The Secret World

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1304 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,029 out of 1304
  2. Mixed: 117 out of 1304
  3. Negative: 158 out of 1304
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  1. Zhiroc
    Sep 18, 2012
    3
    If I had to choose one word to describe this game, it would be "bipolar". While it has clear aspirations to be one thing, the implementation of game often seems to be quite the opposite. Starting with the story, the setting and the tone it sets, it felt like a breath of fresh air in the MMO landscape. But then it chose to give your character no voice, literally or figuratively. In all theIf I had to choose one word to describe this game, it would be "bipolar". While it has clear aspirations to be one thing, the implementation of game often seems to be quite the opposite. Starting with the story, the setting and the tone it sets, it felt like a breath of fresh air in the MMO landscape. But then it chose to give your character no voice, literally or figuratively. In all the quests and cut-scenes, there is almost no input from you, or even your character, who stands mute and emotionless during the monologues of the quest giver (or dialogues, in the few cases where the giver is more than one person). I felt less involvement and immersion with my character, than I have in most FPS games, much less one that is supposed to be an RPG. (Even the characters you play in Left4Dead have more personality.) At the end of the first chapter, I was afforded a choice, which took me aback. But even here, I felt I lacked the information I needed to make it, and afterwards, I felt little repercussions from it. Also, I found that contrary to the setting and premise, there's very little exploration of the conflict between the secret societies. For the most part, it's filled with "monster-of-the-moment" quests, with little flexibility as to achieving the goal--and after you do so, the lack of interacting with the quest giver again often feels like there is a lack of closure to the mini-story. After finishing the first chapter, looking back it just didn't feel like a cohesive and engrossing plot line--just a string of connected events. The "subterfuge" type quests promised different gameplay, and in one sense it does as you try to avoid combat, but without any stealth mechanics in the game (not even the ability to crouch behind things ala Deus Ex: HR), "sneaking around" means just staying out of aggro range. You cross open areas with enemies in plain sight, but just not close enough for them to engage. I guess they are all very nearsighted and lack glasses.... The investigation-type quests also had potential, but since this takes up a slot as your one allowed main mission, you feel "frozen" as you have it, and instead of keeping it in the back of your mind as you explore, I found myself getting very impatient with them. The game touts itself as "leveless", but it only meets that literally. You have to buy abilities with AP and some skills with SP. Tied with bonuses due to gear, this means that the game has a very definite progression, perhaps less than in some leveled systems, but still very pronounced. Plus, the ability system seems to reach "plateaus" of effectiveness, meaning that there are often huge stair-steps in your progression. Eventually, about 2/3 of the way through the first chapter, I found that I had pretty much max'ed out a build, and that to try to achieve something better would mean trashing and reformulating my build, all the while not getting any "better". Gameplay itself, while promising to be fresh, plays that way to begin, but then devolves into monotony, as with only 7 active abilities at one time there's very little tactical selection when playing solo. You end up using the same rotations over and over. As a final comment, since this game uses a subscription model, you are constantly reminded of the fun-vs-cost ratio that must be maintained for your own satisfaction. In my opinion, it doesn't come close to meeting my bar for such. If you are looking for a story experience, SW:TOR delivers far better. If you are looking for gameplay, many others are more entertaining.… Expand
  2. Jonas1976
    Jul 31, 2012
    4
    Much like StarWars: the old republic the game is more like singleplayer with benefits than a real MMO. With all the problems. The story missions are really nice for an MMO, but i wondered regularly how great the experience could have been if the developers had focused purely on this part in a standard singleplayer rpg. The MMO part on the other hand feels shallow and dilutes the story withMuch like StarWars: the old republic the game is more like singleplayer with benefits than a real MMO. With all the problems. The story missions are really nice for an MMO, but i wondered regularly how great the experience could have been if the developers had focused purely on this part in a standard singleplayer rpg. The MMO part on the other hand feels shallow and dilutes the story with unnerving grind in order to be ready for the next region. In the end, the games neither real fun as a story driven experience nor as a progress driven MMO. Two halves don´t always make a whole.… Expand
  3. Cell1e
    Jul 16, 2012
    3
    Okay people check this game out thorughly BEFORE you buy it. Watch videos on youtube about gameplay and character creation. I took a bit of a risk buying this game, it did not pay off.
    First issue for me is the CC. I think modern day mmos should have excellent chartacter creators, the one in SW is poor. The hairstyles for females are a joke, plenty of mohawks, short boy cuts and some very    Okay people check this game out thorughly BEFORE you buy it. Watch videos on youtube about gameplay and character creation. I took a bit of a risk buying this game, it did not pay off.
    First issue for me is the CC. I think modern day mmos should have excellent chartacter creators, the one in SW is poor. The hairstyles for females are a joke, plenty of mohawks, short boy cuts and some very messy looking bobs and mid length hair styles (about 3) NO LONG HAIR AT ALL. That stinks. The hair colours are weird and dont match the palette, the make-up otions are awful, two badly done ordinary blush and lip colour selections the rest of the make-up choices are horrendous tattoos and clown faces. The slider selections are limited to face selection, jaw, eye shape (not size) lip shape and nose shape. No sizing for body or face at all. ALL BODIES ARE EXACTLY SAME SIZE AND SHAPE. You get to choose some start off clothes, big thrill (NOT) Only accessory choices are glasses, no hats or any other type of accessory.
    I found the graphics appallingly clunky and chunky, it looks and feels like a game made ten years ago, no details, the clothes are the same, badly drawn and low quality textures. My husband tweaked graphics as much as he could but game is still very poor to look at.
    First taste of fighting was some ridiculous dream sequence, awful fighting mechanics, my character felt heavy and difficult to manage. So far I am nearly hating this game. It feels like a chore and I feel very badly about the money I wasted on it. Am trying to play some more to see if there are any good points. Will come back and add more if I find any.
    PLEASE PLEASE dont believe all the hype you read here, check this game out VERY carefully before you buy.    … Expand
  4. Poisonthemonkey
    Jul 4, 2012
    0
    Overhyped, and oversold. Funcom has a history of creating mediocre games, and ultimately, as an MMO, that is what The Secret World is.

