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. Noviere
    Jul 4, 2012
    7
    TSW is all over the place -- it has so much potential, but falls short in several ways. The setting, and lore are amazing, as are the cutscenes and voice overs. The investigation missions are really fun, especially if you muddle through them without resorting to guides. Graphically, the game is a mixed bag -- the world is very immersive and creepy, and the creatures look quite good(thoughTSW is all over the place -- it has so much potential, but falls short in several ways. The setting, and lore are amazing, as are the cutscenes and voice overs. The investigation missions are really fun, especially if you muddle through them without resorting to guides. Graphically, the game is a mixed bag -- the world is very immersive and creepy, and the creatures look quite good(though are a bit repetitive). The humans on the other hand? Not so much. Faces look very weird/ugly, and most of the hair looks like Oblivion-mod stuff, all wispy alpha-map stuff that. The characters run and jump very oddly, even moreso when they have their weapon in hand. Character creation is very limited, though there is a good selection of clothing to offset this a bit. Sadly, many of the more interesting options must be purchased using real money from the cash shop(despite the fact that they charge you $15/month). There are no classes, which is a nice change, though the skill wheel is a bit overwhelming when you start. Despite the huge assortment of skills, combat boils down to spamming a resource builder, pressing 2 resource spenders, and repeating(with the occasional cool-down skill peppered throughout). Crafting seems largely useless, and there is no auction house or mail system(though apparently that's coming soon). As someone who has been following the game since it was announced years ago, and is a huge Ragnar Tornquist fan, I am a little disappointed... I was hoping to spend years playing it, but probably won't make it til the end of August. FunCom seems dedicated to improving TSW and I hope they can make this game the gem it deserves to be.… Expand
  2. jmo195
    Jul 30, 2012
    6
    Equal parts enjoyable and frustrating, but at the end of the day the questing and combat system made me move on.

    The first few hours of the Secret World are so distinct from anything else I've played in the MMORPG world that it kept my attention for a while. Unfortunately, the punishing combat system, frustrating questing and limited gear options lost my interest over time. The game    Equal parts enjoyable and frustrating, but at the end of the day the questing and combat system made me move on.

    The first few hours of the Secret World are so distinct from anything else I've played in the MMORPG world that it kept my attention for a while. Unfortunately, the punishing combat system, frustrating questing and limited gear options lost my interest over time.

    The game itself is not as open ended or "level-less" as advertised. You will follow quest chains that send you across zones, and while you do have a diverse amount of options for what weapons you invest in, the abilities are still broken down into the traditional MMO categories (tanking, damage, healing, CC and hybrid). I created three characters and did not feel I developed a competent character until my third. While you are "free" to invest in anything, if you choose not to focus on a particular skill set early on you will find it difficult to push past your current zone. So really, at least initially, you need to pick a skill set and stay with it, or you will be forced to redo quests gaining back experience to compensate for your lack of focus. This is made easier by having "decks" which you can choose from, which provide general (although not necessarily the best for early leveling) guidelines.

    The quests are intriguing, especially initially. The voice acting is fine, the writing is fine, no real complaints there. The quests can be tricky and the puzzles will often force you to use Google, unless you want to punish yourself for hours attempting to figure it out. They provide an in game browser for such purposes.

    The instances are very linear, involve little trash, and can be cleared relatively quickly. I had a few wipes here and there, but usually could clear the instances in under half an hour. They were enjoyable the first time through, but became increasingly repetitive with each subsequent run through. There was nothing really fun or dynamic about them, but nothing fundamentally flawed either.

    As for PvP, I did not try it, which is odd since I almost always play games for PvP over anything else. This is a testament to the interesting world created in TSW.

    All that said, I did not continue my subscription and I don't see myself playing TSW any longer, and here is why:

    The combat is not very fun to me. As you progress through zones, even if you chose to focus on a deck, you're likely to find yourself having to intently focus on every battle or risk death. I don't mind a challenge, but TSW makes it frustrating, not challenging. This is coupled with the frustration of the questing system, which while narrated well, has mechanics that require mundane and repetitious tasks. So, you have mobs that can take a good thirty seconds or more to kill and involve either significant kiting or downtime between fights, and quests that will send you across half the map, with hundreds of said enemies, all so you can grab something. You're basically faced with running and hoping nothing catches you, or investing a tremendous amount of time into fighting everything. Once you get there, even if you turn in the quest via the mobile turn-in, you will have to make the run back to get the rest of the quest givers' tasks.

    Also, several quests are broken. I will say that Funcom GM's have been terrific about responding and fixing problems, but they are broken nonetheless. It ruins the immersion and frankly I don't like having to petition a GM multiple times to complete a zones quests, especially since there are so few of them in a zone. While there is an open ended style to the investment of skill points, the skills themselves are starkly similar to one another and share much of the same mechanics. This makes the variety of abilities feel less diverse. Granted there are differences between each tree, but they are not distinct ability sets so much as part of a mold that is reused across all the skills. The voice acting is done well, but I do feel they used the same three actors to voice each character. That does not diminish their acting ability, but when the Templar quest giver voices are the same as the Dragon quest giver voices, it once again ruins the immersion. Also, while the story aspect is well done, I can see it becoming repetitive, especially if you plan on playing the game for months or years. Overall, TSW is a fun diversion for a couple weeks, but the ultimate failure by Funcom is that while they made an interesting world paired with intriguing game mechanics, the game does not remain fun past the first few zones. Unnecessarily tedious combat scaling and poorly designed quests sucked the fun out of it for me, and I eventually lost interest.    … Expand
  3. Falrinth
    Jul 8, 2012
    5
    Ok time for review number 2. After playing a bit longer:
    Quests and atmoshpere are nice, but the engine is so unoptimised its hard to enjoy FPS choppiness in this game's multiplayer aspects... PvP is a lagfest beyond timing controll. The particles seems to give my GPU a heart attack there. Maybe its due to 1920x1200 resolution with v-sync on, but hey... why should it not be playable on    Ok time for review number 2. After playing a bit longer:
    Quests and atmoshpere are nice, but the engine is so unoptimised its hard to enjoy FPS choppiness in this game's multiplayer aspects... PvP is a lagfest beyond timing controll. The particles seems to give my GPU a heart attack there. Maybe its due to 1920x1200 resolution with v-sync on, but hey... why should it not be playable on gaming rigs? Plenty of players uses monitors bigger than 720p native nowadays so it should be optimised for them aswell. Son in sum...
    With computer like mine:

