As a seasoned MMORPG player with countless hours spent traversing the fantastical lands of Azeroth and Eorzea, I must say that New World: Aeternum has managed to capture my attention in ways few games have before. The immersive world-building, coupled with the intricate combat system and engaging progression mechanics, has kept me engaged for hours on end.
Initially launched in 2021, Amazon Games’ debut MMORPG, New World, enjoyed a good deal of popularity. However, as the months passed, numerous game-halting bugs within New World and limited endgame content led to a decrease in player count. In 2024, New World is undergoing a sort of relaunch with its Aeternum release, which expands the game to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Essentially, New World: Aeternum offers various updates to the original game, serving as a soft reboot for the entire title. Players who were already enjoying New World on PC received these updates at no additional cost, with all three versions of the game also offering cross-platform multiplayer.
As a devoted enthusiast, I must acknowledge that while the modifications in New World with the Aeternum release are significant, they don’t quite reach the magnitude of transformations brought about by expansions like World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, which effectively overhauled two entire continents and redefined the leveling experience from the ground up, or Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, which in many ways feels like an entirely new game compared to its initial release. Instead, New World: Aeternum concentrates more on refining the core narrative of the game, providing a more concentrated experience for new players that helps them navigate the storyline with greater clarity and focus.
“However, despite the improved pacing of the story, it’s still not really a particularly interesting one.”
Amazon Games has effectively streamlined this storyline, making significant improvements. The revised narrative includes a well-crafted prologue that serves as a tutorial for the game’s fundamental mechanics, followed by an immersive introduction into the main game world. Throughout your journey, you will find ample guidance on where to go and what tasks to complete next. Overall, the storyline flows smoothly with minimal disruptions in scope or pace, providing an engaging and enjoyable experience.
Although the narrative’s tempo has been enhanced, it doesn’t offer a particularly captivating tale overall. Following an initial dramatic introduction, the story loses momentum and immerses you in the complexities of a small-town government, featuring a regent striving to maintain order during the ruler’s absence, and a minister who appears suspicious and could potentially be working against you throughout. The narrative in New World: Aeternum leans heavily on tropes, and there isn’t much depth beyond the classic good versus evil narratives presented in numerous other games. Even the main antagonist seems rather unremarkable, given that she mostly resorts to taunts and weak spell casting gestures.
Fortunately, the story serves merely as a pretext for venturing into the realm of Aeternum, and it’s this aspect where “New World” really outperforms. The exploration and overall world design are so integral to “New World” that even its non-combative gameplay elements are centered around it. Players can employ various trade skills, such as logging and mining, to amass resources across the world. These resource-gathering trade skills also have their own advancement paths, allowing players to fell larger trees or mine rarer, more intricate ores as they progress. The acquired materials can be utilized to create a wide array of items, including top-tier equipment, endgame gear, beneficial consumables, healing items, and even furnishings for your personal residence.
“The story’s just an excuse to set out into the world of Aeternum”
In “New World: Aeternum,” you can find a unique experience not just from battling giant bosses or competing against others for PvP dominance, but also simply by immersing yourself in its vast world. The intriguing progression system of non-combat skills allows activities like spending hours chopping down trees to sell furniture to other players to be enjoyable in their own right, and this could even foster a dynamic and player-driven economy over time, as people trade goods freely. These professions also play a role in the housing system, enabling you to purchase homes in various cities across Aeternum, which you can then customize with items like benches and trophies.
In “New World,” combat is engaging as it departs from the tab-targeting system in “World of Warcraft” to employ a real-time combat system that allows for active blocking, dodging, strategic positioning, and accurate aiming with ranged weapons. Each weapon typically has two primary actions, plus three abilities that can be unlocked and utilized. For instance, on the PS5, L2 might block attacks while R2 strikes enemies, and skills are assigned to L1, R1, and L1 + R1. Moreover, you can carry two distinct weapons simultaneously, giving you access to a total of six different abilities to experiment with in battle.
In this captivating world we’re immersed in, the array of weapons at my disposal not only adds a unique flair to my character but also dictates my role within the game. If I opt for a sword and shield combo, I become a formidable tank, absorbing enemy attacks and protecting my allies. Alternatively, should I decide to wield a bow, I transform into a deadly damage dealer, raining arrows down on foes from afar. The musket offers the opportunity to snipe enemies at long range, while those who prefer healing can opt for a staff. Magic users have an even broader selection, with various elemental staves available, including Life staves that focus solely on healing.
“Your choice of weapons will also define your role for the content you choose to do”
In addition to the main storyline, the game “New World: Aeternum” provides various activities. Solo adventurers are primarily free to explore the open world at their leisure. For group players, there are 5-player dungeons known as Expeditions and a 10-player raid. Regrettably, in terms of PvE content for endgame enthusiasts, that’s pretty much it in “New World: Aeternum”. However, if you’re interested in player versus player (PvP) action, there are numerous possibilities, ranging from individual duels to large-scale battles involving players from different factions vying for control of a zone.
It appears that “New World: Aeternum” may not be ideal for players who prefer complex endgame challenges like epic boss fights found in World of Warcraft or engaging stories such as Final Fantasy 14’s main plot. However, it stands out by providing a more substantial leveling experience compared to other MMORPGs. Unlike many games that save the real gameplay for after reaching the level cap, “New World: Aeternum” seems to offer an enjoyable leveling process where players can pause the story, venture into the wilderness, and perform activities like chopping trees without feeling they are missing out on the main game.
In simpler terms, once you’ve completed the story, explored all the expeditions, and had your fill of Player versus Player (PvP), there won’t be much left to engage with in the game. Over time, the player base might struggle due to lack of content. Whether Amazon Games can sustain the new interest in New World, brought about by its console release, will only become clearer as time goes on.
This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.
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2024-10-22 16:41