New World: Aeternum shows off flashy intro, pretty scenery in preview—but lacks a clear audience

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from New World: Aeternum going into my hands-on preview at Summer Game Fest. After playing for an hour, I now know the scenery, some mechanics, and the general tone of the game, but I’m still unsure of who will play.

That’s not to say my demo went poorly. The game felt smooth and quickly guided me through the very early concepts of what Aeternum is and what players can accomplish, which is one of the main areas of focus from this kind-of-sequel, more-of-a-remaster. I got a brief lesson in attacking, blocking, and dodging on a burning ship full of zombie-like pirates before abandoning that sinking boat and swimming to the lush shores of Aeternum. It was there that I finally got to dig into my class weapons as an Occultist, with a fire staff and ice gauntlet that could deal mostly ranged attacks, and fight a mini-boss to set the tone.

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