    - 1920x1200 res with v-sync ON (to get rid of tearing)
    - gtx 480 video card (better than gtx 570 bear in mind)
    - i5 2500K 3,3Ghz overclocked to higher rates by motherboard when its stressed
    - 8 gigs of fast ram

    you will be able to play smoothly only while questing, only with advanced visuals options set to "1" (right next to "0" out of "5"), and light details totally turned off (so no shadows). Seems game is really made for 720p small resolutions and non-demanding players who are satisfied with mediocre FPS and only some pve in a game.    … Expand
  4. Seryin
    May 26, 2013
    7
    Quick Review: Probably the only mmorpg I have played after leaving WoW that does not feel like a game that copied or aspired to be something like WoW. It is just its own game.
    Pros: Excellent world, story, art and theme.
    Cons: Lame, though intuitive, combat system.
    Loses points for having a box price. Any mmo like this should be F2P, especially when there is a micro transaction store in-game.
  5. TsukasaHiiragi
    Jun 21, 2015
    5
    TL;DR 50/50 Secret World tries something new in the MMo genre and I don't think it works too well. As always, don't trust all the '10' fake reviews. I highly advise if your looking into getting a new MMo and you stumble upon this game, and this review then please, do plenty of research first before you buy into this game, and don't get any version other than the ultimate edition -TL;DR 50/50 Secret World tries something new in the MMo genre and I don't think it works too well. As always, don't trust all the '10' fake reviews. I highly advise if your looking into getting a new MMo and you stumble upon this game, and this review then please, do plenty of research first before you buy into this game, and don't get any version other than the ultimate edition - preferably on a good steam sale.

    Its an MMo you're basically going to love it, or truely hate it. My biggest problems with Secret World is that it tries something different from the traditional MMo genre and honestly, it just really doesn't work to well. So many quests are downright stupid, the player has to constantly press (B) to open up the in-game web browser and actually search for hints and solutions to quests because most just don't offer you any information at all - so that browser becomes a huge crutch through-out the entire experience. I found very few of the usual cookie cutter kill X amount of mobs, or typical fetch quests that most MMos have - The problem that secret world has, is trying something new other than the cookie cutter, and I think for most people - it doesn't make it fun. Far too many quests which try to make the player actually think, or solve complex puzzles - (one puzzle actually requires you to read the bible in RL ~ luckily the web browser can pretty much give you all the information you need to skip that)

    These issues basically create a massively steep learning curve thats exceptionally harsh without doing plenty of research first, such as what build your doing to make - any DLC your going to buy into ~ how to craft, how to allocate your skill points. Everything isn't very new player/newb friendly.

    I personally had graphical issues too, many quests especially stealth missions are so poor that most are trial and error, or again - look up that online guide how to do it. The first few stealth missions, I died constantly due to near invisible laser tripwires - seems to be an issue with nvidia cards, also the game constantly crashes each time I exit the game.

    It seems the developer also has taken a nickel and diming approach to the so-called free to play method, the item store is full of good stuff...of course if you want to pay for it, the problem here are the issue packs which are essentially the expansions, if you really want to invest time and effort into this game, then the ultimate edition is the only way to go unless you want to spend a small fortune later. Also worth mentioning is if you buy the individual packs on steam, you only get the regular versions, so if you actually wanted the cool items, costumes etc - that would cost you "double" the money. Example, I purchased the Tokyo DLC and I originally assumed that would come with the school uniform, title and gadgets but no, a 1620 point ($15) extra cost was needed on top of the $15 cost for the DLC, making the actual cost of the DLC $30 for one DLC... Each issue has its own dedicated 'collectors edition' which has all the cool items and obviously a huge price tag to match.    … Expand
  6. Dozmo
    May 2, 2013
    6
    This is a great game that many would find fun, but it wasn't for me. It looks good, and lets you freely mix and match skills. Unfortunately, aside from the occasional puzzle to shake things up, it pretty much plays like every other MMO. 1, 2, 3, 4, mob dead, next mob. For contrast, something like DDO (DDO.com) lets me, as a mage, use spells that will clear an entire room at once, with oneThis is a great game that many would find fun, but it wasn't for me. It looks good, and lets you freely mix and match skills. Unfortunately, aside from the occasional puzzle to shake things up, it pretty much plays like every other MMO. 1, 2, 3, 4, mob dead, next mob. For contrast, something like DDO (DDO.com) lets me, as a mage, use spells that will clear an entire room at once, with one spell. They give me the flexibility to have truly powerful and unique abilities something TSW simply doesn't provide, as far as I've seen. The story is interesting, the class system is interesting, but ultimately the game plays pretty much the same as every other MMO. Sad, really, considering the high hopes I had for the game after my first few hours of play.… Expand
  7. Iracundus
    Feb 2, 2014
    7
    The story and idea are intriguing. The letdown is in the grinding whether this is pvp or dungeons, or even mission grinding. In other words there is little replayability once you have gone through things the first time. Also I find it hard to believe how the secret world can remain secret for very long the way characters are flinging magical firepower around.
  8. GameMuch
    Jul 27, 2012
    7
    This game was quite the surprise for me. First of this is a game by Funcom, which doesn
  9. Vorch
    Jul 14, 2012
    7
    Not quite the best MMO so far. However, this game has an amazing foundation and depth. Funcom really redeemed themselves with this game. The quests are actually well fleshed out for the most part; however, combat needs to be polished a bit more. Though the game had a good launch, it really did not have that much stress put on their servers due to population. TSW is a game that is going toNot quite the best MMO so far. However, this game has an amazing foundation and depth. Funcom really redeemed themselves with this game. The quests are actually well fleshed out for the most part; however, combat needs to be polished a bit more. Though the game had a good launch, it really did not have that much stress put on their servers due to population. TSW is a game that is going to start out small, but grow continuously throughout it's life span. If funcom keeps the game up to date, you're going to be hearing ALOT more about TSW than you have in the past.… Expand
  10. cosay1
    Sep 12, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the game starts out good and the sense of adventure is intense you want to see whats all there the first area is fully voiced accept yourself of course the story line is fantastic but you are unfortunately limited to were you can go on your own and allot of the plots and story is in the dungeons and high difficulty zones witch are impossible to do on your own just starting out the game hasn't, been updating the main story line for the average character you have to buy missions in order to get different weapons and they have been catering to the player vs player more then the main story line itself and the story line is what makes the game so excellent but i digress the game is good in the begging and the side missions are fun but if your the type that has to see every thing in the story and how it ends i say look somewhere else cause this game will only get your hopes up and the drive them straight down.… Expand
  11. Heatsink
    Aug 2, 2012
    7
    Still rough around the edges after several patches. Core gameplay "mostly" works, as several bugged quests reportedly are fixed. Graphics bugs still are present, with problems such as the skill UI reverting to basic descriptions and random artifacts on-screen. The new auction system is buggy. Questing in some cases is still not multi-user friendly, which seems like it would be anStill rough around the edges after several patches. Core gameplay "mostly" works, as several bugged quests reportedly are fixed. Graphics bugs still are present, with problems such as the skill UI reverting to basic descriptions and random artifacts on-screen. The new auction system is buggy. Questing in some cases is still not multi-user friendly, which seems like it would be an obvious design consideration.

