Here it is finally! Amazon's MMORPG has been available since September 28 and the least we can say is that it will have caused as much talk about it before as after this date.
Seeing the e-commerce giant launch into games will have made more than one wince, but the excitement at the idea of discovering a new project was also palpable. So how did Amazon Game Studios fare?
This test differs a little from what you are used to seeing, I (Kathlyn) am not the only one to have tried the adventure and you will therefore find comments from other writers several times in this article.
I initially wanted to offer this preview the week of the release, but in the end we played for a month which allows us to really discover the MMORPG.
At the beginning
For those who have followed from afar or have dropped in the meantime, let's remember the main lines: in New World you are an adventurer whose boat has run aground on a mysterious island: Aeternum. This island has the particularity that no one really dies. You can come back to life while being yourself or become a rogue, an altered. A disgusting zombie species for short.
New Word is focused on PvP: 3 factions fight for control of territories. But PvE is not set aside with a story, side quests, missions, crafts...
European servers opened on September 28 at 08:00 CEST. Delzak created his character without a hitch. I tried to create mine at 10:30 am, perfect timing because it was the time chosen to restart the servers! When the game is launched, two screens follow one another: one to remind us of the New World code of conduct, the other to distill some information.
eNumber : The first step before creating the character is choosing the server: each corresponds to a “world” and is part of a set of several worlds. Attention, it will not be possible to create two characters on the same set. A good number of servers have already been added since the launch of the game, even if on some of them character creation is temporarily disabled to avoid overcrowding. In any case, each player can only have two characters for now.
character creation
After this little reading we attack the creation of the character. Nothing to get excited about, it's pretty basic. The choices are identical regardless of the genre, but there is a lack of variety for each category.
I even found it difficult to make the ideal character, each time there is an element that gets stuck. I'm not asking to be able to adjust everything to the millimeter, to be able to move the position of the eyes or the length of the nose, just to have a few more options. However, I easily imagine that the shop will compensate for this lack of choice. After all, Amazon has insisted that it will focus on cosmetics.
Another annoying detail: impossible to choose the side of the face for scars or tattoos. It is also not possible to put it on the body. We are also limited to a palette of colors whereas now MMOs offer the possibility of creating our own shades.
Finally I noticed a difference between what we see during creation and what is displayed on the character selection screen.
On boarding it... We're sinking my captain!
After a very large squall, you find yourself stranded on a beach. These first moments spent in game with a tutorial to grasp the basics of the gameplay are quite tasty and neat. I will not spoil the pleasure of discovery for you with a description of these few minutes of play.
eNumber : Each character has three gauges: mana, vitality, and health. The first two regenerate on their own; mana being used for magic, and vitality (more commonly called stamina gauge), for defensive actions, parries, dodges. Health can be regenerated through food which provides many buffs including passive healing.
Besides, food is essential as you will learn from the tutorial. If you are not sated, your health will not regenerate.
You start with a sword. There are no classes in New World: your role is determined by which stats you level up and which weapon you equip. Each weapon has two skill trees. In addition the stats cover several weapons. For example, the sword primarily requires strength, and dexterity is a secondary stat.
We could therefore imagine a great freedom of choice, but we will quickly note that we will not necessarily be able to combine two weapons together for the sake of efficiency. Big black spot for the “concentration” statistic which is only used for the life staff, the weapon of choice for a healer. Obviously that's what I wanted to do at the base, and solo it's a real challenge compared to other games. On the other hand, as a duo it is immediately more fun!
What bothered me a bit at the beginning of the game is that we start with the default sword. Impossible to choose your weapon, then you have to cross your fingers and hope that you quickly drop the ones you want. It's the fact of using a weapon that allows us to gain experience for the latter and unlock skills, so the sooner we have the coveted weapon, the better.
The characteristics of your character and the origin of each point.
The staff of life and its two skill trees.
The list of all weapons, their level and the skills used: a clear and precise interface!
eNumber : Fortunately, up to level 20, the characteristics can be reset for free and infinitely, which allows us to reallocate our points to test different weapons. On the other hand, indeed, this system is not very suitable if you want to play with two different weapons which are linked to two necessarily different characteristics. So it will surely be better to focus on one rather than being average in two. Importantly, you can acquire skills (both active and passive) from each of the two skill trees for each weapon. Not having to pick just one allows for quite a bit of versatility and a wider range of skills. However, both trees cannot be fully upgraded.
