• Release Date: Jun 26, 2017
User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 51
  2. Negative: 23 out of 51

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  1. Jul 12, 2018
    0
    A medicore game by a horrible company that disrespects its costummers. I highly recommend to look for another company that actually cares about its costummers without randomly banning them.

    I must admit, TSW was quite good but funcom these days are just greedy and evil.
  2. Nov 3, 2018
    2
    This is the worse version of The Secret World. The Secret World didn't give you any chance to influence the world at ALL!! Just kill stuff, investigate stuff, solve puzzles and report back to some unknown person for a reward.....THAT'S IT!!

    Very sad that it took me $30, a lot of questions and about 100 hours of playing that that is all you will get with it. Secret World Legends just
    This is the worse version of The Secret World. The Secret World didn't give you any chance to influence the world at ALL!! Just kill stuff, investigate stuff, solve puzzles and report back to some unknown person for a reward.....THAT'S IT!!

    Very sad that it took me $30, a lot of questions and about 100 hours of playing that that is all you will get with it.

    Secret World Legends just adds a cash shop and rng loot boxes to make it even more shallow.
    Expand
  3. Fuz
    Oct 28, 2017
    6
    "Fantastic game. Not your typical MMO, it's a different approach on the classic formula.
    It's a very original, smart and imaginative game. The writing is fantastic and has some of the best character I've ever seen in a videogame, the story is great and the gameplay is pretty good, even if I liked the "old TSW" system more, this action approach is more responsive and feel smoother.
    "Fantastic game. Not your typical MMO, it's a different approach on the classic formula.
    It's a very original, smart and imaginative game. The writing is fantastic and has some of the best character I've ever seen in a videogame, the story is great and the gameplay is pretty good, even if I liked the "old TSW" system more, this action approach is more responsive and feel smoother.
    Questing is the best ever seen in a videogame, period. The investigative type of missions, especially, are always extremely intelligent and original, and often require a great deal of thinking outside the box, they can be very hard to solve, too.
    The game does have some flaws, but still, it's the most interesting MMO out there, hands down. And it's not the usual carbon copy of WoW."

    This was my review for The Secret World.
    Too bad that with this relaunch they took one step forward and two step backwards. Combat is too simplicistic and lacks of TSW's build variety. P2W with best in slot gear inside RNG crates and bad business model overall.
    The wort offender is the itemization. Itemization is probably the side of this re-release that I hate the most.
    I am a lifetimer from TSW, played from day 1. When I stopped I had a "perfect" DPS build with all the BiS items (minus some signets and augments) and was working on my tank & healer builds. It has been a lot of work getting to that point, but I was getting there. I saw the goal at the end of the road.

    Here? Not so much. I don't see the goal at the end of the road. I see only frustration. I quickly realized there is no way I will be able to get to my desired build. Talismans are not a big deal, they're neither that rare or super expensive in the AH. But weapons? Here's where the problem lies. My weapon of choice is locked into the old loot crates. I've opened a crate a day for almost every day now and never got a weapon. Chance of weapon+chance of right weapon+chance of right affix=IMPOSSIBLE ODDS. Buying it from the AH is also impossible, first of all they're incredibly expensive due to their rareness, and secondly... I've checked the AH every day for months and never seen the weapon I want with the affix I want.

    This is P2W at its worst.

    Said so... the story, the lore, the background, the missions, the characters and the writing are all FANTASTIC. If you wanto to play it as if was a single player game and ONLY enjoy the story, it's great.
    Just avoid the horrible "end game" and the insane gear grind.
    Expand
  4. Jul 31, 2017
    1
    This game is a chop off release of The Secret World. They basically took the original 2012 version which was working on an ancient game engine (and still does lol), polished it a bit without even optimizing the game (expect 2-3 crashes on average per day) and then they try to monetize everything. I'm not gonna talk about p2w here cause competition isn't like in any other MMORPG you'veThis game is a chop off release of The Secret World. They basically took the original 2012 version which was working on an ancient game engine (and still does lol), polished it a bit without even optimizing the game (expect 2-3 crashes on average per day) and then they try to monetize everything. I'm not gonna talk about p2w here cause competition isn't like in any other MMORPG you've experienced so far but improving gameplay and quality of life sadly needs a ton of bucks to be spent. You also get next to nothing by buying a monthly subscription.. Expand
  5. Jul 7, 2017
    2
    They dont answer support issues so now even though I bought the orinigal I cant make a accaount so I did not get the downtime bonus as many other becaseu it was impossible to make a accaount.

