One second I was sitting at my computer watching a loading bar, and the next I was standing in a vast winter wonderland
That's not even saying anything about Ironforge..
Even my first Oculus did not beat that.
I'm not sure what it was. The graphics were far from ground breaking. There were other games with big worlds. But I think the combination of world building, graphics, scale, and quality of execution (nailing the style) just completely shattered the level of anything else that came before - or at least for so many people that played the game.
I think the background score adds to the effect.
I can never forget the surreal feeling when logging into the first time in Elwynn Forest with its iconic music in the background. Very idyllic.
There is something about WoW graphics. Its a right balance between cartoonish and photo-realism.
I remember needing to drop down all my graphics settings just to be able to enter Ironforge.