Recent reviews by MartyMcFry

I purchased Gray Zone when it initially released and it was just too buggy and laggy to play. I refunded it pretty quick. I repurchased it for update 0.4 and it is pretty good. Definitely a step in the right direction for the company and players.

Bought this for my Ayaneo Geek (ryzen 6800u) and i am really happy with it. Just open Lossless Scaling, select target framerate (60), open your game and scale it. It works really well to get the fps up on games running around 30fps with minimal artifacting and at approx 2x framegen input lag is not noticable. Can't recommend enough for handheld systems that need that extra boost

Seems good so far.

Not sure what the optimization issues are. I have a 13700k, 32gb ram and a 6900xt running off an NVME SSD and i locked my frames at 120fps on high and it doesn't move (frame gen on). Runs well

Might be a good game but the online component of joining friends is so bad i can't recommend anyone who wants to play it as a co-op game to pick it up. We are in 2025 and they have designed this so convoluted i can't understand why

New World had its ups and downs after launch. The end game mechanics for gear really turned me off. It lacked content and the levelling process was mediocre. I didn't bother buying the expansion as the game was in pretty bad shape at that point.

For the launch of Aeternum i decided to make a new character and play through again. The end game has more content, although could use more but with cross play at least there are more players. The levelling process is better and quicker.

For all it's faults it is the best MMO i had played in years because the combat is excellent, and i really enjoy PVP. I purchased the expansion on this play through and the expansion zone was well done

Review as of 29/9/2025 Season 7 update
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The last patch was massive, they balanced a lot of classes that needed it, buffed unused perks and skills for more skill expression. Added a new map that is pretty large. Fixed some gamebreaking bugs like shields not working properly, added a bunch of new weapons and armour, 2 new bosses. The state of the game is much better than the last season. The game has had it's ups and downs but currently sits at a place that makes it fun to play again, yet still has issues like any game does. Right now i would say it's worth new players getting into it, and old players returning. I am leaving my old reviews so people can see how this game has progressed.

PvE mode was added back in

Solo/duo was added back in due to player demand, and devs have finally agreed that solo/duo play should be balanced properly, and they have done a reasonable job at it.
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Review as of earlier this year below

**Original review below this updated review. I'm leaving it there so you can see how i felt about the game previously** . Ignore the hours listed. Approx 815hrs outside of Steam in addition to the over 800 on steam

Recommendation - I can't recommend the game any more. I'm currently not playing it due to the sheer stupidity of patches. We are going in circles revisiting patches we already had, and all understood they were bad. After nearly 2 years of having solo/duo/trio queue the devs decided that solo/duo is going to be removed, regardless of the fact that more people play solo/duo than trio. I understand classes will be unbalanced in solo/duo compared to trio, however they just need to make it clear to players that their focus is trio, and if you want to play solo/duo expect balance problems.

The Vision - The devs have stopped listening to what the players are saying the game needs completely, and are chasing their own "vision" for what the game should be. I'm not saying everything the community says is right, but there have been some great ideas and they get ignored, or implemented then removed because the lead dev doesn't think it fits his "vision". They struck gold and turned it into wood.

Content - There has been no real content in a long time. I liked the idea of fleshing out the existing dungeons, improving immersion and designs of them, but that's all we have had for a long time. I don't see adding new classes, which are completely unbalanced compared to the original 6 classes as a good thing, or content. The original classes have been left behind in skills and perks. They need to be updated to be more in line with the new meta. No new maps, no new skills/perks, no new bosses.....just classes

Mechanics - They added in Fog of war, didn't like it and removed it. Fog of war would have been good if they listened and expanded on the idea, instead it was just gone. That BR circle we all hated and wanted gone? It was brought back in replacement of fog of war. WHY?...
Existing bugs that are game breaking mechanics still exist. Shields don't work properly and haven't since the beginning. Content promised to be actively worked on never arrived. Quivers for rangers? nope. Backpacks for extra loot? nope, but hey enjoy this new useless sash

P2W - people could argue the seasonal stash increase is p2w but i don't really care about a second shared stash tab. Some extra gold bags? meh, you can just buy them with earned gold. Not an issue

PVE mode - This was a welcomed addition the community felt mostly was a win. It allowed new players to be able to learn the game without the threat of other players. You could learn the maps, the AI patterns, the bosses, where some of the better loot chests are. Basically a tutorial mode which also allowed you to earn some gold and use it in PvP modes. GONE. Why? SDF said it didn't fit the "lore".

