You know an MMO’s starting to click with you when you’re logging on during lunch breaks. There’s a moreish interplay between New World’s gathering and crafting that’s got its hooks in me. But for everything that Amazon Games has got right in its new MMO, there are plenty more features that feel undercooked and ill-considered, putting a significant dampener on the experience.

Does it scratch that itch you’ve got in the back of your brain for a new MMO? Definitely. Will you be gasping in awe, wondering how Amazon Games has managed to reinvigorate the genre? Probably not.

As soon as you get your first sword and shield in the tutorial zone, you’ll notice that New World’s combat differs significantly from most other MMOs. Rather than leaning on auto-attacks and cooldown-based abilities, New World employs an action-combat system that’s closer to Elder Scrolls Online’s bastardised take on Skyrim’s combat. The result is that swordplay feels so much more satisfying, and I’m no longer mindlessly clicking between mobs until the XP bar ticks over. It’s certainly not the first MMO to give the player a more active role in combat, but melee brawls feel tight and responsive.

The experience varies dramatically depending on which weapon you’re using. The greataxe’s swing is meaty and impactful, but somehow the greathammer’s size belies its range – it feels like you’ve got to get close enough to touch your opponent’s eyelashes in order to hit anything. The bow feels meek and lacklustre, but the rifle fires with a satisfying pop and little plume of smoke, which other players can see around you. My current favourite weapon is a high-level hatchet I found in a crate, which has a hefty strength bonus. I feel swift and nimble, darting around flailing with my swings as my friend aims headshots with his rifle. Each of New World’s weapon types are leveled separately to your character level, so you’re encouraged to try a few as you get your introductory loot drops. That can feel a bit like a downside when you receive a powerful rare rapier and realise that you have to start grinding a whole new weapon skill tree.

Frustratingly, there aren’t many skills to level per weapon, so while you have more control over combat, it doesn’t always feel like much of an evolution on the traditional MMO clickfest. There is an upside to this simplicity in that it’s easy to tell which skills your opponent is using in PvP, enabling both of you to read and counter one another.

Sadly, combat is further marred by the game’s wonky spawn rates. I’ve stood in a forest surrounded by players desperately trying to tag a deer or wolf before it dies to progress their quest, ten minutes before being ganked by dozens of rapidly respawning skeletons that
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