New World Review In Progress | MMORPG.com

System · October 2021

New World Review In Progress | MMORPG.com

New World released earlier this week, and after spending twenty hours thus far in Amazon's new MMO, we have some thoughts. Here is our first review in progress for New World.

Read the full story here

olepi · October 2021

A fair pre-review. It does feel like a survival game with MMO leanings. I really do like that the menus, inventory, etc, are mouse oriented, instead of scrolling like ESO. This makes it feel better on the PC.

The quests are reptitive, and I expect that to improve. Quests are the last piece they added to the game, and since MMO's grow and change over time, I think this will grow too.

I guess my biggest complaint is the extreme restriction of 3 skills. THREE SKILLS. Each weapon type has two different lines, each with several to many options, And you get to pick 3, count 'em, 3 skills out of all of them.

This was probably the smoothest launch I've seen. They got overloaded at the beginning, and added tons of new servers almost instantly. The game has no lag that I ever detected, no suttering, and no crashes. I am looking forward to playing it as it matures.

I don't think the cake is fully baked yet, but it smells and tastes delicious.

Elvoc · October 2021

Love this game, and pretty good review so far, we just need them to make a way to Group other than chat and maybe add some recruitment features to Companys..

Scot · October 2021

Guys what happens when it is transfer time and players transfer to your already overloaded server? The whole idea that server transfers is some sort of panacea to these problems is well known to be untrue. So why people are not questioning this who knows?

Have they said that overloaded servers will not be allowed to accept transfers? That plus the fact no one can know how many will leave each server makes this a false narrative.

Are you going to be transferring, or will you be hanging on waiting for others to go? Well what a surprise that's what most will do, hang on waiting for people to leave who are hanging on.

But it is a great narrative for the next stage in the drama. When this does not work that well, gaming journalists, streamers etc will be throwing up their hands in dismay and surprise at the entirely predicable.

laserit · October 2021

I absolutely love the bones.

The action combat is very well done, every weapon is different and has a good feel. As I level and get into more difficult territory I'm noticing some pretty sophisticated mob ai for an MMO.

I'm enjoying what seems to be a lot of very well thought out mechanics with great execution. Lumberyard is working really well for an MMO engine.

I'm looking at this in a Sea of Thieves kind of way, there is a very strong foundation here. Lets see what kind of meat they put on them bones, Amazon certainly has the resources. I'm liking how the north side of the map has no shoreline.

For me, as it stands right now

New World is a keeper

laserit · October 2021

Scot said:

Guys what happens when it is transfer time and players transfer to your already overloaded server? The whole idea that server transfers is some sort of panacea to these problems is well known to be untrue. So why people are not questioning who knows?

Have they said that overloaded servers will not be allowed to accept transfers? That plus the fact no one can know how many will leave each server makes this a false narrative.

Are you going to be transferring, or will you be hanging on waiting for others to go? Well what a surprise that's what most will do, hang on waiting for people to leave who are hanging on.

But it is a great narrative for the next stage in the drama. When this does not work that well, gaming journalists, streamers etc will be throwing up their hands in dismay and surprise at the entirely predicable.

I've been playing on a low pop server since last night and I'm enjoying it much more. The amount of people I run into out in the wilds and the amount of people in the lowbie area's and towns is just about right. My hope is that NW being a new game, the server just organically grows.

Scot · October 2021

laserit said:

I absolutely love the bones.

The action combat is very well done, every weapon is different and has a good feel. As I level and get into more difficult territory I'm noticing some pretty sophisticated mob ai for an MMO.

I'm enjoying what seems to be a lot of very well thought out mechanics with great execution. Lumberyard is working really well for an MMO engine.

I'm looking at this in a Sea of Thieves kind of way, there is a very strong foundation here. Lets see what kind of meat they put on them bones, Amazon certainly has the resources. I'm liking how the north side of the map has no shoreline.

For me, as it stands right now

New World is a keeper

This is my impression from many posters the bones are there, but that is not going to keep players in game months down the line. I think they decided they had to launch too soon after making such major changes after the mid development stage. But it is going to be a winner, players will leave but they will come back as the game gets fleshed out.

I think they already realise this and will be planning ahead. The easiest way to sort out the PvP issue would be some sort of arena, I am thinking ESO style here they have the money to go big. As for the questing they may have some sort of questing relaunch, possibly even removing what many players see as pedantry quests. Long term the game will really shine.

P.S Laserit you seem to have made the right server decision, I am sure the server situation will eventually sort itself out but the way people are talking you would think all the problems will disappear day one of transfers, that's not gonna happen.

TwistedSister77 · October 2021

I'm noticing too, as a person who pvps, a lot of people flagging for pvp. Yes there are zergs running, but a lot of small groups too (I was in a small group, picking off parts of the zerg and fighting other small groups.)

I was worried there would be little open world pvp... so far... so good.

ConstantineMerus · October 2021

TwistedSister77 said:

I'm noticing too, as a person who pvps, a lot of people flagging for pvp. Yes there are zergs running, but a lot of small groups too (I was in a small group, picking off parts of the zerg and fighting other small groups.)