    They dont answer any of all the players that had issues on any forum I have looked like steam and their FB page. I have bought it but now they screw me over because they want to milk new ppl.
    They dont answer support issues so now even though I bought the orinigal I cant make a accaount so I did not get the downtime bonus as many other becaseu it was impossible to make a accaount.

    They dont answer any of all the players that had issues on any forum I have looked like steam and their FB page.

    I have bought it but now they screw me over because they want to milk new ppl.

    Resetted all chars so everything you have done is worth almost nothing.

    its a big scam and probably they will put a end to it as soon as they have gotten some mroe money in their pockets.

    Worst thing for me is the non support so last time I buy anything from funcom.
    Yes I should have learned but could not resist becasue they had intressting worlds with this and Conan.
    Expand
  6. Jul 16, 2017
    0
    Their support doesn't answer and apparently, they suspend people from their discord whenever you ask why their phone number is unavailable. Even though the game is good (And a money-grab since the relaunch). I would not recommend the game due to their corporate policies. Besides, they stripped my old subscription benefits away in favor of a huge PR campaign. Plus they treat people whoTheir support doesn't answer and apparently, they suspend people from their discord whenever you ask why their phone number is unavailable. Even though the game is good (And a money-grab since the relaunch). I would not recommend the game due to their corporate policies. Besides, they stripped my old subscription benefits away in favor of a huge PR campaign. Plus they treat people who bought the boxed version as freeloaders. Expand
  7. Aug 5, 2017
    3
    Same game as "Secret World", this time as a cash grab.
    Endless grind (or endless payments).
    Were the many problems of Secret World fixed? LOL, no - what are you thinking.
    Realistic evaluation of a beta player: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiEKJ0_K9nY
  8. Jul 5, 2017
    0
    The original secret world was an ok game that suffered from outdated, bad performing engine that didn't look that awesome. Regardless of that, the storytelling and voice acting was really nice and also the combat system was nice and had a lot of configuration to do to get the most of it.

    Apparently, it was too "confusing" and "difficult" to some people, even if the official forums were
    The original secret world was an ok game that suffered from outdated, bad performing engine that didn't look that awesome. Regardless of that, the storytelling and voice acting was really nice and also the combat system was nice and had a lot of configuration to do to get the most of it.

    Apparently, it was too "confusing" and "difficult" to some people, even if the official forums were full of help regarding the matter. Also the game didn't make enough money and the updates were always very late.

    To combat these "issues" and to fix the game, Funcom decided to reboot the game. In order to get better graphics (only faces and animations are revamped) and to gain more revenue they went for F2P model, where you "can" use real life money to get more things that you would normally get just by playing. Funnily enough, the engine remains the same so all the problems it had are still there. Also worth nothing that the issues (that were not fixed) reported on the testlive forums, were completely wiped just before announcing The Secret World "Legends" so those bugs never got fixed and they are in the "Legends" for obvious reasons.

    The combat system was revamped or one could say massively dumbed down as well, so instead of really configuring your stats, actives and passives you have your usual ADHD can't concentrate action rpg controls instead, with mouse reticule targetting. Gone are the days when you could just tab-target an enemy and keep firing and/or hitting it.

    The funniest thing of all of this is, that the original game had 15 issues. It consisted of 8 classic dungeons and 2 kaidan dungeons with aegis, or 3 if you count the first kaidan mini dungeon. The game also had 3 different raids, that were later released also as "nightmare" difficulty.

    At the moment you have access to elite dungeons, nightmare dungeons are nowhere to be seen. Neither are the raids, let alone the nightmare raids. Also Kaidan content is also completely missing from the game. Apparently there are promises that these things will make into "Legends" at some point, but seeing Funcom's track record on being able to deliver, these might be the things you have to wait for a long time. Also there is the fact that they promised continuation to the story, IF the game succeeds, which I highly doubt.

    This is not all I have to say about the game, but there is one more thing. This re-release basically almost completely resetted the progression of the characters that were in the original TSW, excluding some outfits that they so genorously let you carry onto the "Legends". All this in order to give players 1) improved face graphics 2) less "confusing" abilities and passives and 3) action rpg combat system with new animations.

