12 years ago, a little game called Warframe was released to the world. I, 15 years old and not yet down bad for sci-fi in general, gave the game a cursorary look to see what was up. I confess, that original version of Warframe did not win me over. I can’t remember why, but knowing what I was like back then, I probably saw all those damage numbers and it made me think of my maths exam.
These days, I think about going back in time and DDTing my younger self until he bought the founders pack before the game came out for that sweet, sweet Excalibur Prime. You see, future Connor has sunk 2000 hours into Warframe. He’s farmed for Ash, the old way. He grinded out the Nechramech alongside dozens of other miserable people, and he found himself awake at 2am gathering Cryotic for the Sibear, only to max it out for a tiny pile of mastery points and throw it away. If none of that makes sense don’t panic, it means there’s still hope.
In those 2,000 hours I’ve had a lot of time to think about why I dig it so much, and I’ve broken it down to three main factors. These weave around in importance every few months, but right now, it’s the community. Warframe has the nicest gaggle of horny weirdos hanging around it I’ve ever seen. Jumping into a Discord or in-game Clan feels like spending lunch in the school computer lab. I’ve only been called an asshole once (during a Relic extraction mission where I – knackered as the sun was coming up, disappointed in me – wasted like five minutes of our collective lives). Compare that to wasting five minutes of a World of Warcraft M+ dungeon run and you’re comparing a hydrogen bomb to a coughing baby.
But there’s also the feel of Warframe. It’s fast, hella fast. You dart through missions at a breakneck pace that, while I accept may be a bit much for new players, is catnip for oldies. Race through a mission, then do a little dance at the end with the gang. There’s nothing like it. But on top of being fast, Warframe is also heavy. You slam into enemies with a thunderous crash, abilities rupture out from techno-organic arms. I could throw my Wolf Sledge at random enemies all day. And sometimes, I do literally do that.
I don’t know how the team at Digital Extremes manages to blend light movement and heavy action so well, but it’s such a sturdy hook to the whole experience. Word is, Steve Sinclair waited for a full moon and took what was left of the Dark Sector money to Ivey Park. There, he gave it to a moose, who agreed to grant the team the wisdom they sought in return for his immortal soul and (a major role in Soulframe). It’s unclear whether Rebecca Ford had to do something similar back in 2022, but all in all it seems like a decent trade.
Finally there’s the look of the whole thing. Warframe is a visual oddity. An astronautical battle-hardened tragicomedic soup, and like all soups built upon a strong mirepoix, a foundation on which the team can just go “Boybands? Yeah sure f*ck it why not”. That foundation is rooted deep in sci-fi – in Dune and retro anime. An art direction pioneered by Michael ‘Mynki’ Brennan (who sadly passed away late last year) and carried on with passion and vigour by a powerful art team. It’s the glue that holds it all together.
All of these lead me to a personal reality I’ve long accepted; Warframe is my favourite MMO. Hands down. It’s a weird anomaly in the genre. It doesn’t play like anything else, it doesn’t look like anything else. The game has a voice that is somehow both very contemporary and forward-thinking. To me, it’s not a mystery why the game has survived 12 years. During this era of game development, when it feels like there’s more pressure ever to conform, to play it safe, Warframe has screamed “no”.
Here’s to another 12 years.
