jason Ornelas	90 / 100	01-27-2021	World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is a return to greatness for the franchise. The content is both accessible and fun for all types of players, and the story actually makes you feel like everything you’re doing is helping to save the Shadowlands. Torghast is one of the best features ever added and makes each experience unique and fun. While there are some issues which can slow down the time it takes to get everything you want, the journey there is still enjoyable.	Read review
IGN	Leana Hafer	8 / 10	11-24-2020	Shadowlands offers some great new characters and stories, alongside the most compelling max level experience WoW has had in many years.	Read review
IGN Italy	Alessandro Alosi	8.5 / 10	12-09-2020	Shadowlands is an appropriate expansion in many ways, but between merits and novelties stand out a masterful audio-visual system and a fun worthy of the golden days. It doesn’t revolutionize anything, but it reshapes the progression system with intelligence to rejuvenate an evergreen like World of Warcraft.	Read review
Impulsegamer	Hugh Mitchell	4 / 5 stars	12-22-2020	World of Warcraft: Shadowlands breathes new life into an aging MMORPG with some fun new features and an excellent story.	Read review
Merlin’in Kazanı	Samet Basri Taşlı	85 / 100	12-07-2020	World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is one of the best games that MMORPG game seekers can find.	Read review
Metro GameCentral	GameCentral	Recommended	11-26-2020	So far Shadowlands does not disappoint, with the question of which of the four covenants to soul-bind to being a particularly tricky one, as you get to grips with the endgame content of world quests and dailies. Shadowlands is reminiscent of aspects from earlier expansions, such as Wrath Of The Lich King (even including the grind), but it has a style all of its own and a good sense of momentum that, so far at least, makes it great fun to play.	Read review
MMOGames	Marc Pavey	8 / 10	12-16-2020	The first hour or so of the expansion provides a great introduction to the setting and story. The quests involve pushing through The Maw with the help of storied heroes from WoW’s lore, with frequent cut-scenes and events which make for a surprisingly cinematic experience. WoW’s expansions have been a little inconsistent in the strength of their stories, but I found this narrative and its characters to be compelling. Although The Maw is not the most aesthetically pleasing zone, perhaps by design, the overall introduction seemed like a very polished experience and demonstrates quite how far WoW has come in 16 years.	Read review
Oyungezer Online	Ali Sezgin	8.5 / 10	12-15-2020	Life is good when you’re dead. Shadowlands is one of the best Warcraft expansions with its interesting characters and intersecting scenarios.	Read review
PC Gamer	Steven Messner	80 / 100	12-03-2020	Ambitious but uneven, Shadowlands is an exciting evolution of World of Warcraft.	Read review
PCGamesN	Heather Newman	8 / 10	12-04-2020	WoW’s latest chapter offers a gorgeous leveling experience, interesting endgame systems, and a pile of well-designed dungeons. Though some rough edges remain, ongoing hotfixes are chipping away at them.	Read review
Polygon	Ryan Gilliam	Recommended	12-09-2020	Shadowlands doesn’t do everything perfectly. The questing experience doesn’t feel as fluid in as previous expansions, and the quests aren’t as diverse. And it’s still too early to see how good the endgame content and updates will be. But even with the limited time I’m willing to put into Shadowlands, I’ll actually be able to play that endgame content as it comes out. And as my real life just gets more complicated the older I get, I couldn’t ask for a better shift in philosophy from my favorite MMO.	Read review
Screen Rant	Cody Gravelle	4 / 5 stars	11-28-2020	Shadowlands impresses in every way.	Read review
SECTOR.sk	Michal Korec	8 / 10	02-05-2021	Shadowlands offers reiable new challenges for online heroes. Good reason to still play WoW.	Read review
Shacknews	Greg Burke	9 / 10	01-28-2021	World of Warcraft: Shadowlands certainly manages to capture the same feelings we’ve had since first started playing the game. The leveling experience overhaul, constant sense of progress with rewards, and new campaign stories make Shadowlands a must-have for any avid player.	Read review
TechRaptor	Austin Suther	8.5 / 10	12-09-2020	World of Warcraft: Shadowlands’ base experience offers a variety of excellent content through new zones and endgame content. The framework for a great stream of content is there, so for now, there’s a lot to enjoy.	Read review
The Games Machine	Alessandro Alosi	8.5 / 10	12-09-2020	With plenty of quality content, a revamped progression system and many intriguing features like Torgast and Covenants, Shadowlands is an artistic triumph and one of the best expansions ever. It doesn’t revolutionize World of Warcraft and the leveling phase doesn’t really develop the character that much, but who cares? The Afterlife is fun.	Read review
The Outerhaven Productions	Karl Smart	1.5 / 5 stars	12-01-2020	World of Warcraft: Shadowlands shows that the whole World of Warcraft game is really showing it’s age, not to mention that since losing a lot of their key development people from the Blizzard side like Chris Kaleiki and many others, leading to this being a more “by the metrics” Activision based game experience than what Blizzard is renowned for. For a lot of people, the heart and soul of World of Warcraft is dead at this stage, but since it is still early days, future patches and content additions can revive the game into a playable state for those who are still addicted to the game after over 16 years… But only time will tell at this stage.	Read review
WayTooManyGames	Thomas Medina	9 / 10	02-23-2021	All in all, this expansion ended what was implemented with Legion, and effectively brought the game into modern times. Now it’s just up to Blizzard to keep momentum going.	Read review
Windows Central	Jez Corden	3.5 / 5 stars	12-16-2020	Blizzard clearly learned from the mistakes from Battle for Azeroth’s endgame launch state, injecting piles of content that actually contribute to player power in meaningful ways. On the one hand, the time gating on the story elements is irritating, but it’s not like most players will find themselves short of things to do. Shadowlands has some of the most stunning art in the game’s lengthy history, and the cinematic treatment represents a step up for the studio. Despite balance issues, Shadowlands may end up among the likes of Legion and The Burning Crusade as one of the game’s best expansions to date.	Read review

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About World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

Game Description / Storyline:

The veil between life and death is no more. With a single act of destruction, Sylvanas Windrunner has ripped open the way to the afterlife. Azeroth’s staunchest defenders have been dragged into all-consuming darkness. An ancient force of death threatens to break its bonds and unravel reality. Hidden realms of wonder and horror await any who would pass to the other side. The Shadowlands is home to an entire realm of the departed; it is a world between worlds whose delicate balance preserves life and death itself. As one of Azeroth’s greatest champions, you have been granted the power to cross over in body and soul. Now you must investigate a conspiracy to unmake the cosmos, and help Warcraft legends journey back… or fulfill their ultimate destiny.

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