    As a single player game, TSW would shine like a beacon. The decision to make it a massively multiplayer game--and one that runs off of both subscriptions and a cash shop--should strike any player as a profit-dominated choice, not a design choice. Every    Overhyped, and oversold. Funcom has a history of creating mediocre games, and ultimately, as an MMO, that is what The Secret World is.

    As a single player game, TSW would shine like a beacon. The decision to make it a massively multiplayer game--and one that runs off of both subscriptions and a cash shop--should strike any player as a profit-dominated choice, not a design choice. Every MMO aspect in this game only worsens it. So let's get down to what "it" is:

    Like Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, TSW introduces you to a "secret world", and provides a compelling setting and story in which gameplay mechanics come secondary. When it comes to the setting and story, TSW does swell. Not as well as the fanboys may want you to think, but still very nicely. The trouble comes when MMO mechanics and realities are tossed in the mix. Do you like a little "Kill 5 zombies? Great, now kill 5 zombies!"? No? That's right, nobody does. And for all it sells itself as a puzzle game, the puzzles in TSW are far and few between. At their best, the puzzles require a quick Google search (provided in-game) and a click on the very first hit. At their worst, they're completely obvious (cue bad poetry in which each of the puzzle pieces is mentioned explicitly in order: "First, the Skull..."). And then you have "kill 5 zombies" quests disguised as puzzles. Absolutely unfun, and there's a lot of this sort of fluff designed to keep you around long enough to pay $15 a month.

    Trouble is, TSW just doesn't have the content to keep anyone sticking around for a few months. Nobody finds the combat fun, and after the story is consumed, what else is left? A weakly designed crafting system? Repeating WoW-esque quests? Spending in the cash shop?

    Spend your money elsewhere. This game will go F2P fast, and Funcom is just charging you for being impatient. There are plenty of other MMORPGs coming out (most notably Guild Wars 2) which don't charge you for the privilege of wasting your time, and have something beyond a good story and setting to offer you in the long run.    … Expand
  5. lypse
    Jul 4, 2012
    2
    The theme of the game is very nice, but a few things really takes away from the enjoyment. Very few character options. But the glaring problem (for me) is that you so often have to search Google for walk-troughs to quests.. it just ruins the immersion that the game otherwise succeed to provide. Bottom line, if your not a native language is not English and/or have excellent puzzle solvingThe theme of the game is very nice, but a few things really takes away from the enjoyment. Very few character options. But the glaring problem (for me) is that you so often have to search Google for walk-troughs to quests.. it just ruins the immersion that the game otherwise succeed to provide. Bottom line, if your not a native language is not English and/or have excellent puzzle solving skills.. the game gets boring fast.… Expand
  6. raidet
    Jul 7, 2012
    2
    Far too much focus has been placed on the storytelling aspect of this game, which is, after all is said & done, a standard combat MMO. Once the story has been experienced once, it's no longer important, no? So why all the focus on this in a subscription based game we're supposed to play for years? The biggest problem as a result of this mis-focus is unsatisfying combat. Since the playerFar too much focus has been placed on the storytelling aspect of this game, which is, after all is said & done, a standard combat MMO. Once the story has been experienced once, it's no longer important, no? So why all the focus on this in a subscription based game we're supposed to play for years? The biggest problem as a result of this mis-focus is unsatisfying combat. Since the player will spend the majority of his time fighting in a game like this, it's crucial that combat be well thought through. Instead, it appears that no thought whatsoever has been given to this front & centre aspect. As a result, a child could predict that this game will fail. I've given a very low score due to the fact that I know the developers have been aware of the combat issue for a very long time now, but opted for the usual bone-idle denial rather than making corrections that could have easily made the game a success. Such roaring stupidity does not deserve mercy.… Expand
  7. Zenren
    May 17, 2015
    4
    This game had such great potential, but the designers decided to make the focus clickies, rather than actually deepening the mechanics. What started out as a strong MMO petered out to a mediocre MMO with shoddy cheap attempts at progression. Look elsewhere for a deep engrossing MMO, at least if you plan on going beyond Issue 8, because everything after 9 is focused on a very specific buildThis game had such great potential, but the designers decided to make the focus clickies, rather than actually deepening the mechanics. What started out as a strong MMO petered out to a mediocre MMO with shoddy cheap attempts at progression. Look elsewhere for a deep engrossing MMO, at least if you plan on going beyond Issue 8, because everything after 9 is focused on a very specific build to progress.… Expand
  8. Steyraus
    Jul 27, 2013
    2
    When I first heard about 'The Secret World' I thought I would have loved it, I liked the dark themes it was supposed to be based on and found the idea of exploring a Lovecraft inspired world fascinating. So I drooped my $50 down on steam and got going, it was a disappointment for the word go. Whatever the story's and plots were they made no sense to me, the combat was very plain andWhen I first heard about 'The Secret World' I thought I would have loved it, I liked the dark themes it was supposed to be based on and found the idea of exploring a Lovecraft inspired world fascinating. So I drooped my $50 down on steam and got going, it was a disappointment for the word go. Whatever the story's and plots were they made no sense to me, the combat was very plain and unsatisfying and the way the game explained how to play was very vague and didn't compel me to learn more.
    After 7 (long) hours or so I gave up on it. It was basically run from point A to B and press 1 2 or 3 a bunch of times. The tactics I've enjoyed in other MMOs weren't there and the usual thill of getting to the next character just wasn't there either. I wish this world had stayed a secret to me and I would have saved $50.    … Expand
  9. dustydervish
    Jul 4, 2013
    0
    The game, regardless of its compelling content, is crippled by its bugs and should not be played.