The developers need to get their act together and produce meaningful content, improve existing systems, fix bugs that have been around since the release and stop flip flopping on good ideas. The player count is slowly dwindelling away (see steam charts) because of everything i've spoken about and soon enough they will give up on what could be an incredible game.

Congratulations SDF - you've turned me into a doomer, and rightly so.

**Old Review below**

Graphics - 7/10. Doesn't require a top tier computer to get reasonable frames. Graphically it is mid tier, it's not ugly to look at but it isn't AAA graphics

Gameplay - 8/10. Engaging gameplay loop. First person extraction game based on the fantasy genre where you loot up, kill AI and players then extract. "High roller" Dungeons make the AI harder, with a better loot reward, aswell as players who are gearing up to be more effective in fights. Bosses and sub bosses exist for some of the best loot in the game

Audio - 8/10. Audio is very consistent making it easy to hear players and ai around you. Sound assets are good quality and immersive

Difficulty - 5/10 - The game can be as hard or easy as your play style. Want to stealth play and only engage when needed? you can. Want to go all out and fight everyone and everything? You can. The "High Roller" Dungeons make the AI harder, and that is a choice you can make.

Grind - 6/10. There is grind if you are chasing the leaderboard or really trying to obtain the best gear. Solo self found is always lengthier than using the trade system to make gold/gear. You can jump in for a couple matches of low tier gear and feel like you have achieved something.

Story - Non existent

Price - $30 USD is a great price for the amount of content and hours you can get out the game. *Updated* Devs actively heard the communties complaints about the free to play model not allowing free players to experience the whole gameplay loop and made changes. Now the free to play model allows you to loot higher quality items and use them in matches in "normal" mode against players. Previously you were limited to only playing with white quality gear at max, making the higher quality items useless to you. If they can eventually change the model to allow the "High roller" dungeons and make free to play even more accessible it will be a great free to play model, currently it is mid tier.

P2W - 10/10. No real P2W elements involved. There are skins for items in game and the character races. Races have positive and negative effects to keep it balanced. "Legendary" status can be bought which provides you with a shared stash tab for your characters and the restrictions of the free play are lifted.

Hackers - There are always hackers in every game. The report system works and results are shown when you login if someone has been reprimanded with a temporary or permanent ban. The free version of the game will help reduce hackers as free players cannot trade, so flipping items for real money requires the items to be dropped mid game, which makes it harder for RMTers to actually use these items. The risk of dying is there in just acquiring the item.

Server locations - 10/10. There are server locations all around the world. To name a few - US West/East, Europe, SEA, Oceanic, Brazil, Japan.

Overall - 8/10. It is a solid game, with developers who are actively listening to feedback and adjusting the core mechanics of loot and gameplay. They have regular patches and strive to fix bugs/exploits as quick as possible. Regular maintenance is performed and the servers are reliable. The gameplay loop is fun. It is a skill and gear based game where even a lower geared player can beat a higher geared player if they outskill, though better gear does help.

Not as in depth as POE, makes Diablo 4 look like child play

Gives the feeling of a modernised Diablo 2.

Currently server issues are annoying, but understandable for a game that had such a large 1.0 launch from a small team.

Definitely recommend, despite the server issues at launch

Game audio sounds like every shot is on top of you, including the throwables and buyable airstrikes etc. Nothing notable that stands out from any other shooter, found it quite boring.

I don't usually write reviews


so i won't

Good alternative to pubg for royale gameplay. Better than fortnite. Some tweaks and Australian servers ill be very happy. Definitely recommend