    The 500ish skills is somewhat misleading, as many are duplicates or just plain worthless. Blaze seems to be the most popular DPS build, which may be heading for nerfing. PvP is mostly a bad joke. Combat is highly repetitive, build resources and use finishers, with no auto-attack.

    Puzzles can be extremely difficult, but there are many walkthroughs now available for stuck players. Overall, if you can deal with the bugs, bad design decisions, and other nuisances, the game has some entertainment value at least temporarily.    … Expand
  12. czerro
    Oct 3, 2012
    7
    This is a weird game...but it is enjoyable. It really doesn't hold your hand or explain very much. Fortunately, if you have a question there is a huge community that probably already has the answer that can be quickly accessed in the ingame web browser. The graphics are above par for an MMO. A ton of care has been taken into the story telling for each individual quest. The game isThis is a weird game...but it is enjoyable. It really doesn't hold your hand or explain very much. Fortunately, if you have a question there is a huge community that probably already has the answer that can be quickly accessed in the ingame web browser. The graphics are above par for an MMO. A ton of care has been taken into the story telling for each individual quest. The game is awash in missions to complete, and you can even go back and DO THEM AGAIN after they cooldown. The frequency of updates for little tweaks is nice as well, and let's you know the developer is listening to the community. And the atmosphere...absolutely awesome. That being said, I've been playing this game for about a week...and the leveling/skilling, vendor situation is still incomprehensible to me. While the missions are fun, it's just not very clear what the strategy is for acquiring skills. It's not even clear what the skills really do until you purchase them and try them out. Even the XP system is fairly vague. After a lot of grinding to get to upper level AR skills, which had it's own issues telling me I needed the incorrect things to unlock, resulted in me spilling 9 AP (that's alot at an early level) in my first AWESOME upper level skill...to obtain something that is actually worse than a similar skill I gained right off the bat. I'm guessing it has some sort of stacking ability that can be really awesome if someone else has some other skill and buffs me...but how do I know what that skill is? How do I find someone that intentionally went for this buff or even knows that this buff will make an AR guy like me a beast and be looking for me? This is where the game really falls down. The difficulty rises pretty quickly and your skill choices become more and more costly...even though half of them seem like traps that are garbage skills. If not, the game never explained the usage. The interface is at times really cool, and others really clunky. This game is so good and so bad at the same time. I would still give it a 7. Even when I get frustrated with it, I come back to it a little later. They need to clear up the vendor system. Work a little bit harder at explaining the mechanics.… Expand
  13. abasche
    Nov 8, 2013
    6
    Pros:
    -Gorgeous graphics
    -Storyline is fun and exciting -Dynamic environments to interact with Cons: -The do-it-yourself skill/ability system sounds interesting in theory but you'll be super frustrated if you don't use a pre-designed build by the time you hit mid-game....which defeats the entire purpose and just means you have to do more work. I.e.. You want a tank? Go look up how    Pros:
    -Gorgeous graphics
    -Storyline is fun and exciting
    -Dynamic environments to interact with

    Cons:
    -The do-it-yourself skill/ability system sounds interesting in theory but you'll be super frustrated if you don't use a pre-designed build by the time you hit mid-game....which defeats the entire purpose and just means you have to do more work. I.e.. You want a tank? Go look up how to build one.
    -Crafting system makes little sense and is incredibly frustrating.
    -Auction House is bare bones (feels like it's still in Beta)    … Expand
  14. game_over
    May 26, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The secret word(tsw) has some good points-- atmosphere, original setting, story, and an interesting skill system. The story is especially engaging.

    However, Funcompetence is in place. TSW has bugs that will never be resolved, rough edges, BS un-fun quests, and the need to stop and grind to make progress in the story. Also, the game doesn't have enough new players to make it easy to find groups for new players who don't bring their own friends.

