New World: Aeternum review: Amazon's ailing MMORPG gets a much-needed second wind

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You've seen New World before, sure, but person you seen New World: Aeternum? This soft relaunch of Amazon Game Studio's flagging 2021 MMORPG is what nan institution is calling a 'spiritual sequel' to nan original. In layman's terms, that intends next-gen console support, caller communicative run cinematics, and a refined controller-friendly combat strategy that doubles down connected nan game's action RPG setup.

This is, spoiler alert, mostly nan aforesaid crippled arsenic earlier - but New World: Aeternum already had a coagulated instauration and nan inclusion of console players could perchance respire caller life into this game.

Some of nan best MMORPGs person been years successful nan making and Amazon's stubborn dedication to improving its first large MMORPG title is commendable. With a immense crippled world and divers array of subordinate versus subordinate (PvP) and subordinate versus situation (PvE) content, there's surely a batch that New World: Aeternum offers - particularly for a caller player.

Getting it correct nan 2nd time

New World: Aeternum is successful immoderate ways an MMO that’s stronger than nan sum of its parts. It is, successful a nutshell, an highly competent and refined effort that skates adjacent to excellence successful truthful galore areas yet doesn’t ever guidelines out.

It’s a rework that’s a culmination of 3 years of tweaks and painfully learned lessons from Amazon. It isn’t, however, a extremist departure from what was offered earlier - you’ve sewage nan aforesaid weapons, nan aforesaid creation style, and nan aforesaid world - pinch a fewer exceptions for illustration caller cutscenes. In immoderate ways, it’s a small awkward reviewing this title arsenic a caller subordinate successful 2024.

So, if New World doesn’t guidelines retired - past why is it conscionable truthful damn nosy to prime up and play? There is an intangible consciousness of nosy to New World that makes it some an approachable and incredibly cohesive MMORPG experience. There's thing caller here, but there's thing astir this crippled that conscionable works.

For example, there’s an intuitiveness to nan unfastened world successful New World: Aeternum that makes consciousness correct away. The game’s halfway gameplay loops of questing, PvP, and gathering each merge seamlessly into a crippled world that conscionable begs you to get retired and explore. The world of Aeternum is afloat of trees, plants, and ores fresh to harvest and if you don’t find yourself wandering disconnected successful hunt of hemp, herbs, aliases lumber, past you’re simply missing retired connected 1 of this game’s strongest aspects.

Even without nan superb gathering and crafting, there’s nary uncertainty that New World is 1 of nan astir pick-up-and-play MMOs I’ve played successful a agelong clip erstwhile it comes to nan wide experience. There’s a small spot of thing for everyone present - dungeons, player-owned housing, and fantabulous crafting each wrapped up successful a well-thought-out and refreshingly elemental manner.

Your favourite MMO, now pinch cutscenes

One of nan biggest additions to New World: Aeternum is nan inclusion of a much cohesive main quest storyline - 1 that’s now complete pinch cutscenes, improved world-building, and a streamlined questing experience.

I played done nan full main communicative quest statement for this reappraisal and my thoughts are that it’s beautiful bully but not outstanding. The communicative isn’t thing mind-blowing but location are decent characters, compelling leader fights pinch existent mechanics, and a modern quest creation that breaks distant from nan accustomed MMO tropes of sidesplitting 10 skeletons and such.

If you really beeline it done nan quest, expect it to return you astir 30 hours until you deed nan last leader conflict - which, I person to say, is alternatively fantabulous (no spoilers, sorry). It’s an acquisition you tin wholly return connected solo successful nan vein of a single-player action RPG but I’d highly urge taking nan clip retired to prosecute pinch nan game’s fantabulous side-quests, crafting, and PvP aspects on nan way. You tin play solo, sure, but New World’s beardown suit remains nan extracurricular activities.

The beauty of Aeternum is successful nan myriad distractions it offers. Plus, I’d statement that while nan main quest does present you to nan immense mostly of zones and themes wrong nan game, it doesn’t really deep-dive into PvP, group content, aliases end-game gearing. You'll person to activity those retired for yourself aliases inquire a personnel from New World's vibrant organization of console and PC players.

Jack of each trades

As antecedently mentioned, there’s a wide scope of some PvE and PvP contented wrong this game, ranging each nan measurement from basal dungeons and solo world PvP to 10-man raids and 20 vs 20 subordinate battlegrounds. There is, rather simply, a lot of contented successful New World: Aeternum and it’s each underpinned by a refreshed console-friendly combat system.

