A Whole New World
After a lengthy, difficult path to launch, Amazon Game Studios’ New World has finally launched globally and we’ve been able to spend some quality time in this stunning… new world. Let’s just get the standard launch day server issues discussion out of the way: Yes, there are massive queues on some realms just like every other MMO and online game these days. Luckily, I chose a realm in the Eastern US where I haven’t had to wait for more than 5-10 minutes. Luckily, Amazon is adding more worlds as we speak.
A short yet powerful intro is a sight to behold, showing off the Lumberyard engine to it’s fullest.
After a gorgeous into and a quick combat tutorial, you are thrust in New World’s beautiful combination of crafting, exploration, storytelling, and weapon mastery. It’s truly one of the better starts to an online MMORPG in recent memory with clearly explaining your tasks through a complex but well-organized UI with plenty of control options and remapping to boot. The freedom to explore, collect trade goods, or just master a huge variety of weapons is liberating. There is no rush to level but instead, going off the beaten path is awesome as little goodies and old journals from a doomed sailing party are scattered throughout the island.
Sometimes it feels like you are playing in a living, breathing digital painting..
There is so much to see and do in this huge world, I can’t wait to dive in further as I’ve just scratched the surface of a deep, rewarding crafting system and only really mastered a few of many weapon types. Besides a few nitpicks like the mostly ugly results character creator (see screenshot below), server queues, and some wonky jumping and movement animations, New World is truly stunning and an incredibly fresh breath of air in a crowded genre of copycats and dull experiences.