    None of these things make the game better, it is still tech from 2012 with the clunky engine that was broken and had performance issues and you have only partially the same content as you had with the old game and now you have the micro transactions on top of that to boost you up.
    Expand
  9. Jul 12, 2017
    0
    Secret World Legends is the result of a failing game development firm rehashing its flagship title, The Secret World, which was an amazing game in its own right and which its developer Funcom drove into the ground through poor decisions. The problem is how they implemented it, and it's not just veteran players they've screwed over in the process - let this review serve as a warning toSecret World Legends is the result of a failing game development firm rehashing its flagship title, The Secret World, which was an amazing game in its own right and which its developer Funcom drove into the ground through poor decisions. The problem is how they implemented it, and it's not just veteran players they've screwed over in the process - let this review serve as a warning to those considering paying money into this game.

    Over the years TSW was actively supported by Funcom, the company encouraged intense grinding of thousands of mobs through their achievement and museum (housing) systems, sold RNG crates for real money with chances to get pieces of end-game gear, not to mention a piece of gear sold directly to players as a promotional item for a decent chunk of cash. In releasing SWL, they not only erased every achievement, the entire museum which players worked for months to complete, but also the entire fruits of their cash-grab RNG boxes and the gear they sold to players. All that for what was essentially a big patch - SWL is the same game as TSW with new combat and gearing mechanics. The reason they keep the original servers up - where it's nigh-impossible to find a group now - is so that they can claim they didn't delete the old characters or steal anyone's money with false promises. Sure, everyone knew the game would end some day, but looking at the industry's and this company's history what was expected was years of maintenance mode after the development cycle was complete, where you still had everything you worked and paid for until the game was too unprofitable to even keep the servers running - and importantly, where the developer isn't actively trying to convince you to stop playing their game.

    Now that sucks for veteran players, who are rightly very upset, but why should new players - who are Funcom's real target audience with this reboot - care? Because this company has shown what it thinks of the time and money investments made by its loyal customers, and now you're a customer. They have no principled objection to deleting everything you've worked for, including things you purchased in their real-money shop, in what amounts to a large patch to the game. While they're working hard to offer new payment methods, it's no accident that they started off with a contract with High Pay, one of the least trustworthy payment companies in the business - birds of a feather.

    In closing, I'll mention that the game is free to play, and there actually is a lot to enjoy in this game for newcomers, with two caveats: Firstly, the story, missions, zones, everything is ripped off directly from its predecessor The Secret World. Secondly, and I can't stress this enough, it's a highly risky venture investing any amount of real money into this game, and I advise strongly against it. The company simply does not value your business and is willing to erase whatever you've bought whenever it suits them.
    Expand
  10. Jul 12, 2017
    2
    Story/Lore: Good
    General PvE (missions): Ok
    Dungeons: Mediocre Raids: So far none OR Mediocre (if SWL receives the same raids from TSW) PvP: Terrible (only 1 lackluster minigame) Graphics: Outdated/Bad Combat: Bad F2P Model: Bad (paywalls everywhere + lackluster premium option) Customer Service: Bad The game can be worth just to check its story and missions, ONCE. Everything
    Story/Lore: Good
    General PvE (missions): Ok
    Dungeons: Mediocre
    Raids: So far none OR Mediocre (if SWL receives the same raids from TSW)
    PvP: Terrible (only 1 lackluster minigame)
    Graphics: Outdated/Bad
    Combat: Bad
    F2P Model: Bad (paywalls everywhere + lackluster premium option)
    Customer Service: Bad

    The game can be worth just to check its story and missions, ONCE. Everything else is wasting of time.
    Expand
  11. Aug 2, 2017
    2
    I really wanted to like this game. I went into SWL as a huge fan of the universe, but unfortunately the pros are far outweighed by the cons. The overall lore and feel of the atmosphere still seems to be there, but I can't stand the new combat system at all. The new visuals are cool, but they went completely overboard with oversimplifying everything.

    If a game that by it's core design
    I really wanted to like this game. I went into SWL as a huge fan of the universe, but unfortunately the pros are far outweighed by the cons. The overall lore and feel of the atmosphere still seems to be there, but I can't stand the new combat system at all. The new visuals are cool, but they went completely overboard with oversimplifying everything.

