New World the latest MMO release that everyone's talking about
Amazon might have had rough time in the games industry, with it's last game, Crucible, flopping spectacularly. When it comes to New World, the next title shows a lot more promise. This new take on the ageing MMO formula could be a breath of fresh air for fans of the genre, and its closed beta is already gathering a lot of hype with some of the biggest streamers.
What is New World?
New World is Amazon’s first foray into the MMO genre, delivering a unique story set in the mid 1600s. In this alternate history, a mysterious land called Aeternum harbours both incredible riches and a great evil. Legend has it that a substance called Azoth can grant eternal life - attracting every kind of explorer to its shores. Most don’t make it far as they're corrupted by the evil on the island. Those affected by this corruption can warp into bestial hulks or lose their humanity, but for many, the promise of eternal life is greater than the fear of death.
As explorers in Aeternum, players will need to band together and ward off both hostile players and corrupted monstrosities. With servers of up to 1000 people and huge 50v50 PvP battles, New World sounds like a dream come true on paper.
Unfortunately, for eager fans, New World’s May 2020 release date was pushed back to August. Alpha testing continued all the while, but this month Studio Director Rich Lawrence made an announcement delaying the game to Spring 2021.
"We want our players to feel completely immersed in the game, and know that our studio stands for quality and lasting gameplay you can trust — and that means added time to get things where we want them before we fully release", he explained. "We don’t make the decision lightly, and we have urgency about getting the game to you as quickly as possible at the best quality — with some additions that will make the experience even better".
Luckily, we weren’t left empty-handed. Lawrence added, "As a thank you to our community, we will be providing a special opportunity for our Beta sign-up and pre-order customers (plus our Alpha testers, thank you!) to play the full game of New World – in its current state, for a limited period of time starting on August 25th".
A Controversial Release
With the launch of the closed beta, New World quickly entered the public eye and gained traction among some of the biggest MMO streamers like Asmongold and Forsen.
The game shot up the ranks on Twitch, peaking at almost 350,000 viewers on August 25th. Streamers and viewers alike seem to enjoy the game, revelling in its unfamiliar setting and modern graphics. The lack of a class system also sets the game apart, making it clear that AGS isn’t afraid to tread new ground in this already established genre.
As usual though, not everyone feels the same way. While the game has promise, it’s easy to see why it was delayed for a further eight months. Players complain of an empty and uninteresting map, infuriating quest lines, and PvP gankers at every turn. Even the combat - which is supposedly inspired by Dark Souls - has been called shallow, clunky and simply frustrating. Combat isn’t helped by different weapons sharing their skill cooldowns, making most of the combat a simple battle of auto attacks. Combined with optimisation issues, poor enemy variety, PvP imbalance, and the glaring absence of jumping or swimming, there’s a lot that needs to change before the full release in 2021.
Despite its problems, New World is far from a write-off. While it may lack content and polish right now, it's being unfairly compared to games with years (or even decades) of history. With the feedback from this closed beta, and a few months to iron out the bumps, New World still has the potential to become a big hit.
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Images via Amazon Game Studios
