New World Aeternum Preview
If you’re a fan of MMORPGs, you’ve probably heard of New World. If you’ve heard of New World, there’s a good chance you remember its rocky launch in 2021. Beset by a large number of technical issues, long server queues and later, player exploits and in-game economy problems, New World seemed doomed. But for players willing to look beyond the birthing pains, New World had a lot of strengths. Now, Amazon Games is poised to release New World Aeternum on consoles and PC.
To begin with, the original 2021 New World was visually impressive. Its large island world had a variety of biomes and felt alive. The game had decent PvE quest lines and narrative, and an excellent crafting system. There was plenty of PvP content. In terms of classes and combat, New World simplified some mechanics. Its focus on improving weapon skills by actually using them felt intuitive and logical. Over the next few years, the New World experience outgrew its initial problems and a decently robust and loyal player community supported it. The developers rewarded players with two substantial expansions.
Making the Leap
Whether you call it rebranding, a reboot or simply a port, New World is making the jump to consoles as New World Aeternum (Aeternum is the name of the island on which the game takes place). I had the chance to audition the new version in a pre-closed beta preview. It’s the first time I’ve returned to New World since the game’s notorious launch. I played the preview on PC but I hope to try the game on console also.
Especially for PC players, the impending re-launch of New World as New World Aeternum has created a fair amount of confusion. While there has always been the ability to play New World solo, the launch on consoles emphasizes the game as an action RPG, versus an MMORPG. On PC, there will be “fresh start” servers with console cross play, but long-time players will be rewarded with new content on their current servers. On both consoles and PC, there will be upgrades and new content for PvP modes and a revamped narrative main quest.
New World Aeternum’s single player narrative is broadly concerned with finding and fighting against the source of a mysterious supernatural force called the Corruption. It takes place in a fantasy version of the 17th century, mixing swords, sorcery and gunpowder. The new tutorial has the shipwrecked player character combing through beached ships for treasure and fighting corrupted sailors at the behest of Grace O’Malley. O’Malley was a notorious Irish pirate, and New World continues to weave historical characters into its quests and narrative. While the tutorial sequence especially has changed, once the player reaches the hub city, the mechanics of questing and crafting blend seamlessly into what New World has always been: an action RPG with optional PvP content.
Satisfying Loop
Until exploration and crafting really open up, the first few hours of New World Aeternum are a rigorously directed tutorial into the game’s combat systems. Even beyond that, a lot of the quests are pretty standard kill or collect-type assignments. Where New World Aeternum captivates players is in its combat system. By using a weapon, players level up their skills with it through special ability unlocks. Some weapons require specific character levels to use but players can specialize or be a jack of all trades. This is especially welcome in the early and midgame, when players should be able to experiment without too much of a penalty.
New World Aeternum has what’s probably the deepest crafting system of any MMORPG and it can easily be the focus of the game. New World Aeternum also includes standard MMORPG elements like mounts and player housing. When it comes to the PvP content, the new version will include modes carried over from the current game, like faction battles and open-world PvP. There are also arena-style PvP contests and the developers are promising fresh content. Current PC players have been waiting for a life infusion — especially PvP fans — as Amazon’s focus has shifted to preparing Aeternum’s launch.
Tropical Paradise
New World Aeternum’s art remains attractive and impressive, with slightly stylized realism that doesn’t feel dated. The influence of the Meso-American motifs and the lushness of the Caribbean make for interesting environments to explore. The game’s music was notable at launch and I still enjoyed its mix of symphonic and world music textures. It’s not afraid to be melodic. Although Steam seemed to imply that the game wasn’t built for controller, it worked fine. After all, it’s heading to consoles.
I can’t be too harsh on New World Aeternum’s technical issues in pre-closed beta, but on PC there are definitely some rough edges. Even on a very high end PC, there were issues with stable frame rates, very long load times and near-constant texture pop in. Again, I have no idea how it’s running on consoles. I hope to find out.
While New World Aeternum didn’t feel entirely, well, new, it did remind me of how much enjoyment potential the game offers. The basic loops are easy to understand and the combat grows more satisfying the longer you play. Despite the confusion around what the game is or isn’t, at its core New World Aeternum is an appealing action RPG. I look forward to playing it at launch in October.
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.
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