    If a game that by it's core design encourages using two weapons, while at the same time effectively penalizing you for building around both of them, then it is already broken. This isn't something they can tweak with numbers...they would have to redesign everything from the ground up. They should have never removed the skill wheel.

    Sure you can be driving around the most gorgeous countryside, but if the car is an old smokey Pinto that won't get out of 2nd gear it's still going to be a miserable experience.

    None of this even takes into account the extremely heavy-handed nature of the f2p monetization. It's in your face with literally every aspect of the game, and even subscribers don't get adequate compensation.

    Then there's the shady tactic of using the original game page's reviews to make the game's reception look way more positive than it is.

    The atmosphere and story are top-notch(only reason I gave this 2 points), but the aforementioned issues just kill the game. I can't in good conscience recommend this to anyone.
    Expand
  12. Jul 5, 2017
    0
    It's no secret that Secret World Legends is a desperate cash grab. There's no other way to describe taking a game with graphics and an engine from 2011, release it again with the only difference being questionable control changes and a more profitable cash shop. If they were really so intent in finding a way to get their fantastic story out there, they would have just written a book at this point.
  13. Jun 28, 2018
    0
    The secret world was a great game and I loved it, the costummer appreciation has dropped completely since the relaunch. Every patch the launcher broke which required me to get a launchersetup.exe from another website, login in is impossible and their costummer service is unreachable (I mailed them at the launch but there still isn't any answer).

    The game is good, but only if you can
    The secret world was a great game and I loved it, the costummer appreciation has dropped completely since the relaunch. Every patch the launcher broke which required me to get a launchersetup.exe from another website, login in is impossible and their costummer service is unreachable (I mailed them at the launch but there still isn't any answer).

    The game is good, but only if you can play it. Because I'm unable to play it thanks to the issues I will give it the lowest score.

    Besides of that, if you are able to play the game has some major pay to win issues.

    The game is nothing more that a rebranded TSW version with pay to win and many additional issues. The combat system has been improved with the relaunch and -if- people can play the game I think that they might enjoy it more.

    Last but not least, the company tends to ban people from it services while refusing to give a reason, due to this I consider it a horrible investment to play any funcom games.
    Expand
  14. Jul 3, 2017
    0
    While the lore and the investigations quests are the best part of this game and are really interesting, you still need to do a lot of typical MMO quests such as bring 50 boar butts to an NPC because the interesting missions have level requirements.
    The combat is terrible, the connection issues remind me of World of Warcraft private servers from about ten years ago, the loot system is a
    While the lore and the investigations quests are the best part of this game and are really interesting, you still need to do a lot of typical MMO quests such as bring 50 boar butts to an NPC because the interesting missions have level requirements.
    The combat is terrible, the connection issues remind me of World of Warcraft private servers from about ten years ago, the loot system is a joke. The whole thing looks like a game from 2005 but still, all of these negative issues wouldn't matter if the quests were not behind a level wall, which in result makes you grind on some boring quests.
    Expand
  15. Jul 30, 2017
    4
    First, I should mention I felt obligated to give this game an eight, due to all the Secret World fan boi's voting it down, without giving it a fair chance. I have played both games and what I will share with you is my honest opinion about Secret World Legends, not compared to it's predecessor, but as a stand alone game.

    First, the game play is simple and easy to grasp. It's obvious they
    First, I should mention I felt obligated to give this game an eight, due to all the Secret World fan boi's voting it down, without giving it a fair chance. I have played both games and what I will share with you is my honest opinion about Secret World Legends, not compared to it's predecessor, but as a stand alone game.

    First, the game play is simple and easy to grasp. It's obvious they intend to port this to consoles and as a result the number of abilities one can use at one time are limited. This can seem like a handicap to many Secret World fans, but the difference is really just a few powers and it didn't effect my view of game play that much. Controls are easy to understand and the game is fairly easy, not just aim and shoot, but aim in the general direction and you still do some damage, which is nice when you're on a learning curve.

    Graphics don't seem to be that much better than before, but they are not shabby by any means. On ultra the details are easily comparable to other main stream MMO's and the lighting captures the atmosphere of conspiracy and horror the game tries to evoke quite well.

    Character classes are a misnomer, since there really aren't any, rather you choice of weapon combinations determines your powers, and this where it gets interesting, because it gives you a plethora of possibilities, maybe not as many as Secret World, but still enough to keep you busy trying out new things.

