Nostalgia can be induced through a variety of retro-styled games from the early ages of PC gaming. If you’d like to refresh your memory, here are 4 MMOs from the 2000’s you might still remember.
Wizard 101
This was a very popular MMO-RPG game released in 2008, with the basic premise of a young wizard apprentice looking to defeat the evils of the wizarding land. You are able to personalize your character in a fairly decent character customization scene, and go through a quick but simple to understand tutorial for the game. Unlike other MMOs, you’ll be surprised at the integration of cards in order to give out and receive attacks. This adds a great layer of strategy and quickly becomes fun to experiment with. Explore the maps, engage in combat, have other online players join you, and fight bosses at the end of every mission.
Toontown
Although this game was shut down in 2013, fans have created a remastered version in 2020 that is still available online. This should tell you how loved this game was back in the day with its dorky maps and fun minigames. You’ll go through a very basic customization where you create your own Toon, and then get to enjoy the world of Toontown with your friends. Fight the corporate Cogs who are ruining Toon Town with taxes, keep your happiness meter up, and use jellybeans to buy gags. Players will also tell you about the fishing system, with 70 fish types, different weights, and multiple rarity levels, which kept us online for a long, long time.
Webkinz
Webkinz was a fairly early toy-to-game concept released back in 2003. You were able to buy a plushie, find a “secret code”, and redeem it on webkinz.com for that exact animal in-game. This was a fun concept and quickly gained a large following. The MMO contained everything you’d expect, including clothes, furniture, and minigames. However, the collection aspect of this game is what quickly managed to get us obsessed with the gameplay, and furthermore all the cute stuffed animals that were offered in store. This concept died down and you can now find an up-kept remastered version online for free, with the exception of fees for membership.
Club Penguin
This is likely one of the most beloved games of 2005, with a massive player base with over 200 million registered accounts in 2013. As many will remember, the original web version was unfortunately shut down in 2017 and replaced with a mobile version. This event led to millions of players logging on to say goodbye to the long lost game. This is a core childhood memory for many, and we’re certain you’ve experienced the joy of keeping a puffle, customizing your penguin, visiting your igloo, or playing the dozens of minigames it had to offer. Some players may remember the difficulty of getting a membership, while other might’ve rocked the world without one. Either way, you are perfectly valid.
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