In terms of combat, the gameplay is rather dynamic because the character will not attack alone. Like an Action-RPG, the attacks (blow, arrow, magic) follow the location of the cursor, while having the possibility of alternating between fast attacks and charged attacks. Parries and dodges aren't just random or visual either, but have real combat value, and are up to you. Even without using skills, the fights remain pleasant because they are less repetitive than with an automatic attack system.
Kyo : Without being intended for a hardcore audience, New World turns out to be quite demanding at times. I chose the Warhammer as my main weapon, and even though I hurt extremely badly, the attack speed suffers considerably and I have to perfectly manage parrying and dodging to hope to get by against a group of rogue people determined to take my life. It will therefore be necessary to juggle with the secondary weapon and to think a minimum. Playing the brainless barbarian does not always pass, even if we are 2-3 levels ahead of our enemies.
Similarly, past the tranquility of the first 10 levels, you have the option of activating PvP or not after choosing your faction. An interesting idea on paper and for fans of wild fights, which will certainly appeal to many players. For my part, although I appreciate PvP, I had no choice but to deactivate it, because many players evolve in groups, and the few who venture alone into low-level areas often have At least 5 more levels. Also note the use of the musket a little too widespread in PvP, which can hardly be countered given the possible attack distance and the damage it inflicts even in heavy armor.
After crossing swords, let's make it!
If we approach crafting in a very very basic way at the beginning of the adventure, you will need to focus on the interface and think for yourself (which I forgot a little with the tutorials of FFXIV) to take it in hand.
Crafting has a prominent place in New World: colonies are managed by the players themselves (at least the company - guild if you prefer - that claims the territory) and they can be improved.
Let's start with the basics: the harvest! I love it, there's a very realistic side to it because you really see what you're getting. We learn to discern plants, ore deposits, etc. We observe in the distance in the hope of finding what we need. The world is very beautiful and this diversity in the flora has a lot to do with it.
In addition to the classic harvest, we also have the butchering of the local fauna on the enemies and the bestiary "for decoration" such as turkeys and rabbits. These little critters tend to run away, so if you don't have a ranged attack you will have to approach them discreetly.
eNumber : As for trades, there is no choice either, all of which are accessible to each player. They are divided into three categories: harvesting, processing, and crafting, and their skill level improves by practicing them. If for the harvesting trades the process is quite simple and fast, the manufacturing trades will certainly take longer to set up because they require more and more different resources.
It is also difficult for me to confine myself to only a few professions since there is no limit. I want to touch everything, because they all necessarily have their uses and seem interesting. I take this opportunity to discuss the inventory! He is fantastic. I even think it's the best inventory I've seen, without having to install an add-on. Objects are neatly categorized. We also have an equally well-organized storage space. The icing on the cake: no need to pull out the materials required to craft something or complete a quest.
The particularity of New World in craftsmanship is that we are not changing third parties so soon. I'm still using ingredients harvested from level 1. The higher your level in crafting, the better your chances of improving the potential gear score of whatever you craft. For example, on the screenshot below we can see 200-205 in score. Well, these numbers will change little by little.
If it avoids changing the type of leather every 10 levels, it also poses a certain problem: everything depends on low-level resources. For example iron ore is used to make iron ingots, needed to make steel ingots which themselves are used for starmetal ingots.
Kyotenshi: Craftsmanship is indeed one of the big strengths of the title from Amazon Game Studios. So much so that on my actual playing time, almost half is solely related to the crafting aspect. It must be said that in addition to the fact that the game invites us from the start to collect here and there, we also have, as soon as we arrive in the first colony, an array of Urban Projects which offers missions related to trades. "Hunt 8 boars", "prepare 8 healing potions" or even "bring 40 carved stones" are all objectives that you will have to accomplish to gain XP, reputations and colony improvements. Moreover, to overcome any storage problems , each colony has a storage that can be used and extended via reputation bonuses to store gear everywhere.
You can also, again via the colony reputation, increase other things, such as harvesting speed, or increase the XP in the area around the camp, or even pass a certain level of reputation, unlock the purchase of a house in the colony.
eNumber : The journeys are only on foot for the moment, and even if rapid transfer points are available everywhere, it will necessarily be necessary to explore and go there on foot for the first time to unlock them. These transfer points teleport you in seconds by consuming Azoth, the amount of which will mainly depend on your encumbrance. You can also set up your bivouac anywhere (reappearance, rest or even crafting point) and finally, check in at the inn of the colony of your choice to have a “free” transfer point (with a delay of 'one o'clock). However, several factors must be taken into account if you wish to “settle” in a new colony: its geographical location at first (according to your quests), the faction which controls the region (to have different bonuses), or even the levels of workshops and different taxes (as far as professions are concerned). Also be aware that only the storages of the different colonies that belong to your faction are interconnected. For the others, you will have to go to the colony in question to access its storage.
