At a press event, MeinMMO editor Leya Jankowski was able to visit Amazon Game Studios. There, she played for 4 hours the upcoming MMO New World, before its release in May 2020. Leya is convinced that the open-world game will be immense in its possibilities.
My first encounter with Amazon’s New World was in 2018, when the game was first shown at gamescom. My gaming experience back then cannot be compared to that of 2020 with the MMO.
New World is now more, has gained several gameplay features that can be complex and require tactical thinking. But is this new version of New World also fun?
The background to the MMO: New World has undergone a major transformation over the past two years that has led to heated discussions about New World in the community, as the game changed direction drastically during development:
- Initially, New World started as a sandbox game with survival elements and always-active PvP throughout the world. Anyone could attack anyone anywhere.
- Now New World is an open-world MMO with PvE content like NPCs and quests. PvP in the open world now has a toggle, meaning an on and off switch. Those who do not want to experience unrestricted PvP can now avoid it.
During the press event, we also had the opportunity to talk with the developers about the turn of New World:
All features of Amazon’s MMO can be found in our large wiki on New World. We have updated the article with our new information.
In summary, New World offers:
- 3 factions that fight against each other, of which you can join one
- Fortresses that can be captured, expanded, and defended
- Settlements where you can live and expand
- PvE tasks and guild quests
- Open-world PvP with a toggle
- Massive battles for fortresses against AI hordes or other players
- Individual character progression through 60 levels and attribute points
- 4 enemy families, with different talents and skills
- Weapons that define your class. They have talent trees, and you can equip three at the same time
- Player housing with decorations found in the open world
- a backstory revolving around a rare mineral that grants immortality
This is what makes New World special while playing
What I saw from the game: While visiting Amazon Game Studios for MeinMMO, I was able to play New World with a few other journalists:
- I was in the starting area,
- went through the tutorial,
- arrived at the first settlement and
- participated in a PvP mass battle for a fortress.
Additionally, the developers showed us parts of the mid-game live.
What I found positive about New World:
The combat system with three weapons: New World has dynamic combat and no tab-targeting. It is noticeable that the developers were inspired by Dark Souls, although the system is more agile. Blocking and dodging play an important role, which is quite unusual in MMOs.
So I quickly learn that I prefer to first fend off the opponent with a shield, causing him to stagger briefly. Then I take a swing, dodge, take down the opponent even with a heavy blow. Quickly, a flow of blocking, dodging, attacking develops that feels good.
Gradually, I unlock new weapon slots, and this is where New World becomes particularly fun! Overall, I can have three weapons equipped and switch between them dynamically in the middle of combat. Because I can carry and use weapons like bows, heavy hammers, staves, and spears, wild combinations and choreographies emerge.
I can throw a throwing axe at my opponent to draw his aggro, quickly switch to my hammer and give him a good whack. Now I might decide to deal him a death blow with a mystical sword that is modified against the opponent type.
Game Director Scot Lane explained to me how this weapon system came about:
This has a lot to do with the background of our studio. We have many people here who have worked on action RPG games as well as fighting games. Aside from our natural MMO inspiration, there were also many other genres from which we drew inspiration. Games like Diablo, Dark Souls, Baldur’s Gate, Killer Instinct influenced us.
There are so many games we have played that inspired us. We love the idea that the weapon is a class. When I play, I hate being limited. The first question: “Which class do I choose?” is so defining for the next 150 hours of the game.
The fact that we translated this into weapons that you can level up relatively quickly and the circumstance that you can reset your skill points for free up to level 20 gives you time to understand how the game works, so you are not pinned down to a big decision you have to live with for a long, long time.
Game Director Scot Lane to MeinMMO about the weapon system in New World
The skill system of the weapons: What’s cool is that not the character defines my class. The weapons define the class, similar to Monster Hunter World: You are what you wear. The weapons are also equipped with skill trees, through which you can find your own style.
Practically, all skill points can be reset for free up to level 20, so you have the chance to find your style. I happily distributed my points and watched how skills from multiple equipped weapons complemented each other. I begin to suspect how unlimited the options for loadouts and builds can be here.
The friendly introduction: I quickly realize that the systems in New World become increasingly complex as you progress. Everything only unlocks during the course of the game:
- For instance, I cannot equip three weapons from the start. I first have to unlock the slots.
- I also cannot directly join a faction; I have to reach a certain progress in the game for that.
Everything is well explained, and I feel taken care of.
The interaction with the world: You can actually interact with almost everything in New World. As an adventurer, this may not be surprising, but my character can climb and scramble surprisingly well. I can mine almost every rock and bush in the world. This makes the new world come alive; nothing feels like mere decoration.
The feeling of discovery: Just setting out and exploring is fun in New World. There are numerous caves and treasure chests to discover. I particularly like that there is no mini-map in the game. I orient myself with a compass that shows me the cardinal directions.
When the developers showed us parts of the mid-game, we could see how the world unfolds later. There will be the most diverse areas, some reminiscent of a fairy tale forest, others of a pirate saga. Depending on what else is to come, just exploring these regions could be really strong.
What I found negative:
The sluggish start: I don’t know if this was just due to the starting area. But the beginning of the game drags on a bit, and it takes a while for me to understand where the fun in the game actually lies. In between, as I went on one fetch quest after another, worries spread whether this was all there was to it.
Once I enter the first settlement, New World gets more exciting.
Here, I encounter for the first time the three factions that I can join, each bringing its own characteristics, quests, and equipment.
I see the houses I can buy and other players running around me. The many, many crafting stations where I can create gear, weapons, potions, and food.