    If you are looking for a non-fantasy MMO with good story that you don't mind playing solo, then TSW may be for you    … Expand
  15. Notyourbusiness
    Aug 24, 2012
    7
    I tried the secret world. I loved the secret world. And I will NOT pay for it any longer. It has some pretty neat ideas (world, character development,some quests, etc.) but I do not like the fact that it is simply broken. If I always have to think, if I am too dumb to solve that quest or if it is broken, it spoils all the fun for me. I found myself always using the in-game browser to solveI tried the secret world. I loved the secret world. And I will NOT pay for it any longer. It has some pretty neat ideas (world, character development,some quests, etc.) but I do not like the fact that it is simply broken. If I always have to think, if I am too dumb to solve that quest or if it is broken, it spoils all the fun for me. I found myself always using the in-game browser to solve the most mediocre quests to find out where I have to go and/or if I am there, what I have to do to fix it. Best example: The Black House. Nice quest. Nice story behind it. No combat. Great. And then it is buggy midway. Yeeehaw.
    Then the leveling system. I like it. I could do whatever I want. In theory. Practically I have to predetermine a deck and use it all the way to the higher levels or I would totally suck at the second map. It is a system that should encourage curiosity. But it punishes me for it. Why?
    I would have preferred a system in which I would be able to not suck so much even at lower levels. When I got my first elite skill, I thought, yeah, now I can fight those pretty heavy monsters on even terms. Well, no. I used pistols. My elite was overpowered first, but then it lost all useability. That is not the way of an elite skill, is it? It should always be useful, but not overpowered. What is the sense of a skill wheel, if I have to use some skills which are clearly stronger than others? Why can't I just spend my skill points just as I want, without suckin early on (I put some thought in it, I did not just use random stuff. It works well at the beginning, but afterwards, I just suck, because I cannot unlock the skills I want, but the next one. And that bloody takes a freaking long time)
    I did not play it to the high end content, because the game would not let me play as I wanted it to.
    The ideas are great. I would like the skill wheel if it was properly balanced. A lot of skills are useless, but I like the idea of a lot of skills. It would be great if I was able to unlock all of them in an earlier stage. I hate the shackles this game is giving me.
    I liked the combat though. Yeah, you gotta press a button and aiming for yourself would be sooo much cooler, but hey! If I can do what I want (which I CANNOT) why not. The game crushed repeatedly on my computer, making it nearly unplayable. All in all:
    It is a beta. I would play it if it were free to play. In its current state I won't.
    If they fix all the bugs in the quests and give me my freedom I expected from this game, I will definitely come back to the secret world. Try it when it's free.    … Expand
  16. BK201
    Mar 5, 2013
    7
    Amazing game do not be fooled by the low critic review this game has a great modern day world to explore, tons of interesting quests, this game is worth the 30 dollars hands down.
  17. Wizuriel
    Aug 25, 2012
    7
    Positives: 1) The world and atmosphere is beautiful. TSW takes place in a modern setting, running with the idea that all myths are routed in truth. There are 3 main areas (Solomon Island, Egypt and Transylvania) each with 2-3 sub regions. Each zone just looks amazing and I think really captures different horror genres. 2) The system is classless and level-less. As you gain XP you unlock APPositives: 1) The world and atmosphere is beautiful. TSW takes place in a modern setting, running with the idea that all myths are routed in truth. There are 3 main areas (Solomon Island, Egypt and Transylvania) each with 2-3 sub regions. Each zone just looks amazing and I think really captures different horror genres. 2) The system is classless and level-less. As you gain XP you unlock AP to buy more abilities and SP to improve your weapons/armour. This lets you change your character on the fly provided you have enough abilities unlocked. In a dungeon and need more healing? Throw on some healing abilities. Need to do more damage damage? Change to do magic damage. Now while the system is effectively level less, areas are balanced you having a certain gear level, so there still restrictions in place on what you should be doing. 3) The game really forces you to think. There are 3 types of quests you can get
    a) Action quests, these are your standard do this or kill that
    b) Sabotage quests, go here try to avoid mobs
    c) investigation quests, like playing an old school adventure game mixed with an ARG.
    So investigation quests give you puzzles ranging from solving this encoded transmission, to solving riddles to translating Hebrew to looking up the wife of a worker off a fictional company website. To help you solve these Funcom has armed users with a browser in game. Now a few of the sabotage/investigation missions I find can be solved in a few ways, though I found a few that seemed like they required just brute force guess work.
    4) The story and NPC's are pretty interesting. Funcom wanted everything to tie together and did a good job. For instance at the start of Solomon Island you quickly learn there is a zombie problem. After doing a few missions and talking to a few NPCS (which actually say useful and relevant stuff mixed in with the fluff) you start to figure out why there are zombies and what they are being used for, There not just there to be annoying to players, Funcom actually wrote in why and how they are there.

    Now the negatives
    1) Cost. TSW is the most expensive MMO on the market. It has a full game box price, a monthly subscription (even more if your not from N America) and a cash shop (where stuff is bought PER CHARACTER not account).
    2) TSW's combat can best be described as boring and out dated. While choosing and building your decks is fun, combat itself is not. Combat in TSW uses a tabbed based targeting system with some attacks building resources and others consuming them. Most combat can be broken down to: use your builder 5 times, use a finisher for weapon one and a finisher for weapon 2., rinse and repeat. If you see a white circle, move; if you see fire on the ground, move. Personally I find the tabbed system makes all weapons feel the same, it doesn't help that a lot of animations are repeated so not only do they feel the same, they look the same.
    3) While Sabotage missions are a very cool idea, lack of real stealth abilities make some of these the most frustrating things you will ever attempt. Since there are no stealth abilities and the AI in TSW is standard MMO level of stupid (or Doom 1 like AI) Sabotage missions tend to break down to avoid all guards since they will 1 shot you, and sometimes hit the glowing yellow object to distract said guards. Personally I found the sabotage missions at the start had some interesting mechanics like stealing uniforms and causing more distractions, a lot of them just involve memorizing guards and preying you get lucky, You have to start to wonder after nameless grunt #1033 catches you and throws you in an easily escapable box why they aren't out saving the world and instead leaving it in the hands of the PCs. 4) The game has a lot of bugs. Chat breaks pretty consistently which at times leaves you with no way to communicate with users. Some missions break down from too many people trying to do them or certain mobs don't spawn making them impossible to finish. As well as the bugs there some pretty bad design decisions. For example if your watching a cutscene and a mob happens to aggro you somehow you can die in the middle of said cutscene. For non main story/investigation missions this could mean having to wait 1-3 days to resee the cutscene, for story or investigation missions this means you now need to search youtube preying that someone recorded the cutscene for you to watch. The cutscenes also give you important missions hints/clues.