    A year after launch, some friendly NPCs still attack players during escort quests; this has been going on forever and has apparently been fixed before. One of the few useful Blood magic elite actives kills tanks if combined with a signet; Benediction has been a problem for a while. Many    The game, regardless of its compelling content, is crippled by its bugs and should not be played.

    A year after launch, some friendly NPCs still attack players during escort quests; this has been going on forever and has apparently been fixed before. One of the few useful Blood magic elite actives kills tanks if combined with a signet; Benediction has been a problem for a while.

    Many of the new quests that end with a cut-scene and teleport simply black out the screen and force you to reset the interface and find the continuation of the quest on your own dime. Was the main quest line supposed to teleport you elsewhere? Instead, it merely blind you, forces you to use your one teleport on long CD, and then forces you to walk to the continuation.

    Problems with PvP queues prevent the majority of players from entering the massive Fusang arena, in which all three factions were supposed to meet for epic combat; some players have waited in line for eight hours. In another arena, one faction was able to win more than 200x per hour because broken queues mean they weren't matched to enemies.

    Even disregarding the new game-breaking problems in PvP, the developers have barely lifted a finger to address major imbalances in all arenas. Nothing prevents farming of new-/lowbies. In Fusang, the bots that were introduced in an attempt to help underdogs do no such thing, especially since they vanish soon after capturing a facility; i.e. the underdog can't hold on to what they were just given. There were promises of matchmaking, but the population is certainly too small by this point.

    It's not as if the developers have been idle. They had time to cut crit and proc rates in half for Burst abilities, an unwelcome change especially for new players who used these abilities to compensate for low stats on early gear. They had time to put a one year anniversary boss in Fusang, where it can't be accessed by most due to broken queues.

    Etc., etc. The game had promise and was accompanied by a large number of promises. These and the game itself continue to be actively broken. Do not participate in this exercise in frustration.    … Expand
  10. georgoi123
    Jan 26, 2014
    4
    Great game Idea, very poor execution. The concept and setting are fascinating, but the actual game play leaves a lot to be desired. Quests are buggy in spite of 1.5 years of complaints, the difficulty is very inconsistent and there is no in-game play/build guidance of any sort. I’ve noted that players who have written some of the most used guides have quit the game out of frustration. TheGreat game Idea, very poor execution. The concept and setting are fascinating, but the actual game play leaves a lot to be desired. Quests are buggy in spite of 1.5 years of complaints, the difficulty is very inconsistent and there is no in-game play/build guidance of any sort. I’ve noted that players who have written some of the most used guides have quit the game out of frustration. The emptiness of the zones outside of endgame and start up are highly indicative of a game that causes most players to quit before they get too far. Overall, a real shame, this could have been the next great thing. Instead, its best just to leave it alone.… Expand
  11. MrBigMugs
    Dec 29, 2012
    0
    After shelling out 25 bucks for the game on steam and playing it for 30 minutes, I decided never to play the game again. It sucks that bad ! I got suckered into buying this game because of all the good reviews on here. Now I either think these people are personally insane that gave it a good rating or these are company employees posting. LOL Now after the game is supposedly free to playAfter shelling out 25 bucks for the game on steam and playing it for 30 minutes, I decided never to play the game again. It sucks that bad ! I got suckered into buying this game because of all the good reviews on here. Now I either think these people are personally insane that gave it a good rating or these are company employees posting. LOL Now after the game is supposedly free to play now with no monthly dues they still charged my credit card after I took the billing details off their website. Hands down one of the worst experiences I have had. Now I have to contest the charges on my card and all that jazz. Such a waste of time and resources for me on my end. Save yourself some time and money and DONT buy this crappy game !… Expand
  12. Orc
    Mar 11, 2013
    1
    Unlike others below, this game convinced me to give up on Funcom. It's incredibly buggy, incredibly exploited, crashes...often...Did I say that it's heavily exploited? A few minutes in the battle grounds and you will understand ;)

    What does it have? Nice graphics and character customization options...but that doesn't make a game. The battle grounds are hit and miss on whether you    Unlike others below, this game convinced me to give up on Funcom. It's incredibly buggy, incredibly exploited, crashes...often...Did I say that it's heavily exploited? A few minutes in the battle grounds and you will understand ;)

    What does it have? Nice graphics and character customization options...but that doesn't make a game. The battle grounds are hit and miss on whether you will enjoy them, or fall asleep. As I learned, falling asleep with your head on the keyboard will get you banned...roflmao. Other games solved that problem eons ago.

