What draws you back into games you haven’t played in ages?

This past weekend was yet another in a series of monthly Splatoon 2 “Splatfests” — 24-hour events where players pick a side and duke it out to see which side wins more games. These events aren’t a whole lot different from the game at any other time of the year, outside of some new ink colors and the matches taking place on nighttime versions of the maps. But that doesn’t get me any less excited to participate.

Splatoon 2, as you are likely aware, is not a Blizzard game — but the Splatfest got me thinking about how easily a simple event like this can draw me back into a game. And given WoW’s anniversary event is currently underway — leading me to rotate through alts just for a chance at some unique transmog gear — I couldn’t help but compare the appeal of Blizzard’s in-game events to that of Splatoon 2’s Splatfests.

When it comes to World of Warcraft, my interest in the in-game holidays has declined, primarily due to the stagnancy of the associated daily quests. While the rewards are typically updated in some capacity, it’s hard to be interested in them when I’ve been doing the same holiday dailies (holi-dailies?) for years on end. I still log on, but not as enthusiastically as I do with some of the other games.

Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm are slightly different beasts. Like Splatfests, there’s not usually a whole lot different in terms of what you’re actually doing, but the excitement of the rewards (cosmetics that I can show off all year round) still draws me in. Although, when events overlap, I typically focus on the latter rather than the former — mostly because it’s a lot easier to spend money on Overwatch.

Hearthstone takes a lot more to draw me in. I rarely play the game, but have made a note to return for two different expansions: Whispers of the Old Gods and Knights of the Frozen Throne. Why? I love the aesthetic of both of them! Most other games don’t really draw me in the same way as the ones mentioned above, however.

How about you? What does it take for Blizzard to draw you back into a game’s grasp? If one game doesn’t tend to pull you in, is there something it could do differently to change that? Sound off below!