New World: Aeternum Review-in-Progress – A Refresh Worth Losing Sleep Over

If New World: Aeternum looks and sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a major update to Amazon Games’ New World. That update may as well be a brand new release, though, because it’s taken a game that I couldn’t gel with and had no interest in playing and turned it into a title I’m sacrificing sleep to see more of.

New World: Aeternum has multiplayer elements, and the game was pitched as an MMO years ago, but it’s very much now an ARPG with multiplayer elements. You begin as a shipwreck survivor after an evil presence caused havoc on your ride through an impenetrable storm guarding a mysterious island. This is Aeternum, and it’s massive.

Key Details

• Developer: Amazon Games
• Release Date: October 14, 2024
• Platforms: PC via Steam, Xbox X|S, PlayStation 5
• Price: $59.99+
• Review Copy Provided: Yes

A Whole, Erm… New World

New World: Aeternum does a fantastic job of easing you into its mechanics, from combat and region reputation to skill management, fishing, gear crafting, and so much more. None of this feels overwhelming because the quests have been specifically designed with classic ARPG fans in mind.

For example, the main quest takes you from point to point in each region and sees the story progress through cutscenes and the hours of dialogue between every NPC. While a lot of these characters are purely there to make the world feel less empty and fill in for what would otherwise be quest-dealing pillars, some are fantastic. My favorite was Grace O’Malley, an Irish pirate who you team up with to kill corrupted sailors and live a life on the edge in search of treasure.

You can also pick up side quests as you explore from the various NPCs in towns or just hanging out by the side of the road. This allows you the luxury of being able to rush off into the open world, complete as many quests as you want out in the field, and turn them all in at once before a good old session of inventory management back in a nearby town or city.

There’s so much meat on this game to dig your teeth into that I guarantee it’ll take you weeks to get through all of it. Each region has recommended levels, and while you’ll level up fast by fighting everything you see and upgrading skills, it’ll still take you a while to get through every quest on offer.

To give you a small example of this, I followed the main story for a good few hours around the first two regions it takes you. Along the way, I picked up a fishing side quest that had a second step in yet another region. I decided to follow that quest and ran more than a kilometer across the map, which takes about ten minutes, to hit that quest.

As I traveled, I encountered enemies way too powerful for me to fight, and biomes that were absolutely stunning. The game isn’t specifically designed to be played in this way, that’s why there are recommended levels for every region. But the game also doesn’t prevent you from playing this way.

As I earned the third step in this fishing quest line, I realized I was in way over my head with some terminology I was clearly meant to understand but didn’t. I then trekked back across the map because I still didn’t have enough resources to fast travel, but I’m pleased I was able to do all of this and learn and gain more understanding of the world, even if it didn’t think I was ready.

Skill up

Quests are just one small part of New World: Aeternum, though. There are several skills with their own quest lines and levels to earn. My favorite is, of course, fishing, but even hunting animals and gathering resources will unlock new abilities.

This was daunting at first, but levels come quick, especially if you take your time and really breathe in the world of Aeternum. Every region has a new crisis and loads of enemies to take on.

You’re far from forced to fight every step of the way, though. You can simply explore, kill animals for their skins, gather resources, and then head back to civilization to craft. Either way, you’re upgrading skills and earning experience for your character. No activity is pointless, and that’s extremely important for a game that’s asking so many hours of you for its story.

As if this wasn’t enough, there are many classes you can play as, and you can swap between them easily, respeccing your character on the fly at no in-game cost. I never tried this, but I did pick up a weapon that wasn’t the standard fit for my class, and found I could equip it and begin upgrading an entirely new set of skills with it in hand.

What this achieves is a sense of discovery. There’s always something new going on and a way to upgrade your character or profile whenever you play. This actually reminds me a lot of Warframe because every weapon and Warframe in the game can be upgraded and mastered in addition to your own profile.

It feels great and, most importantly, it respects your time. If you want to log in and make significant progress by doing nothing but fishing, you can. But if you want to hit the main quest and see some serious story content, you’re also free to do that. Nothing is a waste of time, and there’s never a point when you feel like you’re grinding for zero rewards.

It’s Not All About Looks

While I love the gameplay in New World: Aerternum, I can’t deny that it feels a bit dated. By this, I mean that it doesn’t feel like it innovates on what I was doing in Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade on the PSP in 2005. That’s because ARPGs don’t need that constant innovation in gameplay. Updated visuals combined with the already perfected formula is enough.

Unfortunately, New World: Aeternum doesn’t quite hit the highs you’d expect from a game in 2024 in the visual department. It looks fine, but compared to the other major ARPG on the market right now, Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, it looks pants outside of cutscenes.