    Issues after months of "fixes":

    Dragging items in your inventory takes a graduate degree. It's perhaps the sloppiest code ever written. The possible results range from it moves where you wanted it, it moves somewhere completely different. the game tries to (or succeeds) at destroying it, or (for consumables) sorry sucker you just drank it.

    It's also a massive grind fest. In standard Funcom tradition, they are incapable of either creating in-depth content, or scaling the availability to their desired investment...you will grind and grind, and grind. But don't worry, almost every quest is repeatable (brings back memories of Age of Conan back). Yes, you will need to repeat them...forever. Good luck on new content. They fired most of their programmers months ago.

    As for the story. Nice idea, very badly implemented. Despite a plethora of cut scenes, they just did a poor job of developing their story. It was a great disappointment after Age of Conan's beautiful lead in (AoC died late in the leveling scale but at least made it through a few levels of play prior to that).

    Ah yes, let's not forget that this is really AoC with a new skin. Yes kiddies, its the same crappy resource hungy, unstable, gaming engine. Indeed some of the oldest bugs are still there. Just crank up the details and especially the shadow details, and you will see large patches of the world that don't quite work right. Indeed, even on low settings, I found an entire region that became unstable (as in most of it disappeared and I was left staring at the subterrain) during one of the quests.

    Can it be enjoyable. Yes. Can you have fun? Yes. Is it worthwhile to play given the many alternatives? Given a choice between TSW and WoW, I would go read a book, watch a movie, or perhaps watch the birds as they fly past my house going where ever birds go this time of year.

    Other issues,    … Expand
  13. babylon
    Oct 31, 2013
    0
    The scores of 10 have to have been written by what was left of the Funcom staff before they all got fired, as there is no way this game should score more than a 5 pity vote. The combat is the worst thing about this game, it's full of bugs which never get fixed (and are built into the Dreamworld Engine since Anarchy Online days and will never be fixed, because lazy devs). Now they've allThe scores of 10 have to have been written by what was left of the Funcom staff before they all got fired, as there is no way this game should score more than a 5 pity vote. The combat is the worst thing about this game, it's full of bugs which never get fixed (and are built into the Dreamworld Engine since Anarchy Online days and will never be fixed, because lazy devs). Now they've all been fired (and rightly so) there is no way this game will be anything more than on life support. GG Funcom for another disaster. Giving a 0 for balance with all the lying 10s written by staff under threat of the chopping block.… Expand
  14. Kracket
    Apr 14, 2013
    4
    The combat in this game is quite possibly the worst experience you could have in a game. If you are looking to buy this game for it's combat, buy something else. The environments and detective quests are surprisingly enjoyable, but still I always find myself asking the same question; why couldn't they have put more effort into the combat? In my honest opinion, there are better games toThe combat in this game is quite possibly the worst experience you could have in a game. If you are looking to buy this game for it's combat, buy something else. The environments and detective quests are surprisingly enjoyable, but still I always find myself asking the same question; why couldn't they have put more effort into the combat? In my honest opinion, there are better games to waste your time on.… Expand
  15. wardenwells
    Jan 2, 2013
    3
    I didn't expect much from this game, and that's what I got. Stiff animations, boring story, and cooldowns on shotguns? Really? TSW tries, but fails to entertain me. A game can't survive on cut scenes and dull combat.
  16. darthgumby
    Jan 5, 2013
    3
    This game definitely is different in all the right ways, but the same in all the wrong ways to other MMORPGs out there. The mobs in this game are repetitive and annoying. While you do get different weapons and equipment than a standard MMO, it plays out the same. So you get a book instead of a staff or a gun instead of a bow, but you're still mashing the same attacks and doing the sameThis game definitely is different in all the right ways, but the same in all the wrong ways to other MMORPGs out there. The mobs in this game are repetitive and annoying. While you do get different weapons and equipment than a standard MMO, it plays out the same. So you get a book instead of a staff or a gun instead of a bow, but you're still mashing the same attacks and doing the same damage. The UI is not intuitive is hard to customize and there are still quite a few glitches in the game. The community is hard to get involved with. One thing I hate about this game is the zones. Everyone is segregated into whatever zone they are in at the time, and it really makes it hard to have any lasting friendships made in-game and social aspects are not there like in other games. Zones can take hours to go through and have many quests, but once you move on, odds are you won't want to go back.

    I did like the story, and the cut scenes, and the voice overs and the environments. But I could get much better stories, cut scenes, voice overs, and environments playing a solo RPG. The reason I wanted an MMORPG was so I could have social interaction. Since I didn't feel this community in The Secret World, the game boils down to a lackluster and glitchy low-end RPG game with mechanics that do not do well for solo play.    … Expand
  17. ensum
    Mar 16, 2013
    1
    Bugs.
    More bugs.
    Horrible controls.
    Boring story.
    Very limited BGM (Background Music) variety.
    Too much grinding.
    Way too much grinding.
    Crapiest PVP system on earth. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
  18. Innocente
    Aug 20, 2012
    2
    The basic concept of TSW is very good, an 'Adventure' style MMO. However, the actual implementation of the game leaves much to be desired.

