Don’t worry, New World Aeternum is still an MMORPG, and a good one at that, even on console

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With the announcement of Aeternum, the developers at Amazon Games gave their New World the new label of an “action RPG”. After two beta tests, however, it is now clear that you can still expect an MMORPG that should also be fun on consoles.

What kind of beta tests were these? Starting September 13, 2024, anyone interested can try out the new Aeternum version of New World on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for a few days as part of an open beta.

There was already early access for selected media representatives (unfortunately only with newly created characters), plus the impressions from the closed beta, which ran from July 25 to July 31, 2024 (and which also included an endgame test). In the following, MeinMMO summarizes what you can expect from New World Aeternum.

Here you can see the trailer for the open beta of New World Aeternum:

New World Aeternum: Trailer for the open beta in September 2024

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New World Aeternum is still an MMORPG

How different does New World play with the Aeternum update? Not different enough to justify the switch from MMORPG to action RPG. Firstly, because you will still meet lots of other players in the game world, the economy is heavily player-driven and there is still all the content from New World for which you need fellow players or human opponents.

Secondly, because the innovations in the camera, combat system and staging are no longer unusual for the MMORPG genre. Various online role-playing games now rely on a cinematic presentation of the story, action-packed battles that can be mastered well with the controller, and the option of being able to master a lot of content solo.

Anyone who wants to get the full New World experience will still have to team up or compete with other players. However, Amazon Games’ MMORPG is now opening up more to console gamers, controller enthusiasts, lone wolves and story connoisseurs.

The strengths of New World Aeternum

What makes New World Aeternum good?

  • The performance on consoles is really good in the beta. On PS5, there were no noticeable stuttering or drops in frames per second in the test. You can choose between graphics and performance mode. With the latter option, New World consistently reaches 60 FPS in the beta. Of course, that could change if significantly more players storm the servers at launch.
  • New World controls wonderfully with the console controllers. The small number of skills combined with the action-packed approach is made for the analog sticks and action buttons.
  • For experienced Aeternum heroes, the new archetypes will not bring any changes. Beginners, however, can look forward to additional help in choosing their playing style. For those who just want to quickly select something and start playing, the archetypes are a great innovation.
  • Compared to launch, the current leveling phase – as far as I’ve played so far – is a lot more fun. This is not only due to the Aeternum adjustments, but also due to all the improvements that have been implemented over the years.
  • The fact that swimming is now possible may be a small thing, but it has a noticeably positive effect on how we move through the world.
  • Anyone who has played New World for a long time will notice many small improvements, for example in the animations of certain actions, the user interface or the models of NPCs.

    • Trailer for New World Aeternum announces console version

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    The weaknesses of New World Aeternum

    What makes New World Aeternum not so good?

  • New World does not achieve the same graphics quality on console as a powerful PC. The field of view is noticeably smaller and the image looks quite washed out, as if the game is scaling down the resolution in order to achieve the desired FPS values.
  • At times, loading times on console were unusually long.
  • Trying to change the target using the analog stick sometimes didn’t work. Instead, the target was simply dissolved. This can be quite annoying in chaotic combat situations.

    • One concern remains

    What is the preliminary conclusion? Anyone who wants to start New World with Aeternum on consoles or PC will most likely be treated to the best version of the MMORPG to date (although it does have a few minor technical flaws on consoles).

    There are many improvements that positively impact the gameplay experience, more options than ever before, and a whole bunch of content to keep you busy for months.

    But what about PC players who have already spent a lot of time in Aeternum and are looking forward to a new content after a long drought? Well, then hopefully you’re in the mood for PvP, because in that case there’s a whole zone waiting for you where you can fight with other players.

    Apart from that, however, little new has been announced that is aimed at veterans who don’t feel like leveling up another character: a 10-player raid and endgame solo trials. That might not be enough to lure high-level heroes back to Aeternum in the long term. What do you think? All information about the launch of New World Aeternum on console (PS5 and XBOX) – release, map, new content, PC version, price

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