I think that’s okay, though, considering the sheer size and amount to do in this world. It’s big enough and the characters are so lively and memorable that you just don’t care about how crisp the graphics are. Every biome feels distinct and there’s so much variety as you explore that visuals just don’t matter.

The same applies to New World: Aeternum‘s combat. This is something you’ll engage with more than any other system, but it doesn’t quite live up to what you know from melee combat in games like Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War.

There’s a definite level of heft with every swing of a sword, arrow strike, spell, and ability you trigger. But things can feel a little too similar after hours of the same combat loop. I think this is somewhat of a trapping of the ARPG genre, and it’s certainly alleviated by swapping to a new weapon for a while. Still, I think more could have been done to make combat feel massively engaging for longer.

What About Everyone Else?

Unfortunatel, I haven’t been able to sink much time into the multiplayer elements of New World: Aeternum, as the press server I was on simply didn’t have the number of players I believe the game is built for. It’s not that you need hundreds of people walking around the world to make it feel full, it just felt lacking without public access.

This would also, obviously, impact the way multiplayer activities work. Without a decent party, I can’t get a good idea of how these multiplayer missions are meant to work, so I don’t want to pass judgment without trying them in the way they were designed to be played.

While New World: Aeternum is great as a solo experience, it’s got extras for you to engage with. This is where you’ll show off your best gear and cosmetics, and I think a game like this really needs that element to the side of its massive world and story.

I’m also pretty keen to pick up some beautiful armor stets to make my character look incredible and turn every player’s head as I strut past them looking fabulous.

At a time when many major MMOs like Destiny 2 have lost touch with their players, New World: Aeternum has been reworked with players in mind. It’s a great ARPG, one I plan on spending hundreds of hours in. But like all games of this ilk, its longevity depends on the support Amazon Games has planned for it.

There are seasons with a season pass to unlock gear from, events that change the game world for a time, and what I hope are plans for ongoing additions to the story and world. Whether they come as major expansions or a dash of new quests in the established map, they’ll ensure the game is compelling in the long run. Without them, though, I don’t see why this update would be worth sticking around in once you’ve completed everything on offer.

A Fresh Start

When New World was initially released by Amazon Games in September 2021, it took the world by storm. But that storm was short-lived. I remember the excitement from friends as they dove in and explored the world completing quests and leveling up their characters in any way they could.

However, the game didn’t manage to meet players’ expectations when it came to regular support and updates. Many of the systems felt awkward too. This led to a natural decline in players as they moved on to other titles, and the issues those that remained caused reviews to shift from positive to mixed.

I’m happy to report that based on what I’ve played so far, New World: Aeternum is a completely different game. Any problems with progression fans might have had in the past have been ironed out. This game is a smooth ARPG with multiplayer elements that offers hundreds of hours worth of gameplay.

I tend to play everything, even MMOs, solo. New World: Aeternum is built so you can enjoy it alone or in co-op with friends. I can’t speak to the multiplayer activities just yet, but they seem to simply elevate the experience for their duration, allowing you to go back to what you want to be doing after.

Final Score – In Progress

This review is in-progress because New World: Aeternum is a colossal game. There’s so much to do and so many ways to spend your time that I simply didn’t have a chance to play it enough to give you a complete review of the experience.

If what you’ve read about it so far sounds good, dated visuals and simplistic gameplay and all, then you should jump in. It can definitely feel repetitive at times, and I know that’s not for everyone, but outside of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, it’s been an incredibly long time since a game felt like it was made specifically for me.

Before you go

Thank you for reading through my impressions of New World: Aeternum so far. I’ll be updating it to a full review that does the game justice as soon as I’ve had enough time with it post-launch from October 15, 2024. In the meantime, you should check out Matt’s incredible feature on Diablo IV, another ARPG, that’s turned out to be the most turbulent relationship of his life.

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About the Author

Jamie Moorcroft Sharp

Editor

Jamie adores the indie games that you don’t hear about until you’re on a video essay binge at 3AM and suddenly the sound of them changes your life. He’s played games all his life and loves looking at the intricate details that make them magical and different. If there’s a wierd list, embarrassing feature, or something else far too out there on Bonus Action, there’s a good chance he wrote it. But that’s not all! He’s also an absolute fiend who never knows when to stop when he puts on his dirty robes and takes on his D&D persona as a Mud Warlock who acts on that tiny voice in your head when it wonders what would happen if you did something really dumb right now. He’s easy to beat in a TGC, though, just keep an eye out for his crazy card combos.

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