    * This is another released 'Beta' game. I am thinking it really needed another 6 to 12 months of content development, beta testing, bug fixing, and polishing. * To few zones, and the zones are VERY small, with grinding the same content repeatedly    The basic concept of TSW is very good, an 'Adventure' style MMO. However, the actual implementation of the game leaves much to be desired.

    * This is another released 'Beta' game. I am thinking it really needed another 6 to 12 months of content development, beta testing, bug fixing, and polishing.

    * To few zones, and the zones are VERY small, with grinding the same content repeatedly (almost all the Main and Side quests are 'dailies') needed to actually build a character.

    * Quest model where you can only have 1 Main / 3 Side / 1 Dungeon / 1 Story is, in my opinion, just a mechanic to drag out the time needed to play a zone. One should note that even though when you complete a quest, you (sometimes) get the completion reward on-the-spot via mail type mechanic, you STILL need to go back and pickup a new quest anyway. 95% or more of your 'game' time will be spent running from point to point.

    * Really not much choice in progression. Choose a weapon, grind all the SP/AP to build that weapon. Rinse and Repeat. More grinding. There really is no choice, other than what weapon to start on first. Eventually, you do get some extra skills, and have to select what to go on your hotbar, but that selection is pretty straight forward depending on what you are going to be doing, Tank/Heal/DPS.

    * Yes, this is yet another 'Holy Trinity' game. So tired of this model. Really.

    * Yet another Single Player MMO. Every incentive NOT to play with other players, except in dungeons/Raids. Same old, same old.

    * Gameplay is laggy, buggy, and not very smooth. Glowy quest items often do not work.

    * So tired of the !/? Quest model. Time for it to go.

    * Overall, I see TSW as a thinly disguised WOW clone. Not worth the $50 box price, and
    certainly not worth a $15/mo subscription.

    * Box Purchase AND $15 Month Sub AND Cash Shop == Fail

    Give it a try, if you have the extra $50 to spare. But, just be aware that this game is really in an advanced Beta state, and that it is a grinder. Nothing new to see here.

    P.S. Even though ALL the cut-scenes show what most folks would consider to be standard, slow moving zombies, the zombies in TSW game itself are the fastest dang zombies I have ever seen.

    Note: This is my review that I posted on Amazon, should it look familiar.    … Expand
  19. Willowimp
    Jul 21, 2012
    1
    If I could sum up the game in one word it would be "cheap". The game looks and plays like a indie project that didn't have the resources to make a decent quality game. It has a good story and the quests are fun at times, but it also has plenty of bugs and glitches which ruin the immersion of the game.

    Don't be be fooled by all the spamming user reviews that give this game a 10 out of    If I could sum up the game in one word it would be "cheap". The game looks and plays like a indie project that didn't have the resources to make a decent quality game. It has a good story and the quests are fun at times, but it also has plenty of bugs and glitches which ruin the immersion of the game.

    Don't be be fooled by all the spamming user reviews that give this game a 10 out of 10. It's just some lame kid hired by FunCom to inflate the meta scores of this game. They are desperate at this point because they know everyone that pre-ordered this game are incredibly disappointed.

    By the end of summer, this game will be the The Lonely World.    … Expand
  20. Aurochwings
    Aug 15, 2012
    3
    A lovely concept pretty much spoiled by terrible planning and execution. I gave this game a while, I really did, from beta testing to release and a month after. It's a slap in the face to all of us how many bugs we've reported that have taken so long to fix, how long they've left known issues unannounced, and how little attention they've given the support of supposedly supported graphicsA lovely concept pretty much spoiled by terrible planning and execution. I gave this game a while, I really did, from beta testing to release and a month after. It's a slap in the face to all of us how many bugs we've reported that have taken so long to fix, how long they've left known issues unannounced, and how little attention they've given the support of supposedly supported graphics cards. Inconsistant design elements, such as a single quest sometimes counting goals for the group and others demanding each individual carry them out, are constant immersion-breakers. The beta of this game was actually quite a lot better than the release version, sadly. The simple beauty of the basic world design is spoiled by so many filters, you'd think they were made of pure cowbell. Turn one way or another in the game world and things could turn green, or blue, or black and white, or distorted. Everything, it seems, can be improved with MOAR FILTERS!!! Hokey fight sounds, grunts and screams, are cringe-worthy in the somber Lovecraftian setting. They also fly in the face of a choice not to voice the main character, supposedly to let the user define their reactions. Finicky, frustrating movement puzzles are made tedious by bugs and terrain design problems, and a mistaken idea that people enjoy attempting the same jumps over and over because a minute reflex deficit or an FPS drop-- far too common in this game-- sent them back to the beginning. Just to make sure it isn't something that might become relaxed and fun, there are timers, yay! Tedium and tension seem to be the goal. The worst choice, however, was the one to make so many puzzles environmentally dependant while failing to properly gate simultaneous action. Many proximity triggers-- which are annoyingly routine in the game-- will fail if two people walk up to them simultaneously, which in an MMO, happens a LOT. No matter how many times we point that out, they don't change. This kind of group-busting activity happens too often in the game, sometimes even splitting groups off into solo instances mid-quest. It's very frustrating for people who use MMOs to spend extra time with friends.

    I want this game to succeed, but I want it to be fixed first. I think adding new content without fixing the problems is a slap in the face to everybody who supports this game and endures the problems. They need to get their act together before I can give them a good score.