An “Aha” experience was: “Wait, I can expand and upgrade the settlement,” because in New World, you actually build a small civilization.
However, it would do New World good to show this faster in the game since you only realize where the journey is ultimately headed in the first settlement.
Little variety in the quests: Here, I can only report from the beginning of the game. Because the initial quests consist of the typical delivery tasks:
- kill x enemies
- retrieve x units of material y
- open x boxes
- craft item x
That gets a bit monotonous. But New World consists largely of crafting, fighting, and exploring. At this point, I cannot judge whether the quests become more exciting once you encounter stronger enemies and equipment.
I asked the developers how much variety there was supposed to be in the quests. Richard Lawrence, the studio director, responds:
This is something we are constantly working on. The quests definitely have a different flavor when you do various dungeons. You will receive quests for your character, and you will receive quests for the town. You will also have to go out to collect a few things so that you can get the next version of the forge, for example. You can also do this as a group activity; everyone is involved. It’s like contributing something for a charitable purpose for the town. You might see that 90% of the materials are already there, and you can decide to go out and get the last few, perhaps particularly hard-to-obtain items.
Your factions also give you quests. We already have plans for a second dimension of quests. They will always consist of the basic forms of “find things” and “craft things”. We are, of course, always interested in new ways of doing it.
Studio Director Richard Lawrence to MeinMMO about quests in New World
Lawrence further elaborated that in the later stages of the game, it becomes particularly exciting with the faction quests because they act politically against each other. You may get tasked with scheming against a faction, destroying something of theirs, or killing someone.
Uncertainty about how the path from start to middle will be: This is something I cannot directly blame New World for, but rather it relates to the nature of how we could test the game. It is an uncertainty that has lodged itself in my mind.
We actively could only test the beginning of the game itself. I witnessed a mass battle and explored the combat system and PvP here. In a live demo, I saw arena battles against nasty boss opponents with cool mechanics in the mystical world of the island.
But I have no idea how the journey to this exciting mid-game looks:
- How will it actually work in practice to build a settlement together with many players?
- How will the players embrace this system?
- How can PvP and PvE meaningfully complement each other?
These questions still make me somewhat hesitant.
What makes New World immense?
The mass battle showed me what New World is capable of. Territory control plays an important role in New World, allowing factions to gain power and dominance in the area.
Let the Game Director explain how the battles work mechanically:
In the battle, there are 3 control points. These must first be captured by the attackers so that they can reach the gates of the fortress. This is where the first decision you have to make comes in. Do you want to take care of one gate first, or do you want to attack multiple at once?
The defenders, of course, do not want the control points to be captured. They can set their cannons in such a way that they target these control points. The attackers can also place stationary weapons and must strategically decide where it is best to set them up.
What we have seen in almost every battle so far is that the group decides to place some people at the back gates to prevent opponents from sneaking in from behind. Usually, these people start to get bored, do not follow orders, go to the front, and the attackers sneak in through the back door. This happens almost every time.
However, we anticipate that players will come up with ideas that we could never have imagined. I can’t wait to see what strategies they will surprise us with.
Game Director Scot Lane to MeinMMO about battles in New World
As I battled my way through the fight – more poorly than well – I realized how immense New World is. The immense lies in the many little decisions and details I can make.
First, I feel like I die a thousand deaths on the front lines. I decide to step back a bit and hide on a wall, ambushing enemies with low health and finishing them off.
Now and then, we receive combat points that we can spend in the fortress for new ammunition or potions. I realize that I can also participate in the battle simply by buying ammunition for our siege weapons and constantly replenishing it, shooting into the crowd with it.
This experience is representative of much in New World. The devil is in the details! The more I start to understand the systems, the more I see how much there actually is in this game.
Interestingly, I can do this as a group player, but also alone at my own pace. Somehow, I always have the chance to contribute to the big picture.
I have the impression that New World can grow immensely with its many small extra mechanics that contribute to the great faction war.
A first prognosis
So what do I think about New World with my new experiences?
This is New World at its worst: The open-world MMO wants too much of everything and falls apart. The systems between settlements, chosen open-world PvP, factions, and a good solo and group experience don’t mesh as well as planned, and the experience becomes neither here nor there.
New World has not managed to cleanly transition from a PvP focus to a PvE open-world focus. The game simply fills the direct PvE content with a lot of grind and delivery quests that quickly become dull.
New World offers no long-term incentive and loses its players.
This is New World at its best: Amazon Game Studios has managed to build an open-world MMO that gives players a lot of freedom without overwhelming them. Players organize into groups and engage in exciting faction warfare with epic battles against each other.
The direct content and quests are kept exciting through political intrigues. The items for weapons, gear, and consumables are so cool that even the grind towards them is enjoyable.
The war for territory control offers players a lot of long-term motivation and with exciting loot, a great incentive to fuel this war through town projects, quests, direct PvP battles, and defeating monsters.
New World succeeds in becoming an exciting PvE-PvP MMO that will continue to be updated for years.
Should you buy New World directly upon release? It is advisable to hold off on that decision. If you are still unsure whether you like the concept, you can first wait for the beta in April. Pre-orders will receive access before the release on May 26, 2020.
With the beta in April, New World will be available for streaming and to a larger audience that is allowed to talk about the game. However, the beta is only open to pre-order customers of New World. I believe that within the beta month, one will get a good insight.
See current gameplay in the video
Together with our colleagues at GameStar, we recorded a video in which you can see fresh gameplay. You will see parts of gameplay trailers, as well as a few scenes from the mass battle in which I participated.
