Old School RuneScape is available on Steam now
Blast from the past
Jagex have released Old School RuneScape on Steam, with cross-platform progression and an event to celebrate the game's eighth anniversary. Seeing all this news about it has absolutely blasted me with nostalgia. The free-to-play fantasy MMORPG is an old version of RuneScape from 2007 that was re-released as Old School RuneScape in 2013. It's been available to download and play online for ages, but I don't think I've thought about it since I was a wee babe in school. Lumbridge! The Grand Exchange! Not knowing what to do and just fighting goblins in a forest! Oh no, I think I'm about to download it on Steam.
I can't have been older than 12 when I first made a RuneScape account, because I'm pretty sure I had to lie about my age to sign up (you have to be 13 to play) (also please don't read this, RuneScape police). My main memories of it are doing the tutorial quest over and over, and burning lots of shrimp I'd caught in the river. And that was when it was just called RuneScape.
Here's a trailer from 2009 that made me crumble into ash.
You'll be able to sign into an existing Old School RuneScape account when you play on Steam, or if you're new, you can just login with your Steam account. It has cross-progression and play, so you'll be able to carry over your save to other platforms and play with pals who are on other platforms too.
Both the free-to-play and paid versions of OS RuneScape are available on Steam. Paying for it gives you access to more quests and stuff. Though, from what I remember, the free version has more than enough to explore. It also has achievements, trading cards and all those Steam gubbins if you like to collect that sort of thing.
The game's arrival on Valve's platform coincides with its eight year anniversary, so it's holding an in-game event where players can earn a cosmetic banana cape. A press release says that existing Old School players plan on gathering in the starting town, Lumbridge, to welcome all the new Steam players too, which sounds delightful. For as much as I'm not really into MMOs anymore, I do miss how welcoming the players can be. I have fond memories of strangers in wild-looking armour helping me get started when I used to play.
Old School RuneScape is available to download on Steam right now. Or you can still play it on OldSchoolRuneScape.com, if you'd prefer.
The regular, more modern RuneScape is still around too. It arrived on Steam itself back in October.Elsewhere in the realms of RuneScape, developer Jagex were recently bought by a private equity firm, The Carlyle Group. They reportedly intend to speed up the studio's content creation and launch new games.