    3 points for good writing and some good characters-- when you can actually see the animations smoothly, when their faces move properly, and they aren't bugged by being rendered live rather than being rendered beforehand as proper cutscenes. Very sad that the anatomy and general appearance of the so-called 'cinematic' cutscenes is so grossly off the mark, considering their extensive use of motion capture. All in all, give it a miss until they clean up their act.    … Expand
  21. Jingo
    Nov 6, 2012
    4
    I was really excited about TSW. It seemed to offer heaps of innovation. I pre-ordered it, and only played for a week, didn't renew my subscription. Very disappointed. The setting, theme etc are really different. It has story, voice acting etc. Great stuff and well done for that. More MMOs should be like it. BUT, the game is dull. You spend ages just running around, unable to interact withI was really excited about TSW. It seemed to offer heaps of innovation. I pre-ordered it, and only played for a week, didn't renew my subscription. Very disappointed. The setting, theme etc are really different. It has story, voice acting etc. Great stuff and well done for that. More MMOs should be like it. BUT, the game is dull. You spend ages just running around, unable to interact with the world around you (especially the bicycles lying around which would really speed things up if you were allowed to click on them!). The combat is extremely repetitive and old-fashioned. Just mash the same button over and over again, against the same-looking set of zombies over and over again. It's like SWTOR, story and character, but the gameplay is stuck in the bad part of 2003.… Expand
  22. bdog011
    Oct 29, 2012
    1
    I created an account just so that I can provide my opinion of this game. I purchased this game when it launched on steam (after the initial launch) and was very disapointed with my purchase. The game was still lacking in the polish department which was unacceptible for the price paid. Text dissapearing from character names and logs, poor font visibility, and insanely poor combatI created an account just so that I can provide my opinion of this game. I purchased this game when it launched on steam (after the initial launch) and was very disapointed with my purchase. The game was still lacking in the polish department which was unacceptible for the price paid. Text dissapearing from character names and logs, poor font visibility, and insanely poor combat animations are all things that should have been fixed before this game came out. People should not pay retail for a company to actually finish their game. I have played many MMO's over the ages, (DAoC, WoW, UO, Tera, LoTRO, GW2, etc) and trust me this is an MMO to avoid... I gave this a three due to good ideas and decent atmosphere but overall this game is a mess. Further, I honestly think NoFuncom is paying people to Lie in here...… Expand
  23. sterlingwriter
    Jul 21, 2012
    0
    There's something very strange about the user reviews here for The Secret World. Almost all of the positive 9's and 10's were left by people with only one review: TSW. Not only that, but when I read these reviews, I can't help but wonder what game these people are playing, because TSW is not NEARLY as good as they are making it out to be. I was in the closed beta, and have beenThere's something very strange about the user reviews here for The Secret World. Almost all of the positive 9's and 10's were left by people with only one review: TSW. Not only that, but when I read these reviews, I can't help but wonder what game these people are playing, because TSW is not NEARLY as good as they are making it out to be. I was in the closed beta, and have been following this game for years, and I am completely disappointed by it. While the modern setting is cool, the story fails at being realistic at all. This is the SECRET World, not the OBVIOUS World. For example, when starting the Illuminati quest, you eventually are led to this building where it is obvious the base has to be inside, with hands pointing the way to your end goal. Then, when you get there, the Illuminati are wearing... Illuminati uniforms... Where are they getting this stuff made without exposing themselves? How has normal society NOT discovered their barely hidden base entrance? And characters are running around with their weapons on their backs, in modern day, not hidden -- the fact that no one is being noticed by the police further wrecks my immersion. The quests feel very single player, and if you have to gather items, prepare to compete with everyone around you to pick up the items (that have a terribly slow respawn rate, too). The graphics are very outdated. I found myself staring at the doctor's misshapen arm while he talked, and couldn't pay attention to what he was saying because he looked so terrible. If this game was 10 years ago, the graphics would be acceptable. Character customization is limited and bland, and while there are no "levels" or "classes" advancement is still done with XP and you choose your specialty weapon (which defines your abilities like a class). Most of those weapons are terrible, unless you pick something melee. Combat is terrible, clunky and slow, and absolutely not fun. Don't bother trying to play a ranged class, because enemies run up on you faster than Left4Dead (hence why you need to pick a melee weapon from the start). I've also experienced random bugs, such as getting stuck in a doorway, and having to log off to get unstuck. Do not be fooled by all these good reviews on here about this game -- it's currently unpolished, unfun, and a great disappointment that isn't showing any signs of getting better. I expect whoever has been leaving these false reviews is going to thumbs down mine, but I have to get the word out anyway. It's very possible this game will go F2P like most other Funcom titles, and when it does, that would be a nice risk-free way to give it a try.… Expand
  24. aleksandyr
    Oct 11, 2012
    0
    Extremely inconsistent game; poor balance between "classes" (your class is, more or less, the two weapons you're using) leading to a small number of flavor-of-the-month builds; constant exploitation and bugs; questionable endgame involving extremely repetitive farming.
  25. Shift
    Jul 12, 2012
    2
    The Secret World is an MMO set in a modern day atmosphere utilizing myths, folklore, and old school legends. You see them come to life as you explore and adventure through all of its environments. What may be the most detrimental feature in The Secret World is that the game does not feel like an MMO at all. Instead, the game focuses on its single player experience with elaborate cut scenesThe Secret World is an MMO set in a modern day atmosphere utilizing myths, folklore, and old school legends. You see them come to life as you explore and adventure through all of its environments. What may be the most detrimental feature in The Secret World is that the game does not feel like an MMO at all. Instead, the game focuses on its single player experience with elaborate cut scenes and character interaction. The game does a spectacular job at making you feel like a part of the world. However, the writing in general can be entirely too obnoxious. There are times you would rather skip the cut scenes explaining your mission to move on. Moreover, your character doesn't actually speak or offer any responses. You simply watch an NPC talk for anywhere on average 5 minutes. You feel no connection to your character.