I was worried there would be little open world pvp... so far... so good.

I'm playing Syndicate on EU something something and man o man people are organized. The faction chat feels like a top tier guild chat. Action has been great, and there is plenty of it. And there's a lot of other stuff to do. I think, I like this game!

Ginaz · October 2021

I'm not sure about other servers, but the one I'm playing seems pretty decent when it comes to the usual MMO levels of toxicity. Players generally seem friendly and helpful and I haven't come across any jerks apart from the odd person that will skin the mob I just killed before I can get to it.

laserit · October 2021

Scot said:

laserit said:

I absolutely love the bones.

The action combat is very well done, every weapon is different and has a good feel. As I level and get into more difficult territory I'm noticing some pretty sophisticated mob ai for an MMO.

I'm enjoying what seems to be a lot of very well thought out mechanics with great execution. Lumberyard is working really well for an MMO engine.

I'm looking at this in a Sea of Thieves kind of way, there is a very strong foundation here. Lets see what kind of meat they put on them bones, Amazon certainly has the resources. I'm liking how the north side of the map has no shoreline.

For me, as it stands right now

New World is a keeper

This is my impression from many posters the bones are there, but that is not going to keep players in game months down the line. I think they decided they had to launch too soon after making such major changes after the mid development stage. But it is going to be a winner, players will leave but they will come back as the game gets fleshed out.

I think they already realise this and will be planning ahead. The easiest way to sort out the PvP issue would be some sort of arena, I am thinking ESO style here they have the money to go big. As for the questing they may have some sort of questing relaunch, possibly even removing what many players see as pedantry quests. Long term the game will really shine.

P.S Laserit you seem to have made the right server decision, I am sure the server situation will eventually sort itself out but the way people are talking you would think all the problems will disappear day one of transfers, that's not gonna happen.

Territory control means quite a bit of $$$ and the mechanics behind it are really sound imho. They just need to build on it.

For me personally MMORPG's are all about adventure and immersion. You don't have to quest, there are tons of cool places to explore. I don't care about the Jone's

New World delivers that and so far my server pop makes for a little bit more of a believable, immersive, experience.

Melding Survival and MMORPG was always a no brainer to me. I've been anticipating it and enjoying it now

Acornia · October 2021

Over all New World is a fun game and I am enjoying playing it.

There are things that for me gives it black marks in the way they designed the game.

1. Long waitting line times on some servers to get in to play. But they are working on it by opening tons more new servers.

2. Pet peave - only one female dress pattern per level of cloth that can be crafted.

3. Guildhalls and guild banks so guild can meet and store player made items for the guild to use. (Guild could be charged fees for having it just like player housing.)

4. I know they have said no horses or draft animals. So my big question is why did they not refit all those broken carts and wagons to be moved by human power. (It is no fun having to walk two cities away to a city that your faction controls.)

5. Just like city work orders, Guild work orders for guild use and needed upgrade items paid for out of guild funds.

Scorchien · October 2021

A beautiful very interesting handcrafted world that inspires exploration , and coaxes you to see what is over the next hill..

Crafting and gathering that are well done and very useful ..

RvR system that inspires participation

All wrapped up with the worst shit combat i have ever seen in an MMO , lol Who would have thought someone could make a worse system than ESO , But they managed it ..

Horribly uninspired lacking any real skill or engaging .. Boring also comes to mind ..

I will see how long i can tolerate it , will most likely play to end game , do all i can do and move on ..

Remali · October 2021

I am having fun for now but I dont now if I stay for years with this game as I did with others
Also Im only lvl 20something now but if I had a guess it seems endgame is large scale pvp for anyone that is interested

godsmack1 · October 2021

well..
i can honestly say ..
i like this game alot!!
but with FF14 end walker comming
and the guldwars 2 expantion coming in 2022
i think this game can hold its own until then and after.
its one of those games that can only get better!!
remeber we are not dealing with a blizzard title!
its backed by amazon wich trust me..
they wont short change us.

cameltosis · October 2021

Good review so far, which is surprising for this site, normally everyone just glosses over glaring issues.

My favourite thing from New World was the complete lack of story! I get so pissed off when a game forces me to stop playing, either because I have to read some quest text or watch a cutscene. I don't play games to watch stuff. I play games to interact! New World's design was perfect for that, I was never not playing, I was always doing something.

As others have said, the game has good bones. There is nothing in the game that is inherantly wrong (that i experienced anyway). It is just that there isn't much there yet, it needs the flesh, the muscles, the arteries and the skin added to those good bones.

Combat was definitely my least favourite aspect of the game. I did enjoy the sound effects, the echo from a musket shot was satisfying every time it happened! But, the combat was also very shallow and therefore exceedingly easy. As a result, I was bored very quickly. The only time I came close to dying was when I went searching for a challenge. 8 same level mobs was the most I could handle, but it was rare to find that many close enough together that I could engage them all.

Crafting was great! Well, the actual process of gathering and crafting were just as boring as any other game, but what you could make felt good and there was nice synergy between the professions. The only downside was.....it was pointless. Quests seemed to hand out loot chests so frequently that I always had better gear than what I could craft.