    Over all I would recommend trying to TSW. The unique setting and investigation missions are a ton of fun and a breathe of fresh air in a rather stagnant (imo) market. Over all though I don't think TSW is a perfect game and has more than its fair share of problems. At times the game really seems to want to be a 3rd person action game, but had to make numerous unfortunate compromises    … Expand
  18. Teacher
    Jul 29, 2012
    5
    Sigh. The quest design is excellent, voice acting is a nice touch (but not always good), and the premise of the game is very unique. It's just not a good MMO. Every "class" feels like the same thing, making combat and progression kinda boring after a bit. The weapon system doesn't actually give as much freedom as you'd expect - it just lets you slightly change things up. There are threeSigh. The quest design is excellent, voice acting is a nice touch (but not always good), and the premise of the game is very unique. It's just not a good MMO. Every "class" feels like the same thing, making combat and progression kinda boring after a bit. The weapon system doesn't actually give as much freedom as you'd expect - it just lets you slightly change things up. There are three types of "classes" and three types of gear - you can mix and match for more of a soloing or PvP build or go straight up a DPS tree for example for instances, with only DPS gear. The only saving grace is the great quest design - other MMO's should take note. Unfortunately, it's not a great single-player game either - I'd rather play a great single-player game. I didn't experience that many bugs so I can't speak there - it ran okay, but definitely needs a decent machine to run well. PvP cues were a tad long for the first month of the game, and the PvP, well, there's not much of a point to it. The sound (not the music which was nice) drove me a bit nuts too..... After many hours of playing I just felt it wasn't worth it - I'd rather spend my gaming time playing something better. Kudos to the quest designers though - really cool stuff there.… Expand
  19. Captiosus
    Mar 3, 2013
    6
    I played during the beta but decided to wait a bit before buying into the game. I purchased the game in early January so I now have 2 months plus the beta time under my belt and I'm still torn on how I feel about the game. I believe Funcom should be commended for trying to think outside of the MMORPG box in regards to their skills and abilities system. Far too many MMOs follow a simplisticI played during the beta but decided to wait a bit before buying into the game. I purchased the game in early January so I now have 2 months plus the beta time under my belt and I'm still torn on how I feel about the game. I believe Funcom should be commended for trying to think outside of the MMORPG box in regards to their skills and abilities system. Far too many MMOs follow a simplistic model where the player makes one initial "spec" choice and everything in the future is confined to this choice. By removing the idea of numerical "levels", Funcom was able to dispense with this paradigm entirely, allowing players to earn an infinite amount of Ability and Skill Points that can be allocated in any skill. These skills are then used like a customizable card game, where the player determines which skills they prefer and must discover how various skills and passive abilities complement each other. The system can be overwhelming at first but once a new player gets the hang of it, it can be very rewarding. However, because it's still an MMO at heart, players have discovered which weapons or skills are the "best" and have already started sharing "cookie cutter" builds (called "decks") to min-max potential. The act of exploring different playstyles is negated by guilds (called "cabals") who want people to build certain decks for hard mode content and raids. Gameplay is traditional MMO fare: find a rotation and stick to it. Certain skills build points while other spend the points you build and this can be managed between both equipped weapons. In many MMOs, like Warcraft, the playerbase tends to look down on classes where you only click one or two buttons and call it a day but, thanks to the design of only allowing 7 abilities, TSW makes a 2-4 button "rotation" typical for everyone regardless of weapons chosen or deck design. Within only a few hours, the monotony of the combat system sets in. While players get beefier spells as they progress, the monotony of the design never changes. An elemental magic user, for example, might graduate from "Shock" to "Arc Flash" as a primary nuke but the rotation remains the same. Graphically the game is decent but not great. It suffers from many graphical glitches. DX11 integration is lacking and often causes performance drops even on high end systems. Character models are stiff, bland, and uninteresting while combat models and particle effects are merely passable. The world environments are amazing but suffer from texture pop in and shadow issues on both DX9 and DX11 modes. The story of The Secret World tries to pass off a dark, Lovecraftian, post-apocalyptic world full of warring secret societies but falls flat. The secret societies don't feel fleshed out enough to feel as though they're really mortal enemies, and the world doesn't feel as dark as it looks. The in game store is an unmitigated disaster, often having trouble dealing with transactions and bugging out while delivering items that are bought. In addition, the cost of these items are ridiculously high ($7 for a black trenchcoat for ONE character, for example) and is often the only way to get decent cosmetic items as the game's vendors have simple, bland, goods. All told, it can be an enjoyable game but it still retains many of the bugs that were present back in the beta, nickles and dimes players as bad as free-to-play MMOs, and doesn't do anything particularly groundbreaking. The ability and skill system is refreshing for a while but marred by the repetition of the combat and the blandness of the story and character interaction. At $29.99, it is worth playing for the casual player. For the hardcore MMO player, TSW leaves much to be desired.… Expand
  20. Bravo4
    Sep 7, 2012
    6
    Perhaps I didn't give this game enough of a chance but I simply could not get into it. The premise and concepts are right up my alley but the delivery just doesn't seem to be there. I think it does a lot of things well...but when it comes right down to it, it feels like just another MMO. The combat was fun at first but got fairly repetitive quick. The graphics, design and overallPerhaps I didn't give this game enough of a chance but I simply could not get into it. The premise and concepts are right up my alley but the delivery just doesn't seem to be there. I think it does a lot of things well...but when it comes right down to it, it feels like just another MMO. The combat was fun at first but got fairly repetitive quick. The graphics, design and overall atmosphere are definitely a plus. I was disappointed with the supposedly loads of conspiracy theory material. Most of it seemed very derived and boring and just didn't seem to make much sense in a lot of instances and I am normally a fan of this stuff. That said, I can certainly see why some people are thoroughly enjoying the game. For my part, it started off great but got stale very quickly.… Expand
  21. Warfist
    Aug 30, 2012
    5
    TSW has a few things going for it, namely it's storyline, investigation and sabotage missions and the skill wheel is a pretty nice addition (although there are many repetitive skills in there). The problem is, once you have completed the excellent storyline and missions you are left with the same old loot treadmill and absolutely terrible PvP. Combat itself lacks polish, skills often shareTSW has a few things going for it, namely it's storyline, investigation and sabotage missions and the skill wheel is a pretty nice addition (although there are many repetitive skills in there). The problem is, once you have completed the excellent storyline and missions you are left with the same old loot treadmill and absolutely terrible PvP. Combat itself lacks polish, skills often share animations and don't "blend" well, the sounds for combat are very repetitive (ex: all pistols sound exactly the same) and it lacks that visceral "feel" to it. Hopefully these are things Funcom can work on.