    After acquiring your missions, you are to complete typical menial tasks involving "gather 10 of these" or "kill 10 of these" to complete your mission. The combat is uninventive and lack luster despite having so many choices in weaponry. Animations are mostly horrid and rather out dated. There are some times you don't even know if your skill was performed. Combat doesn't make you feel like you're actually hitting something and gets old really fast. Your skills are determined by your weapons, a la Guild Wars 2, which then determine your "class." The "no classes" feature of the game is hidden by that facet as once you start equipping different weapons you clearly start seeing the specific rolls between them.

    What The Secret World does well is its presentation in atmosphere. There are times that you will look at your surroundings in awe because of the wonderful graphics. It's disappointing that Funcom could not maintain top notch graphics across the board. Character modeling seems to be graphically the worst looking in the game with a Grand Theft Auto 4 resemblance. Even during cutscenes, characters perform unusual and unrealistic movements. The attention to detail seems to only be focused on the environment and your surroundings.

    Outside of investigations, you have your typical quests where you are to perform a list of actions from an NPC (questgiver). These are the repetitive "grindy" quests you learn to love or hate. PVP doesn't offer anything new and is a big disappointment - partly due to the terrible combat system and mostly hindered by the lag. Character creation is an extreme disappointment. Players aren't given many choices for actual character features but are provided with a large amount of attire to adorn your character with. This makes the game seem more like a "dress up barbie" feel where everyone looks the same feature wise with different clothing.

    One of the biggest "differences" Funcom announces is that they offer no levels in the game. Players are given a giant wheel to allocate their skill points. It's a clever mask to the level system and in actuality is just another way to set your talents as you secretly level up. The only difference is that you can max everything out, if you so choose and if you play enough. The player is responsible for doing their research before making a selection in skill points. If you make an incorrect decision, you're forced to live with it through the rest of your character. There is no option for a reset or "re spec" which is quite daunting.

    Dungeons you ask? End game? The developer and its users claim that the moment you create your character, you're playing end game. There really is no "end game" per say and true raiding. There are dungeons but those are few and far between. Funcom promises that there will be more dungeon content added in the future. With its current stage in content, after completing your investigations you're left with daily repetitive quests and that's about it. PVP isn't worth the time and crafting in the game is just there for busy work with no reward.

    Funcom is right saying that this game is a unique experience in an "MMO." Quite simply, don't be deceived by the genre that is labeled on this game. This is not an MMO. This is a single player game labeled as an MMO to somehow justify their $15/month commitment on top of the $50 product. There are no standard features in this game most MMO's offer such as a looking for dungeon tool, respeccing, or even any relevant or rewarding crafting. The intention of the developers is to have one character that experiences all the content which leaves no viability for alts; thus, this gives the game a "one time play through," much like a single player game. Overall, the game is a 2/10. If the price were to drop substantially, the game might be worth checking out for the free month. The single player is some what worth the experience but, beyond the first month, there is no justification for a subscription to this game. It simply lacks any multiplayer functionality beyond a guild (cabal) and chat system.    … Expand
  26. Xehlwan
    Aug 12, 2012
    4
    The Secret World is an amazing mmo, with unique style setting it apart from all others. Unfortunately it is dragged down by technical issues and the worst tech support seen on the mmo-market.

    Let's start with the good parts: The Secret World is the first mmo in a long time that wants you to think. It takes place in a mock version of our own world and time, where monsters and    The Secret World is an amazing mmo, with unique style setting it apart from all others. Unfortunately it is dragged down by technical issues and the worst tech support seen on the mmo-market.

    Let's start with the good parts: The Secret World is the first mmo in a long time that wants you to think. It takes place in a mock version of our own world and time, where monsters and conspiracies are real but hidden from regular people. It takes inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King in fabricating a world of horrors, and dumping you in the middle of it.

    Pay attention to the details, because they are masterfully crafted. Every character, monster, or even piece of decor has a good reason for being where it is. Similarities to the real world shouldn't be ignored, because this game flirts heavily with Alternate Reality Games. If you find a business card in-game, you will find the company's website on the real net. Many quests requires you to browse these websites for answers, or ask you to use real skills, like history, religion or even Morse code in order to solve them.

    And beneath it all lies hints to a story that keeps growing every month.

    Game play is class-less, with a system of unlocking skills that theoretically allows you to learn every skill in the game. Skills only scale in power depending on you equipment, and unlocking new skills offers more flexibility instead of power. At any time, you have a small sub-set of skills "equipped", and can swap them out at will. Much like a good trading card game, it all boils down to finding unique and powerful combinations, or "decks", of skills.

    This system of advancement works well, and as you progress, you will need to keep optimizing your skill-set to stand a chance against more difficult enemies.

    The game play, story and setting are all masterfully done, so what stops it from getting a top score?

