Blizzard Watch Weekly: New Year, Same Ol Us

I am resolutely getting back into the swing of things, which includes actually reading all the stuff we publish every week, apparently? Seems a little rude to expect of me, but here we go, once more around the sun.

Here’s everything that happened this week and a few reminders for next.

What Happened This Week?

• Darkening of Tristram Diablo 3 event January 3 – January 31
• This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl: New Year Bash Tavern Brawl (Constructed, Wild)
• Active Twitch Drop campaigns

The big news this week was the feeling of time slipping forever through our fingers like so much dust as the weird week between Christmas and New Years once again made fools of us all. The January Trading Post rolled out as usual, with some steampunk-y rewards to peruse. We also took a bit of time to look ahead at the games we’re excited to see release in 2025, though we already wishlisted all of them on Steam. The annual Darkening of Tristram event made its way back into Diablo 3 as of this afternoon, and will continue until the end of the month.

The news did start rolling out a bit toward the end of the week, with more information on the rewards from the Gallagio Loyalty Rewards Club, which unfortunately does not come with a punch card when it cha-chings its way onto the scene in patch 11.1.

Also, we had a slight shift in management behind the scenes, so now we have slightly more control over what happens day-to-day. So, same old us, brand new us? We have taken this opportunity to begin a rebrand to BabyHippo Watch. But, until then, we’re showcasing a bunch of metroidvanias and soulslikes in our weekly games highlight column.

What’s Happening Next Week (and beyond)

• Winter Veil in World of Warcraft through January 5
• World of Warcraft 20th Anniversary Event through January 6
• Winter Wonderland in Overwatch 2, through January 6
• WoW Cataclysm Classic Season of Discovery phase 4 begins January 9
• WoW Classic Classic phase 2 begins January 9

The holiday events started rolling off, and will conclude here shortly, including the WoW Anniversary event. And I guess that means I should take down my Christmas tree, huh. And while we did write a post on what happens to your Bronze Celebration Tokens when the celebration ends because y’all were asking, the answer is half historic recollection, a bit of estimation, and at least a quarter shrug emoji.

The next phases of both WoW Cataclysm Classic and WoW Classic Classic will begin January 9. We suppose we should state that Classic Classic is formally called the WoW Anniversary Realms, but we like the recursion, especially since it means we’ll probably see WoW Classic Classic Classic in two years or so. This will eventually lead to a stat squish on the word Classic.

Looking even further ahead, we’re excited about being able to play Ghouls in Fallout 76. It’s much more in-depth than just a weird skin, some of which involves doing a whole lot of drugs, just like you saw that one guy doing on TV.

Podcasts

• Blizzard Watch Podcast: The best and worst of Blizzard in 2024
• Lore Watch Podcast: The reimagining of the Diablo franchise
• Tavern Watch: Sentai & Sensibility 1: A tale of romance and robots

The Blizzard Watch Podcast recapped the year in Blizzard news, which had some big highlights and really deep lows (RIP, Unannounced Survival Game). On Lore Watch we discussed what the Diablo franchise might be if a few changes were made along the way, specifically if Aiden didn’t become the vessel for Diablo at the end of the first game, and how that changes the rest of the games going forward.

Plus, on Tavern Watch we’re starting our playthrough of Sentai & Sensibility, which pairs Jane Austen-esque courtly romance with Japanese fighting teams. Will they be able to chastely yearn for a well-matched but inscrutable love interest in peace, or will he be squished by a kaiju? Only time will tell!

If you’d like to listen to the podcast early, Tier 2 Patreon patrons get access two days before the shows are posted here on the main page. Plus, you get our eternal gratitude for your support.