With nan caller combat - it’s a mixed container but mostly good. As antecedently stated, New World has a comparatively stripped-down action RPG strategy that encourages activity and dodging alternatively than providing a piano-like array of spells and abilities. You’re fundamentally going to beryllium switching done 2 weapons, some of which person conscionable 3 abilities connected nan barroom astatine once. There’s thing incorrect pinch this (in fact, it’s cleanable for controller support), but don’t expect an incredibly in-depth group of abilities to usage arsenic per nan accepted MMORPG experience.

I gave each sixteen of New World’s weapons a whirl during my playtime and each azygous 1 brings thing to nan array successful respect to people fantasy, mechanics, and abilities. Want to bonk your enemies connected nan caput pinch a elephantine hammer? No problem. Conversely, you whitethorn want to plink astatine your enemies astatine a region pinch nan musket aliases bow. All weapons are good choices and connection a divers scope of builds and play styles. I personally for illustration nan musket, though I recovered hitboxes to beryllium frustratingly inconsistent unless I was utilizing nan game’s Dark Souls-style lock-on strategy to way my enemies.

Fans of action-orientated combat will find a batch to for illustration pinch New World: Aeternum; particularly if you’re nan benignant of personification who likes to effort different builds. Not only is changing your character’s property points incredibly inexpensive but you’re ne'er locked into 1 peculiar limb aliases armor type pinch New World. Don’t hesitate to effort retired nan various weapons and find nan correct one.

In position of content, this crippled is chock-full of worldly that’s readily disposable to some solo and group players. While a chunk of nan high-end PvE worldly is locked down nan maximum level of 65, an easy-to-use matchmaking strategy intends it’s easy to get a group without nan request to subordinate a guild aliases clan. New World is 1 of nan astir solo-friendly MMOs I’ve played for a while - and 1 that respects your clip if you’re looking for thing comparatively casual.

A bland caller world

Earlier successful my reappraisal I alluded to nan truth that New World is simply a perfectly competent MMO but it doesn’t peculiarly guidelines retired successful 1 area. The PvE? Well executed. The PvP? Yep, that’s beautiful bully too. There's not 1 azygous facet of New World that really knocked maine disconnected my spot during my first 40 hours of gameplay, however.

If there’s 1 area wherever I deliberation New World falls down on, it’s that it lacks a coagulated identity. All nan boxes are ticked present to make an incredibly engaging MMO but thing feels typical successful nan measurement that, say, World of Warcraft circa 2004 did.

Take nan wide creation style and premise, for example. New World is loosely group successful nan property of sail but Amazon deemed it fresh to worldly successful arsenic galore generic imagination and humanities tropes arsenic it could into nan world of Aeternum. One infinitesimal you’re fighting pirates, nan adjacent infinitesimal you’re fighting Roman Legionaries, nan adjacent infinitesimal ghosts. There’s a batch of assortment successful nan crippled world but it feels for illustration Amazon conscionable threw together generic humanities Assassin’s Creed-like concepts alternatively than building thing pinch a really cool and unsocial angle.

There’s nary uncertainty that nan improvement squad tin creation engaging environments and crippled mechanics but I ne'er really felt that beardown consciousness of people imagination that you get pinch immoderate MMOs. The world is simply a small bland, unfortunately, and New World doesn’t peculiarly guidelines retired arsenic either a PvP crippled par excellence aliases a PvE powerhouse successful nan measurement that modern unit World of Warcraft does prevention its superb crafting and gathering system. Still, this is simply a bully crippled pinch an intangible consciousness of nosy and 1 that nary uncertainty has a coagulated early should Amazon proceed to perpetrate to contented updates.

Should I play New World: Aeternum?

Play it if...

Don't play it if...

Accessibility

New World: Aeternum has an extended database of accessibility features, including text-to-speech, font size scaling, and colorblind modes. It besides has immoderate superb purpose assistance options for some controller and rodent and keyboard setups. All these options are easy to find successful nan 'Accessibility' paper wrong nan games settings menu.

How I reviewed New World: Aeternum

I played New World: Aeternum for 40 hours earlier penning this review. That was capable clip to play done nan full main communicative quest line, spot astir of nan zones in-game, and trial retired nan game's PvE and PvP content. While nan crippled is incredibly vast, I made judge to sample astir of what New World has objectively earlier making an assessment.

When it comes to reviewing MMORPGs, I tie upon almost 2 decades of acquisition to find really New World: Aeternum stacks up. Just a fewer of nan titles I've played see World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, Black Desert Online, Lost Ark, Eve Online, ESO, and astir precocious Throne and Liberty.

The peripherals I utilized during this reappraisal see nan Logitech G Pro wireless gaming mouse, nan Logitech Pro Tenkeyless gaming keyboard, and nan Logitech G735 wireless gaming headset. I besides tested nan crippled utilizing nan modular Xbox Wireless controller (2024). My show is nan 27-inch LG 27GP850-B, which runs astatine 1440p/185Hz.

First reviewed October 2024.