    Overall, you'd probably get your $50 worth from playing through the story, but in it's current state, it's just not worth paying a monthly subscription for. If it makes the change to F2P then it's definitely worth picking up.    … Expand
  22. Ticklefist
    Aug 20, 2012
    5
    I believe the "professional" critics have got this one about right. For all it does differently in the narrative department, The Secret World is still an MMO at its core. The game has all the regular genre staples such as guided progression via solo and group questing, group dungeons, and loot grinding. If you enjoy daily quests and daily quest hubs then consider The Secret World one bigI believe the "professional" critics have got this one about right. For all it does differently in the narrative department, The Secret World is still an MMO at its core. The game has all the regular genre staples such as guided progression via solo and group questing, group dungeons, and loot grinding. If you enjoy daily quests and daily quest hubs then consider The Secret World one big hub because virtually every quest is repeatable. The combat is simple enough that anyone willing to learn it can but it may not have the depth that others desire. Overall it's a decent game that's got everything people have come to expect from MMOs, both good and bad, except for the raiding. That's fine with me.… Expand
  23. darkcerb
    Jul 7, 2012
    7
    Offers a different spin on the formula that does just enough to excite this mmo old hand into writing a review. The story is both terrific and terrible in pieces some quests and environments will have you on the edge of your seat to see what's next others will have you cringing (The secret world must be a secret to a hermet living in a cave with fingers in his ears singing loudly becauseOffers a different spin on the formula that does just enough to excite this mmo old hand into writing a review. The story is both terrific and terrible in pieces some quests and environments will have you on the edge of your seat to see what's next others will have you cringing (The secret world must be a secret to a hermet living in a cave with fingers in his ears singing loudly because everyone else in game is well aware of it's existence) The combat is the standard combo point affair we all associate with rogues. Where the game really shines is it's deck system which allows you to make your own class out of a dizzying selection of weapon classes. In short if you like the trinity game play of healer, tank, dps with dungeons, pvp and end game content you'll probably love this as it does enough different to hold your interest. If you were hoping for a re-invented wheel then I'd wait until someone combines swtor's story telling teras combat and guild wars. Until then this is an excellent way to spend your time.… Expand
  24. heerobya
    Aug 3, 2012
    5
    Though the setting is new, the aesthetics are great, and there are SOME interesting ideas like the Skill Wheel - as usual for Funcom the execution doesn't live up to the expectations. Investigation Missions aren't enough to save this game from clunky combat and animations, tacked-on gear-based PvP, repetitive content, and the same "end-game" model of instanced PvP and dungeons we've seenThough the setting is new, the aesthetics are great, and there are SOME interesting ideas like the Skill Wheel - as usual for Funcom the execution doesn't live up to the expectations. Investigation Missions aren't enough to save this game from clunky combat and animations, tacked-on gear-based PvP, repetitive content, and the same "end-game" model of instanced PvP and dungeons we've seen since 2004.… Expand
  25. AgainstLazyDevs
    Aug 4, 2012
    5
    The game improves on the Theme Park model in several ways and I find the free form skill structure in the place of traditional levels and classes refreshing. However, there isn't a lot outside of that which is truly innovative. The combat and is pretty bland in comparison to Funcom's other MMO Age of Conan and the quest structure is still a pretty standard "Kill 10 Rats" despite someThe game improves on the Theme Park model in several ways and I find the free form skill structure in the place of traditional levels and classes refreshing. However, there isn't a lot outside of that which is truly innovative. The combat and is pretty bland in comparison to Funcom's other MMO Age of Conan and the quest structure is still a pretty standard "Kill 10 Rats" despite some minor improvements on the model save for Espionage and Investigation type missions where you'll spend a good deal of your time using the in game web browser to do research in order to complete some of these missions which is something I found quite tedious and unfun at times.

    TSW is certainly not a bad game but not great either.    … Expand
  26. Jaz
    Feb 23, 2013
    7
    TSW is different than most MMOs thats a fact. Some things are good, some not though. The settings, environment, sound are great, especially at first areas. But Look of characters and animations arent good. Combat is nothing special. Quests can be good or very frustrating. End game below average. PvP is bad. Zones are few and small compared to other MMOs. Overal its saving grace are theTSW is different than most MMOs thats a fact. Some things are good, some not though. The settings, environment, sound are great, especially at first areas. But Look of characters and animations arent good. Combat is nothing special. Quests can be good or very frustrating. End game below average. PvP is bad. Zones are few and small compared to other MMOs. Overal its saving grace are the 3 first areas, they are amazing and you forget the negative parts. But then the magic slowly fades. Still i d play it just for those beginning areas.… Expand
  27. JoeCool
    Jul 28, 2012
    7
    Starts out great, nice world, investigation missions are really interesting, not your, 13 a dozen typical MMO-quests, kill this, fetch that boring kinda stuff. After a while though, it becomes more and more same ole same ole. The skill wheel offers a lot of flexibility, but overall longevity is real concern with a P2P model. Still really good game for at least a while. It will see strongStarts out great, nice world, investigation missions are really interesting, not your, 13 a dozen typical MMO-quests, kill this, fetch that boring kinda stuff. After a while though, it becomes more and more same ole same ole. The skill wheel offers a lot of flexibility, but overall longevity is real concern with a P2P model. Still really good game for at least a while. It will see strong competition next month from a certain Buy To Play game that is, fortunately for TSW, situated in a Fantasy setting.
    So many 10 's are being given by new accounts. The User Rating is probably a bit too high to be close to what it really is, but whatever.    … Expand
  28. KeineEngel
    Aug 15, 2012
    5
    really disappointed with this game. This game is mediocre at best, disappointing considering the development time it took it was suppose to be free to play i guess at the last minute they decided to slap a monthly few on it but judging by the couple of hours i spent in game it will probably be free to play or bankrupt in the next couple of months. combat was very disappointing reallyreally disappointed with this game. This game is mediocre at best, disappointing considering the development time it took it was suppose to be free to play i guess at the last minute they decided to slap a monthly few on it but judging by the couple of hours i spent in game it will probably be free to play or bankrupt in the next couple of months. combat was very disappointing really boring. the visuals in this game are nice and the premise is cool but over all this game isnt worth the price or the monthly fee wish i waited for reviews before throwing money down the drain :(. save your money or wait for a sale dont buy full price… Expand
  29. AikiNoodles
    Aug 14, 2012
    6
    This is a very nice game, good gameplay and level mechanics and the whole quest system is really well set : mysteries, enigmas and stuff that will make your brain work (once in a while, that's good).
    The dark side of all this ? The PVP system.
    Two maps where you'll probably never go, a giant map where it gets boring after 20 minutes but still good for fast xp. Battles can't last for long    This is a very nice game, good gameplay and level mechanics and the whole quest system is really well set : mysteries, enigmas and stuff that will make your brain work (once in a while, that's good).
    The dark side of all this ? The PVP system.
    Two maps where you'll probably never go, a giant map where it gets boring after 20 minutes but still good for fast xp. Battles can't last for long because you'll get blown to pieces in split seconds and that's the sad part, really. A better PVP system and real good maps could give this game a 8 instead of 6 (for me). I guess this game can easily create his own fans and stand still with the arrival of GW2 but players who want some more action and epic battles will go to GW2, i can bet it.    … Expand
  30. TerrymcG
    Jun 21, 2013
    6
    Ahh, The Secret World. What a curious game. I was really looking forward to this. I enjoyed other Funcom games, like The Longest Journey and Age of Conan. The subject matter in SW is really right up my alley too; Conspiracies, horror, Lovecraftian themes and a modern day world. What could go wrong?

    Secret world does a lot of things really well. I like the look of the game. The writing    Ahh, The Secret World. What a curious game. I was really looking forward to this. I enjoyed other Funcom games, like The Longest Journey and Age of Conan. The subject matter in SW is really right up my alley too; Conspiracies, horror, Lovecraftian themes and a modern day world. What could go wrong?