    My main complaints are the numerous things that cost real world money, from traveling to purchasing keys to opening caches. (Please see my edit notes below for more clarification.) This is where I get a bit miffed and wonder if it will be worth it in the long run. However, with this complaint in mind, keep in mind also that it's no worse than other MMOs such as Terra or Blade and Soul, and better than many. I'm talking to you Everquest 2!

    In the end if you're into horror, especially Cthulhu horror, than you'll probably enjoy this game. If that's not your cup of tea, do you like guns and swords? Well then you'll probably like this game too.

    EDIT: I changed my rating for this game because I came to realize just what a money sink this game is. You have to pay marks to get rid of Resurrection sickness, you can only open a limited amount of dungeon chests a day, The good loot, in caches, costs real money. Everything about this game is a nickle and dime experience that you don't really understand until you've invested time in it. Don't play this game if you don't want to spend real money, even if you subscribe you're going to have to spend real money. They tell you subscriptions are there to make the game more convenient, not remove the necessity to spend more cash.
    Expand
  16. Aug 31, 2017
    9
    Story:
    If you're interested in story, this certainly is the MMO for you. You will get to explore different kinds of settings and mythologies, in a zombie-infested New England, Egypt, Transylvania and Tokyo. You can play solo for most of this content, except dungeons and some select areas. The story is certainly a large part of why I give TSW such a high score. If this was
    Combat: It
    Story:
    If you're interested in story, this certainly is the MMO for you. You will get to explore different kinds of settings and mythologies, in a zombie-infested New England, Egypt, Transylvania and Tokyo. You can play solo for most of this content, except dungeons and some select areas. The story is certainly a large part of why I give TSW such a high score. If this was

    Combat:
    It does have MMORPG combat with a hotbar, with a slight twist. You use two weapons, and can combine active and passive abilities from these. Each weapon has a weapon speciality, which works pretty well and adds a bit of variation.

    Monetization :
    This is a free to play game, so naturally it has monetization features, like loot boxes and patron status. As far as I've seen you don't have to pay to enjoy the game, unless you want to get better gear faster, or pay for patron status each month to get more xp and ability points.

    Disclaimer: Since I bought the lifetime subscription of the old game I'm a lifetime patron in SWL, which gives me more xp and ability points. This may influence my opinion of the monetization.

    This is a free to play game, so you can easily find out yourself by just playing it.

    TSW -> SWL:
    I played through most content in the old version, so here's some info. You can play through the story much faster, since the beginning zones have been made much easier, which is a good idea. Combat is more fun with the added specialities, and more focused. I like the change. Even though I liked the old ability wheel, it had too many abilities with minimal bonuses. You can also transfer some of your cosmetic items with a transfer service, although this expires September 4th. Most of the story content from the old game is now back, and came trickling regularly when SWL was launched.
    Expand
  17. Jul 6, 2017
    9
    Secret World Legends is an MMO with an original theme and great story, filled with cutscenes. Besides combat focused quests it also offers stealth and puzzle/ARG style mystery quests. While it’s character designs are laughable in 2017, it’s environment can be stunning. SWL is an MMO that you should play slowly rather than racing towards end game content. If you like the month of OctoberSecret World Legends is an MMO with an original theme and great story, filled with cutscenes. Besides combat focused quests it also offers stealth and puzzle/ARG style mystery quests. While it’s character designs are laughable in 2017, it’s environment can be stunning. SWL is an MMO that you should play slowly rather than racing towards end game content. If you like the month of October you’ll like this game.

    Old game comparison

    Secret World Legends is a relaunch that aims to reach a larger audience than its original version. In doing so Funcom both improved things, like it’s combat system, but also dumbed down the game immensely. It’s original leveless progression system and unlinair open world have been turned into a “This is where you should go now.” type game for the sake of accessibility. I’m pretty sure it’s easier now to pick up for a certain type of players, “MMO Nomads” I call them. They need games that are easy to pick up because they like to pick up and drop an MMO every month or week, and if said MMO doesn’t follow their formula it will not even be given a chance. It hurts to see some of this game’s character wasted in an effort to appeal to these UnGreATFuLL mORtaLs…