    The bugs. All mmo-games have bugs, especially at launch, but The Secret World is a top offender. Broken quests (in a story-driven game), unreliable chat-system, non-functioning skill-management, often bad performance, and a lot more. What makes things worse is that after more than a month since launch, only a small handful of bugs are really fixed. Communication is almost non-existent, and players have no idea if it will take days, weeks, or even months to fix core mechanics of the game.

    The tech support is no help either. Every question you ask will be met by a wall of apologies and sympathies, but no real help is ever provided. GMs do not communicate with each other, and the ticket system can have you bounced between a dozen different GMs, all giving wildly different answers, or asking for information that has been provided several times before.

    It is not uncommon to see tech support giving answers that completely ignore the actual issue you are having.

    The final verdict is that The Secret World could be a great game, but isn't yet. If you are very tolerant of technical issues in games, it may be worth it to take a gamble at this game. For everybody else, I recommend you wait and see what happens. If Funcom gives The Secret World the treatment it deserves, all serious issues will be fixed in a few months, and you can enjoy one of the best mmo-games ever to be released.    … Expand
  27. badvb
    Jul 27, 2012
    0
    The game doesn't do anything well and copied many bad ideas of past MMOs. The only positive feature is the modern day setting but because it is cosmetic it adds no value to game play. Poor features include: 1) combat animations and abilities need a massive overhaul because combat is boring and the abilities are boring and not balanced well against one another. 2) Player-versus-player (PvP)The game doesn't do anything well and copied many bad ideas of past MMOs. The only positive feature is the modern day setting but because it is cosmetic it adds no value to game play. Poor features include: 1) combat animations and abilities need a massive overhaul because combat is boring and the abilities are boring and not balanced well against one another. 2) Player-versus-player (PvP) needs to be redone, factions have massive population imbalances but PvP is ignored by players due to such poor PvP mini games and also my first point. 3) The story needs a lot of work as whomever wrote the cut-scenes just copied everything from someplace else, TV, movies, books, internet meme, etc. hire a writer. The story often has nothing to do with the quest objectives either. 4) BUGz of the UI, quests, chat, and other random annoyances that are far more common than in other MMOs. 5) Small for an MMO, only 8 combat areas and only 3 regions so geographic and monster diversity is small. 6) To much emphasis on the single player experience, are fewer group instances than recent MMOs and much less group content outside of the instances. This MMO is going to need so much work to salvage and even then it may end up average, I have doubts as to how much post release work will be put into the game. More content was promised but much of the work was done before release. The overhauls to game systems such as combat, PvP, and social features or raid areas must come in a timely fashion.… Expand
  28. MonkofMajere
    Jul 8, 2012
    2
    I went into the Secret World wanting to like the game. Since the game was announced a few years ago, I have followed it's development, curious to see where the game would be taken. After playing it for the first time during the game's beta, I was excited to see what the game had to offer. I was not impressed. The story was interesting, but the game itself just doesn't hold up to a modernI went into the Secret World wanting to like the game. Since the game was announced a few years ago, I have followed it's development, curious to see where the game would be taken. After playing it for the first time during the game's beta, I was excited to see what the game had to offer. I was not impressed. The story was interesting, but the game itself just doesn't hold up to a modern standard. The game's story is somewhat interesting, but the combat mechanics did not hold my attention enough for me to get very far in the beta. At it's release just a few days ago, I tried again. I really did want to like the game, and I was able to excuse some of the previous flaws I had seen based on the fact that I had been playing a beta. But the same weak combat just could not hold my attention. The game was very ambitious, but when it comes down to it, The Secret World doesn't have enough to offer in today's MMO saturated market.… Expand
  29. Frostphoenyx
    Jul 13, 2012
    0
    + Great universe
    + Interesting quests

    - Awful animations
    - Bad character customization
    - Character leveling DOES exist
    - Zombies again and again....
  30. Fallenlords
    Feb 12, 2013
    3
    This is not a good game by any stretches of the imagination. It has appeal, but it's very limited and very niche. Your average MMO player I don't think will see much in this game at all or get much out of this game. I personally find everything about the game annoying, from the bad combat to the abysmal voice acting. Playing recently again, the first time since beta, it felt likeThis is not a good game by any stretches of the imagination. It has appeal, but it's very limited and very niche. Your average MMO player I don't think will see much in this game at all or get much out of this game. I personally find everything about the game annoying, from the bad combat to the abysmal voice acting. Playing recently again, the first time since beta, it felt like self-flagellation I have to be honest. I enjoyed nothing about the game. To be honest I think there has been somewhat of a campaign on here to bump up the user score after Funcom blamed this site for it's initial poor sales. In general some people may like this game, but it's not a gamers game its a below average third rate MMO.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
29
#29 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 55 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 55
  3. Negative: 1 out of 55
  1. Armchair Empire
    Oct 22, 2013
    90
    The Secret World delivers an MMO experience that's distinctly different from its competitors, and it's likely going to remain the standard for future games in the horror/supernatural genre.
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  2. GameStar
    Dec 17, 2012
    81
    I am really looking forward to the next mission, the next dialog, the next puzzle. As in a solo role-playing game flat. And this is not an error but a boon.
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  3. 4P.de
    Sep 18, 2012
    76
    I like the open character development where I don't have to wear a class straitjacket as well as the quiet discovery of mysterious dangers. But more often that it wants to, The Secret World is "just" an ordinary MMO.
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