New World is a beautiful game. You can see from the image above, which is representative of the game as a whole, that the game is aesthetically very pleasing. I had high hopes for the game as soon as I began playing. Friends had warned me about the limited abilities and cooldown times, but I have to admit that doesn’t bother me much. I quickly got two weapon bars which gave me 6 abilities to play, as well as heavy and light attacks to fill in the time gap. I also had the option to invest points to reduce cooldown times and beef up heavy attacks, which were a satisfying option for the two-handed hammer I was using. And I like the ability options presented to me… they were enjoyable both visually and for the effect.
As for the crafting system, I love that I can cultivate almost anything in the game. There’s something to gather at almost every point during play. This almost makes crafting an active part of questing and can make the most of the journey time from place to place. But already, I’ve begun to wander into parts of the game that begin to kill the fun for me.
Before I go into those, I’d like to mention that I do like the quests given and the fact that certain locations are higher level than others. There is a definite incentive to level up before attempting higher level quests. There’s also incentive to group up for some of these, which encourages the social aspect of the game.
When I began playing, I enjoyed looking forward to what the next levels would bring and how pvp might open itself up to me as I developed my character.
At level 40, I’m still waiting.
There is great variety in the landscapes of the game, yes, and they are attractive, but the quests and npc’s don’t change much. Essentially, when I go to a higher level area, I don’t need to get any better, I just need to level up my gear and abilities. The creatures might look a little different, but they play the same way. And questing has no real effect whatsoever except to propel me to the next level.
I quickly stopped streaming New World. I think I only streamed it a couple of times. Why? Really, I was just cutting down trees and killing npc’s. I mean, what could I keep saying about that? As it is, I’m not the type to give a stand up (or sit down) comedy show. Only sometimes do I have an issue to monologue about. And if no one hops in to chat with me, I do lapse into occasional silence. PVP in other games sometimes loosens my tongue spectacularly, but cutting down trees and chopping rocks? Not so much. Even I couldn’t do that my visitors.
I know what you’re thinking, did she actually do any pvp? Yes, actually. A friend and I fought a higher level character and managed to take this toon down. I admit it: it was difficult, but I enjoyed it. The next day I ran out on my own and the same person took me down quickly with two of his or her friends. I learned that running around with pvp enabled by myself wasn’t a good idea at all. Not unless all I wanted to do was run around looking for a fight. And at a low level, that wasn’t a good idea.
I did sign up to participate in a war, but I was so far down the list that I didn’t get in. Can’t say that was very fun.
But here’s the biggest problem: I just don’t care. I like the way my character looks, I like the way her gear looks, but I don’t care about her. She is no one. Her choices don’t matter. She has no compelling back story. There’s no reason for her to do what she does. Fighting other players doesn’t matter, there’s no reason to actually do it. Yes, I get a little more xp and special quests, but the quests aren’t so different from the ones I already get to make it really worthwhile. Oh, and did I mention that if I die, I fail and lose them? And then I have to start all over on the pvp quests even if I had them completed when I died. This, my friends, is a disincentive to pvp for me when there isn’t a real incentive to do it in the first place. The only reason I see to pvp is to beat other players. And I can do that in a bunch of other games… where I’m a higher level and/or where leveling is a quicker process and/or where level doesn’t matter quite so much.
And I won’t even touch the server issue…
Have I given up on New World? No. Not really. There may yet be something I haven’t encountered that would make the game compelling to continue to play for me. Admittedly, I haven’t done much with my guild… primarily because there has been no real reason to do so, but I do concede the possibility that there may be something there I would really enjoy. I do like my choices to matter, however, and New World doesn’t seem to offer that to me at all. For the time being, I’m leaving the game installed and may hop back in. I’m going to keep my ears open and hope to hear news about that missing element that will draw me back into play. Can’t say I’m terribly hopeful, unfortunately.