    Its F2P payment system

    I’m happy to say SWL isn’t a pay to win game. Nothing is locked away behind a paywall and there is no exclusive overpower gear. The game does allow you to pay for faster progression and weapon upgrades. You can buy inventory space and extra travel speed with both ingame earned and premium cash. And the game features a monthly subscription with some benefits like extra dungeon keys and faster repeatable quest cooldowns.
    Expand
  18. Sep 22, 2017
    10
    The reboot may not be a 'new' game, but it is a better version of The Secret World in every way.* The game is the same open world, it has a new but equally open progression system. The new system pretends to have levels and classes, but that is mostly an illusion for players more comfortable with levels and classes. The new system does prevent you from creating some builds that wereThe reboot may not be a 'new' game, but it is a better version of The Secret World in every way.* The game is the same open world, it has a new but equally open progression system. The new system pretends to have levels and classes, but that is mostly an illusion for players more comfortable with levels and classes. The new system does prevent you from creating some builds that were possible in the old system, but mostly it helps you not create a broken and unplayable ccharacter, which is something that happened a lot in the old system and caused players to hit a difficulty wall and stop playing. The Class system just starts you out with a playable character and you can start deviating from the classes pretty much immediately.

    Content wise the new system has reworked the way that the main quest line progresses to give you more guidance through the story and help you not miss cool plot points. That said the quests haven't really changed, just the way that they are linked together to make your experience more rewarding if you just follow those quests. You can still run off and investigate the world in your own way if that's how you like to play.

    The new combat system feels much better and is much more engaging. It's more 'twitch based' so for the most green gamers it's probably a bit harder...

    The free to play mechanics are what they are... they mostly don't get in the way while giving players that want to spend money meaningful things to spend it on. I have to say that as a parton I think I am advancing a bit too fast for my taste, it makes the game a bit easier than I would like for a horror game.

    That star up at the top for 'better in every way'... ok, so having the free to play mechanics don't make the game better, but they don't get in the way of the good parts and the developers tried every other option. The game launched with a subscription to support the continuing amazing story... not enough people subscribed. They switched to buy to play with the ability to buy the new content... but not enough people got to the end of the free content and bought the content packs... they added lots of content to the cosmetic store and that did ok, enough to limp along for a while... but in the end they needed to retool the game from the ground up as a free to play game if they wanted to continue developing the story.

    And what a story! Now with the relaunch we can look forward to new content starting at the end of this year! Thank you FunCom for not giving up on this game!
    Expand
  19. Aug 13, 2017
    10
    I for one find the reboot interesting and the economic way more viable for Funcom. You can only go so far in the failing F2P model without hitting hard limitations and since a large percentage of gamers do not want to participate in either real life economical models or ,god forbid , virtual ones they end up fuming and spewing, well at some point ,in all socialist economies, youI for one find the reboot interesting and the economic way more viable for Funcom. You can only go so far in the failing F2P model without hitting hard limitations and since a large percentage of gamers do not want to participate in either real life economical models or ,god forbid , virtual ones they end up fuming and spewing, well at some point ,in all socialist economies, you eventually run out of other's people money and F2P illustrates just that. Now I agree the subscription benefit is negligible but previous inception was way too indie economically and F2P and moderate P2W might be enough to save the title. Expand
  20. Sep 12, 2017
    0
    "It's literally the same game as TSW watered down to accommodate the lowest common denominator and void of just about everything that made the originals gameplay fun and unique. Gone are the cool synergies and the make your own character play style by mixing around different weapons passives, replaced with a Guild Warsish system and even more 'scales' to balance. Great!"

    "Much of the
    "It's literally the same game as TSW watered down to accommodate the lowest common denominator and void of just about everything that made the originals gameplay fun and unique. Gone are the cool synergies and the make your own character play style by mixing around different weapons passives, replaced with a Guild Warsish system and even more 'scales' to balance. Great!"

    "Much of the content has been stripped out and much of it will not be returning.

    The grind is based on exponential increases (every time you upgrade something, the next upgrade takes twice as many resources/time/money/effort)... it's so bad that it would make a Korean MMO blush. You have to level up every item by feeding it similar items, and once it hits the max level for its current quality, you have to level up an identical item to the same point and then combine them. You have to repeat this process for each quality increase. To get the highest quality item, you will have to level up 16 matching items, and to get it to max level will take approximately 70,000 items worth of experience.

    The F2P model is oppressive, and even subscribers hit arbitrary pay walls. Veterans are being asked to pay for things they've already paid for before.

