If people paid more attention to what other players have written everywhere on the forum, they might be able to log back in.
Though it could be true that you can only do so via a vpn ,I dont think it is.
You need to get rid of the old game in order to get access to the new game. cancel the game and clear cache,restart and you should be fine.
However you might not like what you find there.
They have made it harder to do many things that were simpler ,increased level requirements and removed access to certain boosts and even Helheim.
As mentioned on this thread here,what they have done will drive many players away.
The casual player is being catered for even less than it was.
Of course this strategy will work if that what they really want, such that it is only players with loads of desposible cash and time to spare that remain active.