Warcraft 3: Reforged brings back long-lost demo missions showing Darkspear Islands, Sen’jin’s death, and underground volcano Murlocs

Warcraft 3: Reforged may not have launched without issue, but one of the genuinely enjoyable surprises it came with was the inclusion of three missions that players of the original Warcraft 3 would likely never have experienced. Those three are prologue missions that were available to those who’s gotten a demo disc out of various magazines back in the day. (You remember demo discs, right?) And while the three missions were added as custom maps in The Frozen Throne, they still went unplayed by many and were never fully voiced the way they are in Reforged.

Having played them in Reforged, I gotta say, they’re a really cool addition, and I was surprised to see them actually showcase some important moments in Warcraft history. I was also completely thrown off playing them before I found out they were bonuses. As anyone who caught me streaming them can attest, I said on more than one occasion, “Why do I not remember any of this?!” But I digress.

The missions themselves depict Thrall’s journey from Eastern Kingdoms over to Kalimdor. And while you’d be right in thinking that journey was already in Warcraft 3, the three missions added in Reforged show off more of that journey — namely, Thrall’s first encounter with Sen’jin and the Darkspear Trolls. For a lore nerd, it was really cool seeing the likely location of the original Darkspear Islands (somewhere close to the Maelstrom) as well as the moment when Sen’jin himself met his demise. Not to mention, there’s an entire mission in an underground fortress with volcanoes, lava, red water, and loads of Murlocs and Naga. (That mission also happens to be the one that most made me question how the heck I couldn’t remember doing these before.)

Anyhow, the missions are a really nice surprise, and whatever your qualms with Reforged may be, it’s hard to argue that adding them in and adding full voiceover isn’t an all-around plus. If you’ve had a chance to play them — or at least watch someone else play them — I’d love to hear your thoughts on the missions!