World of Warcraft The War Within is now available, with a banger zone, side quests that are spectacular, and early access issues.

World of Warcraft: The War Within is now available. If you paid for early access, then you've been playing for a couple of days. While it's still early in the expansion's lifespan (I'm two-thirds through the second zone as a side quests fiend), things seem to be going well.

The expansion is a major shift in Blizzard's strategy, with a focus on more detailed storytelling, better villains and the ability to play most of the story content alone (yes, including raids). It also includes the development of evergreen game mechanics such as Warbands.

So far, so good. It's a good start.

Even the Ringing Deeps, the zone that is perhaps the least visually appealing of all the zones, has its fans. "[I] went into expecting to loathe it and it was actually kinda banga," writes Jibbles2020. As someone who has been slogging through the Ringing Deeps myself, I can only agree. The Kobolds have been a lot of fun, but it's also been interesting to see how different the surface Earthens are from their work-obsessed underground siblings. The worldbuilding is solid, but the character work is unexpectedly heartfelt.

The side quests in the zones are what I'm most impressed with. I won't say anything more than names to avoid spoilers, but I highly recommend helping Korgran on the Isle of Dorn. It's a moving journey that makes me think that WoW has found a core of emotional storytelling that was missing (or at least inconsistent) for some time.

The story feels more engaging, and I am not the only one who feels that way. Preach, an experienced WoW YouTuber who has a strong investment in the game, felt similarly as he stated in a video entitled "YES!" You SHOULD play The War Within.

"I never thought I would be sitting here after all these years of creating World of Warcraft material and telling you to pay attention to the story." Give it a try. I'm sure you'll have one of the most memorable World of Warcraft adventures you've ever had.

It's a tough sell for most WoW players. The commenters below the video are sceptical of Blizzard's new direction. I find it difficult to blame them because they haven’t been able play the damn thing yet.

Early access for The War Within is a blot on a very positive first impression. For context, there was a three-day period of early access for the game. The War Within's EA was only available with the Epic Edition, which costs $90 (PS75), or around $40 more than the base version at $50 (PS40).

I don't think there's any debate about the fact that this is a bad thing. Three days of early access aren't a lot, and players don't have a great head start. Heroic dungeons were not accessible.

The value proposition isn't bad: players get more trader's tokens, a pet or toy, the hearthstone effect and a whole bunch of other things. A month of gaming time alone costs about $15 (PS8.50), so it's not as bad.

The launch day hype is one of the best parts of an MMO: You get to rush in and experience the content with your friends at the same time. This will cause social friction and FOMO. While this may only be temporary, it is better to not include early access with your epic edition.

It was a temporary issue that is essentially resolved now. Even if it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, the cynic within me knows that these outrages are usually short-lived unless they achieve Helldivers 2 level traction. I don't get that sensation here. Blizzard should not repeat this mistake in the future Worldsoul Saga installments. I am enjoying myself despite it.