New World Aeternum Is Fun But Formulaic (Hands-On Beta Impressions)

New World is relaunching for consoles as New World: Aeternum, bringing the MMO RPG to Xbox and PlayStation. This is great news for anyone who has wanted to play since its release on PC in 2021. But is New World a little late to the party?

As an MMO RPG, New World: Aeternum is competing with huge titles such as Final Fantasy 14 and Lost Ark. MMO players have a lot to choose from so it may be difficult to entice them to a new title. So does New World: Aeternum have what it takes to engage players for the long haul? A game such as this can be a real commitment. They ask players to spend time customizing, exploring, crafting, and battling foes. Levelling up to unlock all potential gameplay takes hours upon hours of dedicated gameplay. MMO RPGs can be all-consuming and much of the time players only take on one at a time.

A classic character customization screen greets players as they step into New World: Aeternum for the first time. Your first major decision is choosing your role, or Archetype, which focuses on weapon type and abilities. These also determine your base stats, but you alter these as you progress. Players can make their choice based on a favorite combat type, or even just on the aesthetic of the Archetype. I made my decision based on both of those and chose the archer for the long-range weapon and the cute green hood.

Many will spend an inordinate amount of time crafting the perfect face from the myriad of options. If you are like me, you will press ‘Randomize’ until a decent enough face pops up. Unlike other RPGs of this type, the characters only come in ‘human’. There are plenty of ways to make your person unique, however, so it didn’t matter much.

After character creation, we launch into the story. This is where I noticed the graphics and animations swing from magical to outdated. This was especially apparent when the characters were speaking. The environment looked great: colorful, detailed, luscious. The water was particularly impressive. And then, suddenly there is some guy who looks like he is straight from 2004’s Fable.

Funnily enough, it reminded me of Fable more than once during my preview. The voice acting and script are very well done and, at times, a little tongue-in-cheek. The NPCs have fun little side quests to complete while you take a break from the main story. As I trotted around town, speaking to the townsfolk, it felt very reminiscent of exploring Albion, kicking chickens and taking on quests. The setting is pretty similar too: a mythical European-type world plucked from the Middle Ages.

New World: Aeternum has all the elements of an easy-to-play RPG. The combat system is user-friendly, crafting is uncomplicated, and the environment is highly traversable, even without a mount. There is a huge map with various biomes and a seemingly unending list of mini-quests, as well as an intriguing main storyline.

As I ran about getting side missions done, I was suddenly reminded this is an MMO – a massively multiplayer online game – as another player ran alongside me to complete the same main story mission. PvP is optional, so having other players run around with me was all very friendly and fun. We ended up fighting corrupted miners and completing a main quest together.

There is no huge con to this game. The story is lively, if a little predictable, and set in a good-looking world full of interesting people. It is formulaic but so easy to play. It feels like it would be a wonderful way to introduce a new player to an open-world RPG. I enjoyed the cutscenes which added to the color and depth of the story. If you like the predictability of a Disney movie plot, then you will definitely enjoy the main story here.

Overall, New World: Aeternum is engaging and diverting but it brings nothing new to the gaming table. It is a very standard open-world RPG with some delightful elements and no big downsides. It is clear that a lot of effort has been put into the general atmosphere and playability of the game. If you aren’t currently elbows-deep in another MMO RPG, then New World: Aeternum could be for you.