As a self-proclaimed gaming dinosaur from the 90s, I've seen my fair share of pixelated plumbers and hyperactive hedgehogs. So, when I embarked on my journey in Amazon Games’ New World, the visuals were a welcomed change. But as the saying goes, not everything that glitters is gold.
The premise of the game is simple enough: you're a pirate, shipwrecked on a mystical island, Aeternum. It's an excuse to plunder everything in sight - from chopping down every tree to skinning every animal, you're constantly gathering resources​​. But don't be fooled, this isn't just a glorified lumberjack simulator - it's a hard-core fantasy MMORPG where the level cap is 60, and reaching it is as grueling as trying to get a dial-up connection in the 90s​​.
The game offers action combat that, in the initial stages, feels slick. Enemies are more reactive than in other MMORPGs, darting around you, making you constantly stay on your toes. However, as you progress, the combat becomes as repetitive as the dialogue in a 90s fighting game - think "Hadouken!" but without the charm​.
Speaking of charm, or the lack thereof, the character customization and combat are rather limited. The attributes system shoehorns you into using only a small pool of weapon types per build, making you feel like you've got less flexibility than a 90s point-and-click adventure game character. The good news? You can respec your entire attribute build whenever you’d like – even in the middle of dungeons – for just a few coins​.
Questing on Aeternum can be summarized as a mad dash to gather the most resources, the reward for which is watching your experience bar fill up slower than a Windows 95 loading screen. The lore is as thin as the manual for a game cartridge, and the quests are as uninspired as "go here, kill 10 rats"​.
Now, don't get me wrong, the game isn't all bad. Aeternum is a massive, sprawling island, with zones each boasting their unique flavor and scenery. The graphics are downright gorgeous, with impressive draw distances, real-time volumetric lighting, and large-scale character effects. But even the most mesmerizing vistas can't sustain an MMORPG forever, and the initial awe soon starts to wane, much like the novelty of 3D graphics did in the 90s​.
In the world of New World, your ability to gather resources is as crucial as your prowess in combat - it's the bread and butter of your survival, or as us 90s kids would say, the "Game Genie" to your gaming console. The game wastes no time throwing you into its wilderness, teaching you to cut a direct path through the breathtaking scenery, and leaving you to plunder everything in sight. What's that, you ask? Yes, indeed, you're about to chop down every tree, skin every animal, and mine every ore node in sight. Welcome to the "Simulator of Lumberjacks, Hunters, and Miners: The Pirate Edition."
And don't think for a second that this is a short-lived honeymoon phase. Even after you've crawled your way to the level cap of 60 - a feat as painstaking as reaching 99 lives in Super Mario Bros. without a cheat code - you'll still be heavily engaged in this crafting and gathering bonanza. You know that saying about old habits? Well, they certainly die hard in New World.
The gathering mechanic is immersive and engaging initially, making you feel like a true survivor on this cursed island. You might even start to appreciate the nuances of every chop, every skin, and every mined ore. But after a while, it becomes more repetitive than the "Ermac" move set in Mortal Kombat. The simplicity of the mechanic becomes its Achilles heel - it doesn't evolve much as the game progresses, and soon you realize you've become a glorified errand runner for the local Town Project board or trading stall.
There's a certain satisfaction in watching your resource hoard grow, in seeing the fruits of your labor amass in your inventory. But the payoff for all that effort is as exciting as watching your Tamagotchi sleep. The reward is a slow trickle of XP and watching your numbers go up at a pace that makes even the progress in Pokémon GO seem like a race car.
The resource gathering is tied closely to the game's crafting system - another grind within the grind. Even when you've collected enough of a specific material, there's no guarantee when the corresponding Town Project that requires it will pop up at your local settlement's Town Project board. It's like trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle that keeps changing the picture.
While resource gathering is central to New World's gameplay, it's not without its flaws. The monotony and the sheer amount of time it demands could have been easily offset with more depth and variety. It's like they've given us the first Tetris brick, and just kept duplicating it - after a while, you can't help but yearn for a different shape, a different challenge.
New World offers a range of weapons to choose from, but if you're expecting the variety of a "Final Fantasy" armory or the flexibility of a "Skyrim" character build, you might want to lower your expectations. It's like reaching into a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, only to pull out the same flavor every time.
The weapons in New World are tied closely to the game's attributes system, which, to put it mildly, is as restrictive as a Game Boy's color palette. Rather than allowing you to freely experiment and tailor your build, the game shoehorns you into using only a small pool of weapon types per build. Want to be a versatile warrior, adept with both the Life Staff and the War Hammer? Too bad, the attributes system says you can't. It's like trying to play a fighter in "Dungeons & Dragons" without any Strength or a mage without any Intelligence - it just doesn't work.
For instance, the Focus attribute is solely useful for a Life Staff wielder. As such, putting your points into Focus is a huge opportunity cost that pulls you away from other attributes, like Strength, which would be useful if you wanted to wield a War Hammer. But alas, like Focus, Strength is completely useless if you fancy yourself a Bow or a Musket user. Attempting to split your points between different attributes can muddle your build, leaving you with a character that’s as effective as a Power Glove in a "Super Mario Bros." speedrun.
But hey, it's not all doom and gloom. The game does offer the option to respec your entire attribute build whenever you'd like - even in the middle of dungeons - for just a few coins. This is like being able to swap your SNES cartridge mid-game without having to hit the reset button. It's a welcome feature, but it feels like a band-aid solution to the core issue of the inflexible attributes system.
The skill point system, in theory, should provide some much-needed depth and customization. But in practice, it feels underwhelming and undercooked, like a "SimCity" city with only residential zones. While it does offer some variety, it's still heavily influenced by the attributes system, limiting your options considerably. It's like trying to play "Super Mario Kart" with only Mushroom Cup tracks available.
In conclusion, New World is a visual treat with a player-driven economy that's more hardcore than any 90s grunge band. But beneath its glossy exterior, it's a game of grinding and gathering, with combat that feels repetitive over time and quests that leave a lot to be desired. It's like getting a shiny new console for Christmas, only to find out the games are all knock-offs.
