October 1609, Port of Amsterdam. The suspiciously-hooded Father Russo and be-helmeted Captain Thorpe are setting off aboard a galleon in search of the island of legend. There’s immediately a sense of mystery and adventure, the era renowned for exploration and warfare. It’s an inviting setup, and one which immediately calls you to action.
You, of course, no longer being restricted to the youse of PC gaming. We’re just about three years on from the original launch of New World, with Amazon Games now bringing their colonialist fantasy to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S with New World: Aeternum. We’ve delved into the open beta this past weekend, ahead of the full release on 15th October.
As a member of this ship’s crew, you’re set to explore, discover and gain fame and fortune, but you hadn’t banked on having to breach the Stormwall surrounding Aeternum. This bank of cloud, thunder and lightning looks thoroughly impassable, but Father Russo seems to have, with a mysterious box pulsating with blue light. However, as they attempt to make their way through the storm, an entity takes control of Captain Thorpe, murdering Russo, before making their way through the rest of the crew. Those, at least, that haven’t already been corrupted by the miasma surrounding Aeternum.
You make your way across the burning ship, learning the combat controls as you go, but, with the ship sinking, you soon find yourself on Aeternum’s shore.
You first choose an Archetype for your character, from the regular Soldier, whose heavy armour, sword and shield make him a natural tank/damage hybrid, through the more atypical Damage classes of the Ranger and Musketeer, to the hybrid Mystic class, that combines support magic with damage. I opted for the Swordbearer, their comically big sword giving me Berserk and Monster Hunter vibes. These are the type of vibes I like.
Each class also has it’s own set of Trade Skills to further the tough decision-making process. The Swordbearer has boosts in Leatherworking –
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