    Secret world does a lot of things really well. I like the look of the game. The writing is just excellent. NPC characters are characters with a big "C". I like how you can find quests as you explore the world. The investigation and sabotage missions are a lot of fun. Secret World also tries to innovate the MMO genre by removing levels and pre-set roles. You are not stuck with being a Tank, dps or healer, if you don't want to. You can always switch later.

    But... This doesn't change the fact that you still need to have healers, dps and tanks to complete dungeons. Your level is also basically your gear. The better the gear, the higher your level is. So the question that comes to mind is: -Is this true innovation or a clever camouflage for the traditional MMO way of running things? Are they in fact just throwng things out the front door (levels, roles), and then merely sneaking said things back in, from the back door?

    While Guild Wars 2 is happy to speed things up, Secret World goes the other way around and slows things down. In other words, SW is a very time consuming game. It involves theory crafting, sitting down and trying to figure out puzzles (as you would in an adventure game) and even combat takes longer. Someof the puzzles require you to browse the web (while half a dozen hungry zombies are trying to chew on your butt). Interesting gameplay mechanics to say the least.

    While the investigation missions and sabotage missions are breath of fresh air, most of the time playing SW is about fighting mobs, a lot of mobs. While there aren't that many trash mobs inside dungeons, there are plenty outside them. The monsters tend to have a lot of hp. The areas are densly populated and the mobs usually have some sort of attack that you have to dodge. This leads to some annoying things; While dodging attacks you have a risk of aggroing more than 2 or 3 mobs and after that you are as good as dead, since they have a lot of hp.

    Combat it self feels a bit dry. The animations are nothing special and most of the attacks feel and look underwhelming. There is no stealth skill, so you can't usually sneak past the mobs either.

    The PvP..Well Im not going there.... Inventory system needs some work. Crafting is nothing special. Conspiracies and factions barely exsist. There is lack of polish almost everywhere except for the dialogue and voice acting.

    They also gave your character no voice. You can't even respond to any of the npc's. You can't interact with them. You just silently listen to their monologues.

    At the end of the day, this is another Themepark MMO, with all the shortcomings and highpoints of that genre. The endgame tends to be another gear-grind and I personally have no desire to experience that again.

    But still, the game is Buy to play. It does challenge you. It wont hold hands with you, like most other games out there. If that's your thing, then the Secret World is definetly worth cheking out.    … Expand
  31. VisceralVIcar
    Dec 30, 2012
    5
    This game was a wonderful game for the first two areas to the middle of the third area. I was surprised by the game, I liked the model of the monsters, but not the character models (no matter how much you try it seems impossible to either make a good looking female character or a tough looking male character) - they all look weird and off. The game was intriguing and fun until BlueThis game was a wonderful game for the first two areas to the middle of the third area. I was surprised by the game, I liked the model of the monsters, but not the character models (no matter how much you try it seems impossible to either make a good looking female character or a tough looking male character) - they all look weird and off. The game was intriguing and fun until Blue Mountain. The game soon became annoying. Your build begins to fall apart and even trying to take on two individuals on a mission labeled Very Easy becomes tedious and almost annoying. I can understand difficulty in a game, many of the investigation missions were fun and enjoyable until they become more of a problem than their worth. The investigation missions go from using wit, and intelligence to say "hey, this sounds like I should go to city hall to complete this quest" to "match the symbols". Mobs go from minor problems and quite fun play toys to annoying pests that make trying to walk on roads on a problem. Trying to flee will turn from an easy escape when you are overwhelmed to getting a small dose of hope before you essentially commit suicide because you know that when three regular mobs are on you... you are screwed. The Savage Coast was the most fun of the entire game I had. The mobs were diverse and fun except for the charging bug creatures. Blue mountain soon becomes cluttered and traversing an area without being attacked by any mob means you are lucky. The game has this idea that there are no level system but your level is basically determined by the quality level of your items. In the same sense that a level 1 will be devastated by a level 10 in other MMOs, a player with quality level 1 gear will be devastated by a mob designed to be attacked by a player in quality level 10 gear. I may have bashed the game severely, but do not get me wrong... I loved the game for a large portion of it and made me addicted to it. However, I have never played a game that made me so frustrated that I impulsively uninstalled the game and there have been games that have had me consider breaking my computer at the infuriating aspects.… Expand
  32. Woundheir
    Jul 17, 2013
    7
    First of all if I was going solely by game-play this would easily be a 10/10. TSW allows you to simply choose two weapons, equip your abilities from any of many skill choices for those two weapons, and choose passives labeled under any weapon. Questing is not boring like many MMOs, because you are often solving complex puzzles. You actually have to think about the game, which makes it farFirst of all if I was going solely by game-play this would easily be a 10/10. TSW allows you to simply choose two weapons, equip your abilities from any of many skill choices for those two weapons, and choose passives labeled under any weapon. Questing is not boring like many MMOs, because you are often solving complex puzzles. You actually have to think about the game, which makes it far more interesting than the standard "go here, kill this, repeat." The atmosphere is also very well designed, and pulls you into the game while leveling. It has six zones you quest through, although it does end up feeling like three zones because of how they designed the environments. (You progress through 3 sets of similar looking areas.) The story line is not only interesting, but unique in that it is modern and has more of a serious mood to it than many games. Leveling itself is unlike any MMO I have seen, because there are no real levels. You also don't need to read the story... lots of voice acting. Huge plus for me. You just keep unlocking abilities, and have the flexibility of investing points into other weapons/skills for it if you want multiple specs. Your level is basically the quality level of gear you are wearing. (Which ranges from 1-10 while leveling then 10-10.5 end game.)

    End game instances are a lot of fun the first few times you do them. They can be very challenging; especially the high end ones. However, that is somewhat ruined by the progression model for end game. Unlike questing, which is a lot of fun, end game gear progression is a slow boring grind. Instances are fun to run every once and awhile, not every day. Unfortunately to get end game gear it is necessary to run as many as you can daily, and even then it takes a long time. Gear does drop from bosses, but that is justr starter gear. The good stuff you just buy with black bullions. (They are tokens that drop off nightmare difficulty bosses.) To have any chance of clearing the high-end instances, which are challenging and fun, you need to grind out that gear first, which is a long and boring process.

    If you enjoy raiding (Instances with 10 or more players involved) then unfortunately TSW will disappoint you in that aspect. The only real raid is a single boss, that honestly is easier than a few of the nightmare mode 5-man instances. A second raid will be coming out, but it is just another 1 boss raid. There are lairs, which are fun every once and awhile. But they are not challenging at all, can be done with 5 players, and really just drop signets that you can sell to other players or use to enhance your gear.

