New World: Aeternum

New World is a very pretty survival-MMORPG hybrid that saves its best moments for the endgame – but you have to be willing to grind like hell to get to them.

High-stakes PvP battles and top-notch production values bolster Amazon's MMORPG, even if its PvE content and occasionally frustrating systems may leave some players wanting.

New World's engaging crafting and faction rivalries are held back by abysmal PvE and a boring world.

Despite bugs and queue times, Amazon Games' new MMORPG is good piratey fun (especially the Faction system), but the early game is very grindy and you will cut down a lot of trees.

New World: Aeternum is a high-quality MMO experience, and the transition to PS5 has been smooth. With a focus on action combat, gorgeous visuals, and a free-form, classless levelling system, even castaways on a deserted, haunted island would be hard-pressed to do and see everything it offers.

The game leans away from its MMO components and looks to establish itself as an action RPG that can also be played with other people. It’s fun, but it’s hard not to feel like New World has hit a ceiling for what it can be.

New World brings a lot of excellent MMO twists to the table, but its marred by bugs, stale quests, and a lack of endgame content.

New World offers players - even MMO veterans - a satisfying mix of combat, character growth and discovery.

With its immersive setting, streamlined gameplay, and bustling endgame (not to mention the one-time buy-in) New World Aeternum is a great MMO for newcomers and genre enthusiasts alike. Whether you want to engage in the persistent Faction War or play it like a singleplayer action RPG, there's a huge amount of freedom while the core game itself has been enriched through months of updates and fully optimised for consoles.

New World: Aeternum makes significant improvements over its original version, but it doesn’t quite become a completely new game. If you abandoned it back in the day due to performance issues or lack of content, this relaunch is a great opportunity to give it another chance. Cross-platform support with crossplay and the enhancements to the combat system are among its biggest achievements, along with a technical optimization that finally delivers.