New World Review: A Gorgeous Mountain With Nothing on Top
"New World brings a lot of excellent MMO twists to the table, but it's tarnished with bugs, stale quests, and a lack of endgame content."
advantages
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Engaged fight
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Great customization
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Useful faction system
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Exciting player-controlled content
disadvantage
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Boring narrative
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Dull dungeons
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No endgame
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May be blocking your computer
The best way to describe the New World is to call it … a new world. It brings so many interesting and fresh ideas that are pretty simple – and sometimes obvious – to the MMO genre. Veterans and casual gamers alike will have a completely new experience with this game. However, as is often the case with exploring unfamiliar areas, some people get confused by many aspects of the game and may feel hollow when they reach the top of the mountain.
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games used to be the titans of gaming. In the olden days, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, and even Everquest were those giant bars around which players would gather to experience these virtual worlds together. But that was then and now the gaming landscape is completely different. Releasing an MMO – also a completely new IP – in the year 2021 of the Gregorian calendar is a certain risk. Amazon Games accepted this as a challenge and created a truly unique experience with New World.
But what will that experience be like for the players? Let's use this mountain metaphor as the basis for this review and ask us three simple questions. What is it like to start the ascension? How's the trip to the top? What do we do when we reach the top? You can of course use these questions for virtually any medium. However, using it as a metaphor for an MMO feels particularly fitting, as the genre is known for being a long time-consuming player. Is it even worth climbing? That depends on what you expect from the trip.
The foot of the mountain
Entering the world of Aeternum, the landmass where New World takes place, can be as easy as creating a character and jumping in, or it can be as difficult to find a server that isn't full, isn't crashing, and loads all the right assets and textures.
When I got through the opening films, I found myself in a situation that I knew as an MMO player. I saw my character in an unfamiliar place, covered in rags and with a weapon little more effective than a branch. The game became something new as I finished the combat tutorial – I soon discovered that this was an action RPG. There are no automatic attacks that plague MMOs like World of Warcraft. Every attack must be deliberate, as must every block, evade, and spell. This isn't new to MMOs, but action-style combat with modern sensibilities will freshen up your gameplay minute by minute. Grinding feels less of a chore as players eagerly jump into a group of enemies to work on damage combinations.
Built-in classes are not included in this game – instead, the play style and weapon choice determine the “class”. This allows for a great sense of freedom as players can mix and match weapons to find a play style that suits their needs. Enemies in this game also have a variety of resistances that make some weapons less or more effective. This means that on certain quests and expeditions, players should bring a variety of weapons with them in order to prepare for anything that comes in their way.
Grinding feels less of a chore as players eagerly jump into a group of enemies to work on damage combinations.
When you're not pouncing on enemies, you'll find yourself in the vast world filled with various resources to collect: trees, rocks, bushes, berries, and much more. These are vital to the game's crafting system. Outside of quest rewards and expeditions, all equipment must be crafted. This adds an extra layer of freedom and customization as players are free to wear whatever they want.
The combination of action packed combat and resource gathering makes the beginning of the game really addicting. The exciting fight got me trying new weapons and attack combinations, while the gathering provided a nice cooldown that allowed me to explore the strange land. It is the right pace for our hike further up the mountain.
New world, old look
If you look at New World on a graphical level, that's a mixed bag. Aeternum is really beautiful and looks incredibly alive compared to the empty and boring regions in World of Warcraft. Forests are filled with trees and other dense flora, while plains feel open and majestic. Spending time in the world is really a treat and made me excited to see what I could find even if it was just a nice little pond for fishing.
However, that magic fades once you enter a settlement and interact with NPCs and other players. The human models in New World just don't look very good. They are not scary horrors who disguise themselves in humanoid sacks of meat; they are just uninspired. Even the character creation options aren't that extensive, and I couldn't find a combination that I was particularly excited about.
The equipment doesn't make it much better either. Often times, the armor or clothing looks messy and thrown together, which makes even the more extravagant options feel messy. I really can't believe I'm going to say this, but New World made me appreciate World of Warcraft's choice of styles. While much of the shoulder armor in World of Warcraft is unsightly, it at least creates a stark and interesting silhouette.
Worn mountain trails
After coming down from the high at the beginning of the game, New World levels off and levels off in its basic loop. RPG fans will know this song well: go to a town, get quests, complete quests, get rewards, and then travel to the next town. Unfortunately, that song came out over 15 years ago when World of Warcraft did the same. The quests are structured like memorizing X, collecting Y, and going to Z. They do this mindlessly because the narrative surrounding them is not particularly interesting.
The main story isn't really compelling, and honestly I spammed my way through the dialogues very early on – something I rarely do. I try my best to buy into the narrative of every game I play, but there's really nothing here to hold onto. A newly discovered landmass is filled with a strange magic that corrupts everything it interacts with. There are no noticeable twists and turns in these tired tropics, and the game doesn't have anything particularly profound to say about it.
