New World: Aeternum – Amazon's MMORPG returns

New World: Aeternum Review

I've been a fan of MMORPGs since the original EverQuest. In 1999, the idea of ​​playing alongside or against hundreds of other players in real time was novel. Dark Age of Camelot was my go-to, but I dipped in and out of World of WarCraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars, and many others. It remains true that when something new and shiny comes along, chances are you'll walk in and see what all the fuss is about. That was true in Amazon Game's New World. And now we have its most recent version, New World: Aeternum, which falls somewhere between a reboot, a remake, and a facelift.

Like I said, I've always liked MMORPGs, but I have some mixed feelings about the MMO part. It's not that I don't like my peers… well, no. fair that, but finding like-minded groups that fit my schedule or gaming attitude has always been a challenge. As a result, MMORPGs that feature single-player-friendly designs are very attractive. It seems like a contradiction, but games like New World: Aeternum that have robust, single-player-friendly co-op or PvP mechanics are ideal for players like me.

Old wine, new skin

In 2021, Amazon Games' New World had one of those difficult launches common to MMOs. Long connection queues, bugs, and a broken player-driven economy overshadowed some of New World's best features. But enough players remained despite the game's mounting problems, patches, and content updates. Over time, New World became a pretty good MMORPG. Good enough, in fact, that devoted, high-level players began to express their need for more endgame content. The developer did not completely ignore those demands. They also focused on revising the game in a way that placed more emphasis on the single-player RPG aspect. Perfect for me, right?

New World: Aeternum maintains the more successful gameplay and world-building mechanics of the original version, but in a way recontextualizes them, at least in part. Now, the opening hours and leveling experience feel much more like an open-world action RPG, with co-op and PvP features opening up over time. In fact, the multiplayer aspects can be largely ignored, but of course, that's where a lot of good content and powerful gear can be found. It's clear that New World: Aeternum is trying to find a balance.

come back again

If you played the original and return for a remake, you'll find a heavily modified campaign. The narrative premise is the same, of course. The tropical island of Aeternum has been invaded by a supernatural evil called Corruption, and your main task is to fight corrupt enemies and help those who need help. The main story and side quests are the usual mix of find-and-kill missions, of course, but mixed in with some political intrigue and interpersonal conflict. There are also some cameos from some real-world 18th century celebrities, such as Irish pirate Grace O'Malley.

The narrative is fine, but as in any RPG, the combat, exploration and loot systems are the star, or should be. In this sense, New World in its first incarnation was a great success. Aeternum does not repair what is not broken.

Play your way

In terms of character creation, Aeternum starts with archetypes, which are essentially classes. Call them what you want, they are the standard fantasy RPG starters, like tanks, mages, rangers, healers, etc. However, as in many recent games, the starting classes are simply an advantage towards a particular playstyle. The characters are not locked into a particular structure. What's really important is what weapons the player chooses, because the more a tool is used, the stronger it becomes. Naturally, characters also have traditional RPG stats like agility, intelligence, strength, and physique, both of which impact survivability and power, but interact with weapons of choice.

All characters can use two weapons, which can be easily mixed, matched and switched between them. Using a weapon grants mastery points, which are applied to weapon skills. These unlock new skills or upgrades across two skill trees. Especially in the early game, mastery points add up, and quickly, which really encourages experimentation before settling on a couple of favorite weapons to take to max level. I suspect most players would have some sort of ranged weapon or healing spell and a melee weapon, at least that's what I did. In addition to weapon mastery, players can level up their skills in 18 different types of crafting, called trade skills. New World: Aeternum's crafting mechanic is strong enough to become a central focus for many non-combat-focused co-op players.

Gunpowder and magic

Most of the combat, weapons, and crafting systems are integrated with Aeternum's PvE encounters, while also preparing characters for PvP. Overall, the campaign harkens back to old-school MMORPGs. There are moments of wit and drama, but the game's dialogue and voice acting are a bit uneven. Outside of combat, the story can seem like a fairly shallow experience.

As a single-player game, New World: Aeternum has a lot to offer, but most veteran players will eventually turn to PvP and cooperative PvE for fun. There is much, much of it from the original release. There are five-player instanced dungeons called Expeditions, as well as 10-player Raids. On the PvP side, there are 3v3 arenas, large-scale war battles, and a free-for-all PvP lawless zone. Add to that faction and company membership and trading skills, and you add up to a significant amount of content.

In addition to story, combat, crafting, and companionship, Aeternum offers all the MMORPG mechanics you'd expect, such as mounts and player housing. Player progression is fast enough at first that most of them are accessible within a few hours of play.

Time well spent

It's obvious that playing a game that hopes to capture hundreds of hours of your time must be rewarding. The world must also be aesthetically pleasing. New World: Aeternum has a vibrant, colorful, and lightly stylized art style. There is quite a variety in its landscapes and in its dungeons. Without a doubt, there are moments of beauty in the world. There's also a fair amount of copy and paste and not everything has beautiful texture or detail. Nothing really looks bad, but the character faces and combat animations feel a little behind the times for 2024.

Music plays an important role in Aeternum. Aside from the excellent score, diegetic (i.e. in-game) music is common and players can learn and play instruments together. Overall, the ambient audio design tends to be excellent, but I wish the weapon and spell effects had more impact and detail.

Try it, try it again

Players with existing New World characters can access the new content on their original platform if they have the Rise of the Angry Earth DLC. However, they cannot migrate or access their characters to or from a different system. Cross-platform network play is available.

New World: Aeternum is not subscription-based or free-to-play, and an Amazon account is not required. The two biggest questions are: should anyone who returned from New World return in 2021 and should new players give it a chance? For those burned by the original, Aeternum is generally a more polished product and the campaign has been rebuilt. For new players, especially fans of single-focused ARPGs, there's plenty of content outside of co-op and PvP.

New World: Aeternum's mix of swords, magic, and gunpowder is combined with a colorful world and accessible yet satisfying mechanics. With a good balance between solo, co-op, and PvP PvE content, Aeternum has something to offer most players. Nothing is incredibly original, but nothing is missing or totally broken either. The most obvious defects of the original have been fixed. Whatever you call it (reboot, remix, or skin change), New World: Aeternum is worth checking out.