New World Previews

New World will be launching into closed beta shortly, allowing those with a pre-order to experience a decent chunk of Amazon’s upcoming age of exploration MMORPG. But if you’d rather wait for the proper release, currently scheduled for August 31, 2021, you can now find a few fresh previews below.

Let’s start with IGN’s video:

And then check out a few paragraphs from their article:

If you’re into ARPGs or action-focused open-world games, and you’re also a fan of MMORPGs with a faster-paced feel to them, then New World is likely to be your cup of tea. It’s got a bit of everything, but it doesn’t sound like you’ll ever be hemmed into one style of play if you prefer PVP over PVE or vice versa.

Whether or not those systems actually come together with just as much nuance, ultimately hinges upon how popular New World ends up being once it launches next month. But right now, especially after what I’ve been shown, my fingers are crossed.

There’s also VentureBeat:

But when it comes to MMOs, I’m mostly concerned about the gameplay, and New World shows promise. Even at low levels, fighting can be fun, since you have to worry about aiming your attacks and timing your blocks. In other MMOs, those early levels can be a slog where you’re just hitting the same three buttons over and over. It’s nice to have combat feel interesting right from the start.

Game Informer:

As a heavy two-handed maul wielding berzerker type, I had no problem running into the center of combat, flattening (stunning) opponents, and generally causing a ton of disruption behind enemy lines. Even when I was just running around in the middle of a pack blocking I was wasting their time and preventing them from moving up on a cap point, so my interactions always seemed useful. The game itself seemed slowed-paced than some other MMORPG offerings like WoW battlegrounds, but that might be what you’re looking for.

Rock Paper Shotgun:

New World’s definitely done enough to get me interested, though. I liked its mixture of survival and MMO elements, alongside this concept of a world that’s controlled and fought over by players. This in particular I’m eager to explore further, as I get the impression this is where the real meat of the experience lies and what could separate it from other heavy-hitters in the genre. When New World’s closed beta arrives on 20th July, I’ll be there, hopeful that it delivers on that front. Part of me worries that if it doesn’t, then the shores of Aethernum could sink into obscurity very quickly.

Eurogamer:

There are signs, then, of a deep world here, and of engaging systems and ideas to keep us busy. But a couple of hours is not enough to take much of this in, and it’s nowhere near long enough to approach the areas of the game which most excite me: the territory ownership and housing and warfare, and the many kinds of PvP on offer. The closed beta, on the other hand, which starts tomorrow, will be a much better place to appraise this.

Windows Central:

Similar to my last preview, I have high hopes for New World, but its constant delays and “everything and the kitchen sink” give me the feeling that even New World still doesn’t know exactly what it wants to be. But the PVP-focused MMORPG could be a surprise hit and may even be able to slow the growing popularity of the MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV, if they can stick the landing.

And NME:

So, I’ll end this preview a bit unsure – the early gameplay of New World is brilliant – but until I see how the progression works, how the additional layers slide into place and how the whole thing works as a whole – something I’ll probably get a proper sense of during the closed Beta later this month – I can’t say if it’s going to work out as an MMO. But I can say the combat is brilliant, and I’m excited to see more.