Amazon’s new game New World will be officially coming out August 31, 2021. If you pre-purchase the game, you are able to participate in the Closed Beta that began July 20, 2021.
The opening story seems to be quite enticing and definitely got me hooked right away. It is mysterious and leaves the player immediately wanting to learn more about what is going on.
If you’d prefer to watch the full cinematic, it is posted below. For those of you who are reading this article while you are really in a Zoom meeting for work and therefore cannot listen to a video (you know who you are!) – the rest of this article is for you.
The Opening
The cinematic opens with a vertical pan of the streets on a stormy night. A man bearing full body armor and a badass helmet walks into a bar.
He slowly walks toward a man dressed in a cowl, alone, away from the other patrons. The mystery continues as to how these two know each other.
The Discussion
Cloaked Man: “Tell me, have you witnessed their power? I have… We’ve all heard the legends, every child has heard the legends of the cursed sea. The stories of ships vanishing without a trace.”
He continues, “How many have been lost over the years? Dismissed as fantasy? The nobles, the church, they all knew the truth.
The cinematic turns while he speaks and shows ships out at sea approaching a storm that resembles the Maelstrom from WoW. The storm envelopes ships as they approach, the scene cuts to a ship burning on the water while the lightning continues to beam down.
Cloaked Man: “Something out there was growing, something terrible. The threat grows once more as the bourgeoisie slumber.
He hands the armored man a wooden box, from which blue light radiates. He opens it as his eyes dilate at what he sees inside. The camera does not show the viewer what it holds.
Cloaked Man: “Your ship is stocked, and your crew assembled. We can pretend no longer. Left unchecked, the veil will surely fall and all will be lost to madness and ruin. This corruption must be stopped!“
The camera then pans to a ship once again sailing toward the storm at the center of the sea. You can see that the armored man stands on deck with the wooden box in hand. In the lower deck of the ship, another man works away at a desk, only to be seen from behind by the viewer.
End.
The Hype!
What could all this mean? What is this corruption they speak of? Before diving into the game itself, it could be assumed the armored man is supposed to be the player. However, maybe the player is the person at the desk accompanying him.
After the cinematic, the game brings you to the character selection screen. I thought that the randomized character model they gave me to customize was pretty funny right off the bat. I figured I’d post it here so you can get a good laugh.