I didn’t really know what to expect from New World: Aeternum going into my hands-on preview at Summer Game Fest. After an hour of play, I now know the landscape, some mechanics, and general tone of the game, but I still don’t know who will be playing.

That’s not to say my demo went badly. The game felt fluid, quickly walking me through the very first concepts of what Aeternum is and what players can achieve, which is one of the main focuses of this sort-of sequel (more of a remaster). I got a quick lesson in attacking, blocking, and dodging atop a burning ship full of zombie-esque pirates before I was able to leave that sinking boat and swim out to the lush shores of Aeternum. There, I finally got to go to work with my class weapons as an Occultist, using a fire staff and ice gauntlet that were primarily ranged attacks, and fighting a mini-boss to set the tone.

From there I was launched into the game itself with other new castaways washing up on the shores of Aeternum and running around completing the same early tasks. These included gathering crafting materials, crafting a carving knife, and hunting down a boar that I could cook and eat before heading out to take on more zombie pirates and see what was left of my ship and crew.

As for introductions, they all felt… fine. I was given a general rundown of where I was and what to do in the exposition with a few NPCs, and then got to work. But at no point in this introduction did I feel truly invested in any of the game's story, or even its combat, which the intro desperately wanted me to get into.