    Customer service is a 3 to 4 week long wait just for them to say "you're ♥♥♥♥ed, if there is anything else we can't help you with, do not hesitate to wait another month for the same reply".

    Many aspects of the game have been completely dumbed down, such as the the new ability and skill system which has stripped away the ability to really experiment, and is no longer based on synergy.. it now based purely on "pick this skill to augment this one specific ability" and "your secondary weapon is only there to give you one extra ability and something else to grind for". They have also reduced the number of abilities you can have to six, further limiting the amount of variety of experimenting you can do.

    Even character creation has been dumbed down, with all the various customization sliders being combined into presets (you can't have *this* nose unless you also take *this* chin, cheeks, lips, and eye shape).

    Everything is monetized.

    Monsters only drop lockboxes as loot.

    Itemization is horrible. If you get an item from a dungeon chest that would be an upgrade for you, you have to spend a considerable amount of time and resources leveling that item up before you can use it without it being a downgrade. At level 50, the majority of the items you get as a reward from missions will be the exact same items you got as mission rewards at level 1.

    A character level system was added for the sole purpose of making you outlevel earlier content so that you can no longer return to the earlier parts of the game and still make progress on your character. At max level, experience requirements increase dramatically and to progress you have to grind a very limited amount of content. Everyone knows that the game's story is its strongest aspect, and the level system has made it so repeating the story gains you nothing. Be prepared to do nothing but grind a few dungeons and a few select missions once you reach a certain point."

    The above quotes best describe the current game experience.
    Expand
  21. Jul 17, 2017
    10
    just try the game out for yourself, it's free. All the 0's are just people on the hate train or disgruntled old TSW players. Some seem like they didn't play the game past 30 minutes with some of the statements they made. Or are just pissed that a F2P game has microtransactions - shocker. The only legit thing I've seen is that the customer service was bad for the first week but now it'sjust try the game out for yourself, it's free. All the 0's are just people on the hate train or disgruntled old TSW players. Some seem like they didn't play the game past 30 minutes with some of the statements they made. Or are just pissed that a F2P game has microtransactions - shocker. The only legit thing I've seen is that the customer service was bad for the first week but now it's fine and a week after launch they had a huge patch addressing 90% of the concerns of the playerbase. Expand
  22. Jul 16, 2017
    9
    meh, lot of reviews from angry vets, no surprise. I didn't care that much for it originally but the reboot is very good. Combat is way more fun, the story is great, dungeons are fun, the loot upgrade idea is cool. I'm having a blast and have ditched ESO for this.
  23. Jul 31, 2017
    10
    Obviously some angry veteran TSW players have given this reboot a undeserved low score. There was a lot of booing when the relaunch was announced. This is the developer's way of giving their beloved game a prolonged life, so they can continue to tell the story. And what a story it is, just wow, it's obvious they put a lot of heart into making it.

    I'm a new player in SWL and I think it
    Obviously some angry veteran TSW players have given this reboot a undeserved low score. There was a lot of booing when the relaunch was announced. This is the developer's way of giving their beloved game a prolonged life, so they can continue to tell the story. And what a story it is, just wow, it's obvious they put a lot of heart into making it.

    I'm a new player in SWL and I think it is a wonderful game! If you like story driven MMOs, and want to try one with a mature and modern setting, this game is for you! It's F2P! All content is F2P! (and there's a lot of content!). People who say there's pay wall everywhere is full of ****, you can play through the entire storyline and reach max level without paying a single dime. It just takes a little more time that's all. The storyline is fantastic and so is the atmosphere; creepy and dark. Brilliant voice acting and the cutscenes are very often humourous.

    I love what they did with combat, the reticule targeting is awesome and does not take long to get used to. The number of available attacks are limited though, and you have to chose your setup of active and passive abilities carefully. I sometimes wish I had one or two more available action buttons though, as I find myself wanting to use more skills than there's room for on the action bar.

    The Patron system looks fair, for 12.99$ you get one free cache key per day for opening loot caches that starts dropping when you reach lvl 15, bonus xp, bonus in-game currency when completing missions and bonus skillpoints for opening up weapons and their accompanying skills.

    Give it a try, it's free after all ;)
    Expand
  24. Oct 21, 2017
    9
    The voice acting for the various characters and atmosphere was very good and the selling points for this game. I had played the original TSW and played endgame then and recently come back to play the FTP version on steam of SWL.

