The Queue: Peak holiday video game levels

Happy Thursday, folks! It’s holiday season and… well, right now it’s actually in the 60s and very windy so it doesn’t exactly feel like mid-December, but hey, it’s still technically that time of year.

Coincidentally, a lot of today’s questions are themed around the holidays! So let’s dive in, shall we?

Queuedolph, with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my Queue tonight (in some parts of the world)?

Oh heck yes I do! Freezeezy Peak from Banjo-Kazooie is such a delightful holiday level with a fantastic soundtrack. I also want to give a shout out to the snow globe portion of It Takes Two, which I recently completed and actually got flashbacks to Banjo-Kazooie during. Everything about it made me want to just stay there and hang out with the snowglobers.

I’ve (almost) always made sure to level my Rogue and my Warlock after my Shadow Priest — they’re the only two other characters that I’ve been leveling since vanilla, so they hold a special place in my heart. And up until Demon Hunters, I’d say Rogues were my second-favorite class… but then Demon Hunters happened and honestly, I’d probably be a DH main if they existed when I started. Mostly because of how easily they can explore.

Don’t let their laughs deter you. Go for the heart. It holds the magic.

My Rogue alt was going to be my Venthyr character, and I kind of lost interest in WoW before I could get him to max level. I haven’t touched the game for more than a little in a long time. One day, I might be sad about all the collectibles I’m missing out on… but for now, I’m happy with all the other games I’ve gotten to play this year.

Yes, and it involves a lot of driving. GF and I are splitting time between our families, but we’ll be with my side for the actual morning of Christmas. It’s always a treat when I get to watch my brothers open presents and spend the morning with my family, and we weren’t able to be there last year because of Covid.

Blizzard Watch? We’ll probably do a post or two about year-end stuff (I’d love to get the GOTY choices from the staff, for instance) but other than that, we’ll likely be publishing a lighter amount of content during the holidays.

I’m gonna be That Guy™ and link to last week’s Queue for a better answer — but the short version is that I think Blizz is doing the best they can in an unwinnable situation.

Oh, and since last week, the discussion of this all being a “retcon” came up in several places. My take on that is that it’s not technically a retcon… but it’s kind of like a “retcon by omission.” One of my favorite things in storytelling is when something from Chapter 1 clicks alllll the way at the end, or when you can re-read/re-watch something and a whole lot of small things make sense that you didn’t catch the first time (Hot Fuzz actually does this really well).

Conversely, I hate when a story brings up a new piece of information that quite literally changes/re-contextualizes everything and it’s not a piece of information that’s ever been hinted at. And while, again, Blizz is doing about as best as they can right now, this feels closer to the latter scenario than the former. The story might technically make sense without contradicting itself… but it doesn’t feel earned. It just is.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t really realize that was an issue or a thing I could change. I always log in with Twitter, so I thought I’d be taggable based off my Twitter handle. Apparently not!

In any case, I’ve changed it now ^_^

I’ve been enjoying it quite a bit! The combat takes getting used to, but it’s a fun spin on how lanes work in MOBAs. I feel like I keep getting sidetracked by errands and side quests, though. I’m level 15 and I basically cleared everything I could from Bilgewater. It was only last night that I got to the Shadow Isles and earned my fifth party member (of, I believe, six total). But on my way there, Miss Fortune basically took off half the boss’s health in one hit, which felt… maybe a little stronger than intended?

Either way, I’m enjoying it! Though there have been a few amusing glitches and the leveling/XP sometimes doesn’t feel consistent. But none of the cons outweigh the pros, and I’m excited to keep playing to the end.

That’s today’s Queue! Please leave lots of questions for tomorrow’s writer and have a great rest of your week!