One thing that stood out from the review. The reference to New World being a return to the quest-hub design, and that it was a good thing. Seriously? I wasn't aware that MMOs had stopped being quest-hub driven, but since when were quest hubs a good thing? They've always been shit design.

Iselin · October 2021

About quests...

There are basically 4 types: Main, side, town board and faction. They all give you XP, territory standing and gold and the faction quests add faction rep to that.

They do however have different emphasis. Main and side quests are your XP and money makers... like by a factor of 10+. The territory standing you get from doing them is minimal.

It's not just the main quest that has a narrative although for the moment they are the only ones that are fully voice acted. A lot of side quests have voice as well but not all. There are even some where the NPC says the first word or two of the text and then silence. They feel like fully voiced quests in the making that haven't quite made it there yet.

The narrative part for some of those side quests can be interesting and progress through different stages. There are very few stand-alone, one-of, side quests actually. Most will lead you in a chain of 3, 4 or more with the story developing along the way. Some of the continuing parts are level-locked though. For example: I finished a quest chain in Everfall from an NPC that has you investigating obelisks and eventually gives you a quest (and orb) for the first dungeon (you can get 3 orbs from quests: one from the main, one from this guy and a third from a woman in Windsward on top of a hill near a wolf den.)

I thought I was done with him after completing the Amrite expedition quest but once I hit level 32 his quest icon came back and he gave me another follow-up quest for the 2nd dungeon, Starstone.

Town board and faction quests give you a lot of territory standing and faction standing respectively but very little XP or gold compared to the main and NPC-given side ones. And like Joseph pointed out, yeah they're grindy and brainless but necessary evils for their respective purpose.

I went in not expecting much from quests honestly since I knew that they were added very late in the development. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by the quantity and narrative quality of quite a few that I've run into.

Here's a tip for you: there are multiple zones for the same level range. Don't get obsessed with one zone and quest just there. Move around and do them in all the zones and you'll see that there are actually quite a few and some pretty good stories here and there as well.

Myrdynn · October 2021

LFG will reroll

west coast USA

not even sure what to play but having fun solo so far

Viper482 · October 2021

laserit said:

Scot said:

Guys what happens when it is transfer time and players transfer to your already overloaded server? The whole idea that server transfers is some sort of panacea to these problems is well known to be untrue. So why people are not questioning who knows?

Have they said that overloaded servers will not be allowed to accept transfers? That plus the fact no one can know how many will leave each server makes this a false narrative.

Are you going to be transferring, or will you be hanging on waiting for others to go? Well what a surprise that's what most will do, hang on waiting for people to leave who are hanging on.

But it is a great narrative for the next stage in the drama. When this does not work that well, gaming journalists, streamers etc will be throwing up their hands in dismay and surprise at the entirely predicable.

I've been playing on a low pop server since last night and I'm enjoying it much more. The amount of people I run into out in the wilds and the amount of people in the lowbie area's and towns is just about right. My hope is that NW being a new game, the server just organically grows.

Agreed. As soon as my queues went from a few hundred to 1000 I jumped shipped and rerolled. Haven't hit another queue and MUCH happier with less people lol. Really enjoying it so far.

Gatlan · October 2021

I too watched Ted Lasso while in queue yesterday.

kjempff · October 2021

World: Decent and looks nice, but somewhat themepark in design.
Combat: Shallow, detached, boring.
Crafting: OK, but considering how important it is for the game, it should be more advanced.
Sandbox: Well not really, but more freedom than most mmos. Still, the questhub disease has sneaked into this game aswell.
Story: Thank god there isn't much of that, however for a sandbox to work it will need to be replaced with something..where is that something?
Classes/Roles: Not much to write home about.

Overall: Could be worse, but pretty far from being a sandbox as it was supposed to be. Still a pretty simple and small game in every way, but it could grow over some years. If you don't plan to pvp, I expect it will be a short and shallow experience .. For a mmo.

EponyxDamor · October 2021

Its really not bad. I'm enjoying it fairly well. There's some pretty glaring "unfinished" moments, like finding out there isn't any swimming animation (you just walk across the bottom of ponds/lakes as if you had lead boots on); somewhat funny sound effects for staff and enemy effects (though gathering and UI sound effects are awesome); and somewhat jerky/janky animations.

My friends and I have been enjoying it quite a bit. Its got good bones. Only time will tell how the Amazon Basics MMO develops overtime, though; thats what will truly make or break the game, especially with Endwalker and End of Dragons around the corner.

eoloe · October 2021

1- How is this game for casual PvP?

2- Does it make sense to PvP at all levels? Or should you wait to be max level?

Groqstrong · October 2021

I absolutely love the game. The only off putting thing for me is not being able to re-size the UI.

GabrielPR · October 2021

We need a Mount, a horse a cow something, all this walking around is a waste of time.

slowz2secret · October 2021

the world is too big for only have teleports points, the game need mounts, i can't enjoy this walking game, and the mods are all the same from level 1 to level 60.

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