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    New World: Aeternum Preview – The Definitive Experience Now on Console

    New platforms for the hit Amazon Games MMO RPG.

    At Summer Game Fest: Play Days 2024, I had the opportunity to check out over 45 minutes of New World: Aeternum running on PlayStation 5. If you missed the announcement at Summer Game Fest 2024, Amazon Games is bringing the definitive version of New World to consoles for the very first time.

    New World: Aeternum bundles together the New World base game, the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion, updates over the years, and new content set to be released alongside it. This new content includes a new PvP zone, a new raid for up to 10 players, new end-game content including solo trials, new character archetypes, and more.

    During my preview, I started from the very beginning of the game and was able to go through the process of creating a character from scratch. The character creation system has quite a lot of variety, so you can make your New World avatar look any way you’d like. I opted to randomize my character to ensure I got the most time to play as possible.

    Described as an ‘action RPG’ by Amazon Games, New World: Aeternum starts with your character ending up in a shipwreck that strands you on a mysterious island. An evil force called the Corrupted haunts the island, eager to chase you down and corrupt you. The opening ~45 minutes of the game had me running around and fetching items for characters while thwarting off enemies. While tedious, this served as a proper introduction to the mechanics of the game and allowed me to become familiar with its systems. 

    I’m interested to see how the game opens up and is reworked, as the development team noted that the quest flow for levels 1 through 65 has been completely revamped. This is alongside new changes to the story presentation, dialogue, cinematics, and more. These changes were likely made to present players with the option to play the game solo even further. While this was always an option in the original New World, it seems like the team wants to open up options for more players.

    This is an MMO, so you can play with friends around the globe. Cross-play between consoles and PC will be available at launch, so new players can hop in and experience the game alongside players who might have played on PC since launch. While cross-play is available, cross-progression is not, so you will need to make a new character on console.

    Something else I was interested in when taking on this preview was how the transition from traditional keyboard and mouse to controller would feel. I’m happy to share that the game felt very natural on the controller, with the triggers and bumpers acting as the main attack and defense options. Special attacks with cooldowns were made available as my weapon levels increased, so I was able to choose heavy attacks that dealt massive damage to enemies. 

    While I was not able to explore large portions of the map, the areas I did explore were intricately designed and offered plenty of room for exploration. I saw a town with a massive castle toward the end of my playthrough that I was eager to explore, but I ran out of time at the last minute. Based on this location, I’d expect that New World: Aeternum has dozens of exciting sights to see, each differing in architectural style and purpose.

    While I’ve not played New World before this demo of New World: Aeternum, I had a good time with the game and am curious to see if the game can grow a sizeable community on consoles. PlayStation players especially are no stranger to massive MMO titles, with millions of users playing Final Fantasy XIV each month on the system. Xbox recently received FFXIV earlier this year, but the platform also has Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis and Fallout 76, both attracting thousands of players each month. 

    At the end of the day, New World: Aeternum is clearly the definitive version of the 2021 title, with all previous content and loads of new features available. The title looks and runs well on console, which is key to fostering a consistent and engaged community for an MMO like this one. It feels like there is a substantial amount of new content that will provide returning players with hours of fun, even if they’re long past the credits. New World: Aeternum is set to launch on October 15 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

    Be sure to read up on the new New World: Aeternum Confidential Console Closed Beta here to learn how to sign up for a chance to play next month. 

    Noah Hunter
    Noah Hunter
    Noah is Final Weapon’s Editor-in-Chief. He co-founded the website in June 2019 and has been writing for it ever since. In total, he has over six years of writing experience across many publications, including IGN Entertainment. His favorite series include Xeno and Final Fantasy.

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