198 Azoth the TP. Come on, I'm walking, it's right next door!
These little things...
... which get on your nerves
Even if I have a lot of fun on New World, there are still a few downsides. First of all we feel that the game was released a little too early. When you see the length of the list of known bugs, it's a little scary. Some were particularly dangerous for the balance of the game (duplicate pieces, become invisible or invincible for example).
But we must salute the transparency of the team in this regard. It also communicates really not badly and even the developers intervene here and there. It's very pleasant. However, there is still a lot of work before thinking about adding anything new.
If the game is beautiful, we will quickly be annoyed by this feeling of copy/paste for everything and anything: fauna, flora, enemies, various decorations, houses, etc. The lack of diversity is sorely felt and sometimes causes a little tired.
On the gameplay side, I sincerely regret being confined to a single role. If I want to reset my stats now it will cost me around 250 coins! Knowing that I have 15 I can't afford to do that often.
If the DPS can discover more or less other weapons, the healers are locked into their role. The concentration that is their primary stat serves no purpose. I've always liked to heal, but on condition that I can play something else on the side and therefore the frustration is great. I would like us to be able to save two configurations (even if it goes through the store to unlock this feature) because, even for those who like to play a single style, having two configurations would allow for example to have one focused on PvP and the other on PvE.
eSyfer was talking about the Azoth which was used to teleport. It can also be used in crafts. You can store a maximum of 1000. It will therefore be necessary to use it sparingly while ensuring that you have not reached the maximum threshold. Some will see it as an inconvenience, others as one more resource to manage.
eNumber : One of the peculiarities of the game, which can be worrying for the future, is the management of the economy, specific to each server, and even to each region. Indeed, in each colony, the levels of workshops, the urban projects, and the taxes, are fixed by the guild which controls the zone. The game therefore depends a lot on the community, for better or for worse. If the guilds are diplomatic, they can agree between them on the previous points in a fair and equitable way for the players, or on the contrary, not be interested in this aspect but only in PvP. The risk is to completely neglect the maintenance of a colony, which will lower its levels of workshops for the players and will lead to debts to be paid by a future guild. Some regions, already less attractive for geographical reasons, could be set back later...
Eled' stuck in a tree. Fortunately, a command allows you to unlock yourself in such situations.
... And those that make us love the game
Despite the repetition of the decor, New World knows how to sublimate it thanks to the effects of light. That's wonderful. I stopped many times to watch the sun's rays play with the trees, admire the particular color of the sky at dawn or dusk.
eNumber : The visual rendering is really good even with the graphics set quite low. The atmosphere is pleasant and favors long sessions of exploration, farming or leveling. For more tranquility and immersion, especially for farming, it is possible to customize the interface to your liking by hiding, for example, the cursor, quest tracking, messaging or even the HUD. Indeed, as already said above, crafting is really an undeniable strong point of the game, allowing you to play at your own pace, to participate in trade, and even to reach level 60 by focusing only on trades without making a single combat (achievement recently achieved by a player). The sound design is good and not intrusive.
The music knows how to be discreet but when you listen carefully you will appreciate these few notes. While we're on the subject of audio, let's talk about dubbing. Undeniably this is one of the strengths of New World! The intonation, the character of each character... Really, it's impeccable!
Finally, you have the possibility of activating the voice in game. No need to go through third-party software to talk in a group.
So, are we staying or not after a month?
Yes ! Maaiiiiis... there are still many concerns. However, they are somewhat mitigated by the responsiveness of the development team. Let's not forget that players were outraged by the queues at the exit and that Amazon doubled the servers very quickly. I can't remember the last MMO that did this so fast.
There is still a lot to discover for me. I still haven't taken part in the PvP that I would like to test anyway! (Yes yes, the pvegirl that I am just wrote that!). There is also housing, several other dungeons... (I didn't say anything about that, but the first one was really a good experience!).
If Amazon continues to take good care of its baby, to communicate in this way, New World will manage to make a good place for itself in the world of MMOs.
