Old School RuneScape Review
“Ah you think wildy is your ally? You merely adopted the wildy. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t see the light until I already got skull…” — Bane, probably.
Looking Back Fondly
Growing up in England in the 2000s, it was pretty much inevitable that I’d play some amount of Runescape. Actually, I’d go so far as to say it was mandatory. Like a rite of passage. Never mind stranger danger and public service ads; a fancy-looking player promising help and riches was a lesson in trust for a lot of us. I can’t fathom how many of us got done in by the word “follow” and never forgot it.
I have fond memories of my years on Runescape: rushing home from school every day to log on and quest with my friends, or skillbuild (my favourites were fishing and cooking), kill gobbies, take on the stronghold of security, meet new people, and hang out in Varrock being an absolute nuisance. Eventually though, everyone’s lives got busy and we just didn’t have time to play anymore. We grew up, went to university and got jobs, and eventually a lot of us fell out of touch.
A Return to the Familiar
Fast forward about twenty years or so and I am now in my 30s, and the scarier the world becomes, the more nostalgic I get for when things felt better. Since OSRS is available on Steam, I figured I’d boot up the game and get back to my old stomping grounds.
Ever go to a restaurant, and they have great food, the vibe’s on point, the waiters pretend to laugh at your jokes, and when you go back the menu’s been changed and you see how sad and tired the staff are?
OSRS wasn’t that. I was bracing for the fact it might be. After all, it’s unfair to expect that the game will be exactly as I remember it decades down the road. But I killed gobbies in Lumbridge, sold crafted goods on the Grand Exchange, slayed a vampire in the haunted Draynor Manor, helped a ghost find peace, tracked down ingredients for the Duke’s birthday cake, admired the adorable cows and sheep, and it was like coming home.
I think that’s where September went, actually. Unlike Earth, Wind & Fire, I don’t really remember September, but I do remember fully completing the free quest log (aside from Dragon Slayer, as the rune system kind of goes against my chronic need to hoard in-game resources, and the quest recommends a magic level of 33).
By then, it was safe to say I was hooked. OSRS fully had its teeth back in me. I was on the subreddit. I was taking on the Stronghold of Security, but heard that getting a membership would offer more efficient experience game across various skills, so I figured why not? It could be exciting, and there’s a whole set of content I’ve just never really experienced. I’d been a member exactly once in my life, back when I was about eleven years old, and all I remember is getting stuck on the Witch’s House quest. Now I was older, smarter, had a job, and had caught up to my childhood progress in the span of a month, I could think of no better time to give it a spin.
The Membership Experience
Like I said, I spent some time on the OSRS subreddit, and one thing I saw a lot was that free-to-play was only about 10% of the game. Seeing as it was basically all I’d known, I wondered how true that could possibly be, but I understood once I gained access to membership and took in the full scale of that map.
For one month, I had a great time boosting my supplies by training the thieving skill; I ran the Tree Gnome obstacle course and parkoured the Varrock rooftops; I saw lands I’d never seen before, forged an alliance between Lumbridge and the cave goblins, braved a plague-ridden town, worked in a giant’s smithy, and uncovered the ancient treasure of a legendary waterfall.
And that was hardly scratching the surface of available content and skills I could build.
So, Why Cancel?
Truthfully I think my eventual burnout wasn’t the fault of OSRS or its mechanics; it’s probably because I’ve been spoiled by fast-paced, story-rich MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV that are more social and more hand-holdy. The combination of lengthy walking distances, a vast map, and a lack of concrete direction led to a feeling of aimlessness in me that eventually stunted my enjoyment.
Does Old School RuneScape Hold Up?
For many, the grind is its own reward, and that used to be fine… when I had people to enjoy it with. Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone playing OSRS these days, so skillbuilding feels repetitive and time consuming. In solidarity with a good friend or group, likely with an eventual goal of raids or quests to do together, I could see how it’s something fun to do while you pass the time.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I didn’t enjoy it; just that there was something vital missing to make it all worthwhile. Maybe I’ll come back some day. Maybe the nostalgia will come around again and transport me back to when I was young. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even see you there, once upon a stream, and we can form a group and find something to do.
Until that day, keep grinding the good grind!
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