    What's new - I noticed there was new tutorial that made the story make more sense at the beginning and taught you a few basics. Combat seemed similar to
    The voice acting for the various characters and atmosphere was very good and the selling points for this game. I had played the original TSW and played endgame then and recently come back to play the FTP version on steam of SWL.

    What's new - I noticed there was new tutorial that made the story make more sense at the beginning and taught you a few basics. Combat seemed similar to before but you have less hotkeys to bind skills to. They changed the skill trees for active and passive skills by removing the high number of skills from the wheel system. I also noticed that combat survival seems easier now regardless of how much you pull, big pulls by mistake used to kill you easier.

    The 3 main currencies - Aurum for real cash, Shards for selling anything to vendor and used to teleport, and MoF which you get from doing completing Challenge Quests daily and for trading on Auction House and for exchanging for Aurum.

    Overall, have been enjoying back to the game. I still think its a good game with some value. It does have an active community, I did see player characters running around in the zones I were in. They are still running holiday events. Bottomline: if you liked TSW before you'll probably still like SWL. If you didn't like TSW you still won't like it. A good value MMO that went FTP. Final Score is a 8.5.
    Expand
  25. Jan 6, 2018
    9
    One of the best MMO's out there. The quests are awesome, investigation quests in particular, and the community is super friendly. The characters you meet are excellently written. Also if you're a woman or LGBTQ person into being treated as a human being this is the MMO for you. I'm not a fan of the combat system, but the good quality of everything else makes up for it.
  26. Mar 1, 2021
    0
    'The secret world' was an awesome game until they used the cash generated from it to start a lego game that flopped. They took a lone from someone that wanted some changes (from my understanding) and one of the changes was to fresh start every one. If they are willing to do this to their loyal players base then I'm not chancing the loss of time and cash to this co. again.
  27. Mar 13, 2021
    8
    This is the one MMO i keep coming back to, as its quests, storylines, characters, music, and overall environment just stays interesting and intriguing. This game truly is one of a kind, and I applaud the studio for revamping the title, and breathing new life into it. Sure, the game has its hiccups from time to time, but it truly is unique. If you're interested in the occult, conspiracyThis is the one MMO i keep coming back to, as its quests, storylines, characters, music, and overall environment just stays interesting and intriguing. This game truly is one of a kind, and I applaud the studio for revamping the title, and breathing new life into it. Sure, the game has its hiccups from time to time, but it truly is unique. If you're interested in the occult, conspiracy theories, and spooky content in an MMO setting, please give this game a try. Good thing is you can run through the storyline solo without having to rely on other people. Expand
  28. Apr 10, 2023
    9
    This is one of the best massively multiplayer online role-playing games I ever played since senior and one of the best games that is an RPG with guns and magic combined in a modern-day setting.

    Secret World. Also known as Secret World Legends is absolutely the most addictive game I ever played for years. And I absolutely enjoyed shooting with actual guns at monsters, zombies, and some
    This is one of the best massively multiplayer online role-playing games I ever played since senior and one of the best games that is an RPG with guns and magic combined in a modern-day setting.

    Secret World. Also known as Secret World Legends is absolutely the most addictive game I ever played for years. And I absolutely enjoyed shooting with actual guns at monsters, zombies, and some other folk legends, the character creation is absolutely fun and comforting. And one of the best parts of the game is the cutscenes. Because seeing those cutscenes in missions felt like I already just bought the game. Plus most side missions are replayable too.

    The only thing that I really didn't like are the green investigation puzzle missions. Although this was supposed to make it realistic and challenging, it just ruins the fun.

    Still. I want to replay this game all over again.
    Expand
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. CD-Action
    Sep 25, 2017
    75
    I’m glad that Funcom decided to release Secret World Legends and gave me the chance to experience this unique MMORPG after I missed it 5 years ago. [09/2017, p.36]
  2. Aug 17, 2017
    80
    Writhing out of its niche, slithering, roiling tentacles endlessly grasping for the larger audience it most definitely deserves. [Issue#264, p.64]
  3. 70
    Secret World Legends simplifies and makes more accessible one of the most intriguing and captivating online worlds ever created. Unfortunately, graphics feel pretty old (which they are), and Funcom never managed to find a good balance between a story-driven experience and the MMO gameplay dynamics. Anyway, a good online action RPG that can be enjoyed with some friends.