Warframe expansion preview: Party like it’s 1999

In a world where online shooters are often defined by their inconsistencies, Warframe continues to mark itself out as an anomaly. With the upcoming release of Warframe 1999, things look like they could be about to reach thrilling new heights.

1999 is the latest expansion for the live service space epic, set to release in Q4 of this year. As the title suggests, it takes players back to the year 1999, introducing us to the first Warframes and centering the narrative on locating the ever-mysterious Dr Albrecht Entrati.

After a behind-closed-doors preview of 1999 at Gamescom with Creative Director Rebecca Ford, this latest entry looks both bold in its ingenuity and remarkably well tied in to the existing game.

A story millennia in the making

Digital Extremes

One thing that Warframe 1999 did when it was first announced was generate far more questions than answers. Acting as a pseudo-prequel to everything we have seen in the game to this point, it takes place thousands of years before the main Warframe timeline, though exactly how long remains unclear.

The other thing to say is that this won’t be a direct journey back to the 1999 that we recognize ourselves on the real-life planet Earth. There won’t be recognizable monuments or cultural touchstones on these particular adventures, focusing instead on exploring the origins of Warframe’s complex and enthralling narrative tapestry.

As part of this drive, we are introduced to a group of Protoframes known as “The Hex,” who take on recognizable forms of those ‘frames that we have already been introduced to. There are six in total: Arthur (Excalibur), Amir (Volt), Aoi (Mag), Quincy (Cyte-09), Letitia (Trinity) and Eleanor (Nyx). Each has their own personality and role to play in the story, though exactly how we get from there to the “modern” version of those Warframes remains unclear.

Currently, the veiled nature of the story leaves a lot of how this expansion will play out up in the air. In an ideal world, we will get some clarity on the earliest throes of a universe that players have become highly involved in.

Additionally, the way time works here should also play a significant role. The events of the past have an effect on the future, but our ability to travel backward and forward should mean that this works the other way round as well. That’s where the expansion could really come into its own, but we’ll have to wait to see if Digital Extremes can fully capitalize on that potential.

New toys to play with

Digital Extremes

The overwhelming feeling at the end of our brief look at the expansion was one of excitement at just how far outside of the box the developer is prepared to go. As part of that, players will have a ton of new toys to play with when 1999 drops.

As the Tennocon trailer featured, a new set-piece tank fight requires players to use an immensely powerful rocket launcher to take it down. However, this won’t be a weapon that can simply be collected and used whenever. Its introduction during these high-stakes moments looks set to add a significant cinematic boost to the game.

The addition of the Atomicycle is also likely to excite players, offering a new way to traverse the map in open-world areas of the game. This won’t be locked to 1999, though the acquisition method remains a mystery. We see it playing a role in the story trailers we have seen thus far, so there will likely be a way to get it tied to the narrative itself.

Lastly, the return to 1999 also sees arcade machines galore and minigames for players to master. These will tie into the gameplay in different ways, and it would be easy to sit and think of this as the video game equivalent of set dressing.

In actuality, it feels like a lot more than that. It shows that the developer is not afraid to stray beyond the rigid gameplay loop that feature heavily in other live service competitors. That general direction of travel has the potential to set Warframe apart even more than its drama-less approach to maintaining a dedicated player base.

Whatever does happen with Warframe 1999, it’s difficult not to be excited about where the game is headed. With plenty more to be revealed before it releases later this year, now is the perfect time to jump back in and prepare for Y2K.