Expeditions, the dungeons of the New World, also fall into this pit. Dungeons are intended for a group of players, usually three to five, who band together and fulfill certain roles to complete certain challenges, which is usually just a tough boss in the end. They can be good for breaking up normal quests when you're battling something a little more challenging and promising better loot. However, there is little that expeditions do to distinguish themselves from normal quests. All enemies in expeditions are easy to find throughout Aeternum and they fight exactly the same. There's nothing dynamic to change them – they're just mobs to burn down. Bosses are a bit tougher and have some specific mechanics but nothing really remarkable to make them memorable.
There aren't any notable twists and turns in these tired tropics, and the game doesn't have anything particularly profound to say about it.
Fortunately for New World, it is saved by the dynamic aspects of how players can change the world. Settlements or cities are not just a collection of buildings and quest givers. They are controlled by the game's faction mechanics. The Mauraders, Syndicate, and Alliance all vie for control of Aeternum and player loyalty. Each territory is controlled by one of these factions, and players can take advantage of being part of the faction that is in control. Fast travel may be cheaper in your controlled area, or taxes at the trading post may be less costly. There are indeed powerful benefits to your game when you are in an area that your faction controls.
New World goes one step further by allowing corporations or guilds to take control of the territory. The management company can set the tax rate of the settlements in the area and fill their pockets with these assets. This gives players an incentive to interact with their factions and companies, and also encourages them to go to war with the other two factions.
Territorial control is not set in stone; Players from other factions can disrupt the influence of the controlling faction until the country is prepared for war. Waging war allows two companies to challenge each other in a 50v50 PvP mode for control of a territory where the attackers must besiege a fortress while the defenders must protect it for a period of time. These battles determine which faction will control the area and which company will rule it.
Beware of the mistakes
It would be negligent not to mention the plethora of engineering challenges that seem to haunt the New World. I have not experienced any game or computer breaks during my playthrough, but a "Buyer Caution" warning is required here. There are a lot of people who encounter a lot of technical issues in the game. These range from game crashes and unloaded textures to apocalyptic damage to your computer's power source. The infamous bricking seems to have been less common since the beta, but that's still something to keep in mind while playing this game.
Even the beautiful landscapes can be destroyed by poor frame rates, which can vary depending on your location. Aside from an occasional frame hiccup, I personally haven't seen any mistakes that ruined my playing time. I'm not alone in this, and we may be the majority, but I understand the risk that your computer may not be up to the task of playing this game. These issues can of course be resolved with some patches, but after the Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco where there are still unfixed bugs, you should be aware of the game that you are buying now rather than the game that it will eventually be .
Finally at the summit
Currently, the New World level cap is 60, and by that time you've seen everything the game has to offer. And I mean that literally, because there really is no endgame to speak of. There are no raids or special content that opens up for maxed players. You are at the top of the mountain and the only thing you can see is what is below you.
So what do you do when you get to the top? You can complete quests in areas you have not yet traveled, upgrade various weapons, or craft the equipment you have been putting off. These don't feel like endgame activities – and technically they aren't. Much like the theme that keeps popping up in New World, the endgame is the freedom to do what you want.
In other MMOs like World of Warcraft, the endgame is just a huge list of things to do. Players must have a proper equipment rating, there are raids to perform, your professions can be exhausted. New World doesn't have this to-do list. Instead, players can just do what they want. Granted, a lot of these things won't feel satisfying compared to shooting down Ragnaros in the Molten Core.
The real gem in this clam is the conflict between the factions and the interactions you have with other players.
My solution to this problem is to focus on player controlled content. The player-controlled content is the real backbone of New World and can really keep players engrossed. There is also no way to avoid this content as there are no NPC shops in this game. The entire marketplace is completely player-controlled, similar to the auction house in World of Warcraft. Investing in political group politics and creating a community within your company is what New World wants you to do.
It is risky to rely so much on players to create their own conflicts or, more realistically, their own content. However, there is enough here in New World to really invest in something worthwhile and fun with the right mindset.
Our opinion
The fighting and crafting system of New World breathes new life into the MMO genre and makes playing the first few hours incredibly pleasant. However, with dry narration and boring content, it can feel boring the longer you play. The real gem in this clam is the conflict between the factions and the interactions you have with other players. This game is not for everyone, not even many veteran MMOs. If you are interested in the idea of player-run settlements and massive PvP battles that decide the fate of the territories, then this is the game for you.
Is there a better alternative?
Every MMO offers something unique and, in the case of New World, something very special. Final Fantasy XIV has a stronger narrative while World of Warcraft is full of things to do. However, if you're interested in large-scale PvP battles and player politics, then this might be the MMO for you.
How long it will take?
It will likely take around 40 hours to complete the main quest line and a little more to maximize your character level. After that, it's up to you how long you want to play it. MMOs tend to have longer playing time than you expect.
Should I buy it?
Yes sir. If the factions, the war and the player-driven economy interest you, then you will love what happens here. If that sounds daunting to you and you want an MMO with more curated content, I'd suggest something else.
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