New World: Aeternum – MMO relaunch makes a strong first impression

New World: Aeternum is the biggest shake-up Amazon’s MMORPG has seen since it launched in 2021. Not only does it introduce new features and content, it also brings the game to consoles with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions now live, complete with cross-play servers, making this the best opportunity in a long time for new comers to jump in.

With New World: Aeternum, Amazon has set its sights firmly on a new audience, though there’s plenty for veterans to sink their teeth into, and a lure to bring lapsed players back to the game. Personally, I missed the boat back in 2021 – although I enjoyed playing the various alpha and beta tests for the game, I didn’t want an MMO in my life and it’s fair to say that the genre has an established track record for rough launch windows. Now, after spending a dozen or so hours with Aeternum, I understand why the game managed to maintain a small yet zealous fan base and why Amazon thought it deserved a second chance.

Set during the Age of Exploration, players find themselves aboard a ship headed for the New World and helmed by some less than savoury characters. The voyage doesn’t go entirely to plan, however. Upon approaching the uncharted realms of Aeternum, your ship and its crew are scattered by the mysterious Stormwall – not quite the welcome party you had anticipated.

Two of the biggest changes new players benefit from in New World: Aeternum are the introduction of Archetypes, as well as a more dynamic approach to story-telling, via cutscenes and character dialogue. Eschewing the normal MMO class system, characters in New World are defined by their choice of weapon – these determine the active and passive abilities available to you while influencing the core stats you focus on upgrading each time you level up. While you are free to experiment later on, Archetypes present a handful of weapon combos with a distinct playstyle and theme. For instance the Mystic dabbles with strange arcana, wielding the Life Staff and Void Gauntlet, and being the closest to a healer/support class. Meanwhile, the Musketeer is a nimble, flashy DPS fighter who favours the musket and rapier.

As previously mentioned, story-telling is another big focus, New World’s tutorial feeling more like the intro to an open-world action RPG rather than an MMO. The cutscenes – a mix of pre-rendered, in-game, and animations – do a great job of setting the tone and establishing key characters and concepts straight off-the-bat. Within those first minutes you’re already duelling upon the deck of a burning ship, traversing overgrown ruins, and peeling back the first layer of Aeternum’s rich lore.

Instead of arriving on the shores of the Americas as we know them, New World asks what would happen if explorers were transported to a continent wreathed in magic and mystery. Its stories steer into fantasy territory rather than being a retelling of our own colonial history, weaving together myths and muskets.

Being an action RPG makes the gameplay a lot more palpable on console. Even if something like Final Fantasy XIV works remarkably well on PlayStation, New World’s combat system is a more natural fit with light, heavy, and ranged attacks as well as blocks, dodges, and a camera lock on akin to Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Each weapon has six unlockable active abilities, allowing you to equip a maximum of three at one time with the power to switch between your primary and secondary weapon in an instant. It doesn’t sound like much, especially compared to classic MMOs such as World of Warcraft that plaster every free pixel of the user interface with icons for countless class abilities. While some genre diehards will feel restricted, this paring back feels refreshingly accessible, especially if you’re looking to master more than just your two starter weapons. Additional loadout customisation comes via a catalogue of passive abilities as well as your gear stats and bonuses.

As someone who gravitates towards healer and support archetypes, there’s always the worry that the solo levelling experience in MMOs will suffer. However, almost 30 levels into New World (with the cap being 65) I’ve not had to respawn once with only a couple of nail-biting encounters. This, I hope, is something that will change as I progress further and start dipping my toes in group PvE content, though it’s largely a result of me being slightly over-leveled for my current zone and making sure my gear is as good as it can be.

Outside of combat, there’s plenty to see and do in New World with a plethora of craft-based skills that feed into the game’s economy. Hunting for resource nodes is one of those chore-like pursuits I’ve never really enjoyed in MMOs though it’s somehow more immersive in Aeternum. For example, when woodcutting you’ll actually see trees fall. Rare minerals and fauna are often found scattered around key landmarks, encouraging you to explore and soak in New World’s beautiful biomes.

The best thing about my first experience with New World: Aeternum is knowing that I’ve only just scratched the surface. So far it has been a fun and somewhat enthralling solo-levelling experience with more social, multiplayer features beginning to reveal themselves. From player housing, dungeons, and raids, to PvP arena battles and sweeping faction wars, I’m eager to see where Amazon’s MMO will take me.

Tags: Amazon Game Studios, Amazon Games, New World, New World: Aeternum