    Finally the glitches. There are many glitches, including frequent game crashes for most video cards. Many bosses have all kinds of glitches, some areas give players massive fps drops, etc. They don't seem to be fixing them either. It gets frustrating when you need to exit and reenter the game every hour and a half to prevent crashing, just to glitch out in once of like 500 different ways. It seems to be the same with EVERY Funcom game I have ever played.

    All in all worth playing for the unique game play and fun questing, but expect frustrating glitches and a sub-par end game.    … Expand
  33. KaienShiba
    Aug 24, 2014
    6
    Story wise it is great, graphic wise a failure you basically have to constantly adjust you brightness and gamma for outdoors then when you do underground scenes, 2 yrs out and you would think they would have fixed it. Will tell you that the game is almost impossible to solo using melee, magic and shooter is somewhat easier but still labor intensive. The system requirements are higher thanStory wise it is great, graphic wise a failure you basically have to constantly adjust you brightness and gamma for outdoors then when you do underground scenes, 2 yrs out and you would think they would have fixed it. Will tell you that the game is almost impossible to solo using melee, magic and shooter is somewhat easier but still labor intensive. The system requirements are higher than they say.… Expand
  34. aezano
    Jul 13, 2012
    6
    This game has a lot to offer since amazing investigations quests a new system of doing them, great sound environment and graphics all of this would give the game a 8.5 in rating maybe 9, but the gameplay is just horrible, thats why i give it a 6 it is just dull it has no feeling at all.
    This game is not for everyone not at all my dear friends.
  35. Monte28
    Jul 12, 2012
    6
    The game has great graphics, story and dialogue is superb, and the open way of doing things is great. SO when you start the game it feels great. But it quickly loses its shine as you realize there is absolutley nothing unique about the game. You have seen all the creatures before, they are from fables when you were a kid. So really the game isn't bad, the quests can range from extremelyThe game has great graphics, story and dialogue is superb, and the open way of doing things is great. SO when you start the game it feels great. But it quickly loses its shine as you realize there is absolutley nothing unique about the game. You have seen all the creatures before, they are from fables when you were a kid. So really the game isn't bad, the quests can range from extremely boring, to very in depth and fun. Overall the game is extremely well put together with few flaws but that just doesn't save it to the fact the game is like a repeat of past mmo's. So i rate it a 6, great game and mechanics, poor originality. OH and that little thing they advertise about "no levels" is such a lie, you do have levels, you progress through the perk tree which makes you insanely stronger to people with lower perk points...so yeah there is leveling they just dont name it that… Expand
  36. Matrix344
    Jul 7, 2012
    5
    Yep another single player mmo like swtor, single player instances that don't allow party friends to enter (why the hell are those in a so called mmo?), looks like this game wants to prevent you from partying, combat is the same boring rotation with every weapon, build combos and use a finisher for each weapon, rinse and repeat , overall difficulty is hard even for starting areas, lots ofYep another single player mmo like swtor, single player instances that don't allow party friends to enter (why the hell are those in a so called mmo?), looks like this game wants to prevent you from partying, combat is the same boring rotation with every weapon, build combos and use a finisher for each weapon, rinse and repeat , overall difficulty is hard even for starting areas, lots of bugged quests, and most important you can't reset your skill/ability points at all, so if you want to change your build you have to "farm" more points to invest into the tree you wish, positive remarks for graphics (if you have a good gpu), investigation mission and the gta-like fully explorable areas.… Expand
  37. op8
    Jul 6, 2012
    6
    Ive been playing TSW for over 20 hours now and i can safely say i will not be subbing at the end of the month. It just isnt worth it for a mediocre game when there is better on its way. Combat just feels too cheap and clunky and some of the design decisions (like having to cancel quests and then later backtrack) have left a bad taste. The whole look of the game is dated and the animationsIve been playing TSW for over 20 hours now and i can safely say i will not be subbing at the end of the month. It just isnt worth it for a mediocre game when there is better on its way. Combat just feels too cheap and clunky and some of the design decisions (like having to cancel quests and then later backtrack) have left a bad taste. The whole look of the game is dated and the animations just look unpolished. It deserves a 6/10 score because it does have an intriguing setting with interesting npc's and some good (for an mmo) quests. The guys that have been giving the game perfect 10 scores and then going on to explain the faults of the game must be delusional fanboys and must be ignored if you dont want to end up wasting your money on somthing that will dissapoint. At the end of the day are you willing to spend £40 + subscription on a 6/10 game?… Expand
  38. jniebaum32
    Sep 28, 2012
    5
    I found the game fun but not worth paying for. The action gameplay style and skill based combat concept is nice but the game itself doesn't grab you by the face and draw you in. Instead it plops you down and tells you good luck follow the butterfly.
  39. drachehexe
    Oct 3, 2012
    5
    Seriously disappointed in this game. After just a few hours it's still a confusing mess to figure out. The interface is the most unintuitive in existence. The starting zone is the hardest of any MMO. The quest system is clunky and confusing. The game looks quite good, the story is excellent as well. But navigating through the interface and quests logs is more challenging than doing aSeriously disappointed in this game. After just a few hours it's still a confusing mess to figure out. The interface is the most unintuitive in existence. The starting zone is the hardest of any MMO. The quest system is clunky and confusing. The game looks quite good, the story is excellent as well. But navigating through the interface and quests logs is more challenging than doing a 25 man raid in your underwear. The learning curve is steep and I'd rather like to be able to learn how to play the game while playing the game instead of having to spend a couple of hours trying to figure the interface.… Expand
  40. vwh187
    Nov 2, 2015
    5
    Gave this MMO a few months chance based on all the positive feedback, but can't quite see why some people are raving about this game.
    It's not a particularly impressive MMO, too much reading/puzzling, and not enough action.
    Graphics are also sketchy in some parts, as are the sound quality. Decent story, I admit, but not quite enough to make this MMO work. Perhaps it should have been a    Gave this MMO a few months chance based on all the positive feedback, but can't quite see why some people are raving about this game.
    It's not a particularly impressive MMO, too much reading/puzzling, and not enough action.
    Graphics are also sketchy in some parts, as are the sound quality.
    Decent story, I admit, but not quite enough to make this MMO work. Perhaps it should have been a single player game instead?    … Expand
  41. Drevia54
    Nov 27, 2017
    6
    I loved the environment above all, it made me think too much about Lovecraft! But I also appreciated the fact of being able to change weapon and template easily. And the system of enigmas and infiltration quests was just awesome.

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.
    Read full review
  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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