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. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. Vaelen
    Aug 22, 2012
    10
    Finally, a game that does not treat it`s player base as dumb monkeys, a more mature player base and most important, a monthly update to content. I do not think any other game out there does this.

    Yes, it does have its small errors as in minor bugs and some other nuisances, but such is every MMO out there, especially those that were just released. And if you can look past those, and just    Finally, a game that does not treat it`s player base as dumb monkeys, a more mature player base and most important, a monthly update to content. I do not think any other game out there does this.

    Yes, it does have its small errors as in minor bugs and some other nuisances, but such is every MMO out there, especially those that were just released. And if you can look past those, and just enjoy the gameplay until they get fixed, you will have a ton of fun and joy in TSW.

    Some complain that it    … Expand
  8. 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
  9. SenshudoTV
    Oct 16, 2013
    9
    The game hasn’t released without some bugs.

    I have seen some reviewers bash on the fact only three or four main areas have been described. However, this leaves plenty of room for expansion. Maine (traditional home of Cthuhlu mythos), Egypt, and Transylvania are detailed in multiple zones each. This leaves so many other places available. Another person has reviewed the game and said    The game hasn’t released without some bugs.

    I have seen some reviewers bash on the fact only three or four main areas have been described. However, this leaves plenty of room for expansion. Maine (traditional home of Cthuhlu mythos), Egypt, and Transylvania are detailed in multiple zones each. This leaves so many other places available.

    Another person has reviewed the game and said the 3-3-3 tiered system of melee, ranged, and magic looks limited. This, though, is another area of expansion potential. Martial arts and weapons, ranged weapons like submachine guns, and other arenas of magic can all be added down the line, expanding the game.    … Expand
  10. SIPPIO
    Feb 16, 2016
    10
    HELPING THE UNDECIDED = DEICDE
    --Take 5 seconds and click my name for proof that I review ALL games I play. pos & neg.
    ---I'm BRAND NEW to PC GAMING(again) after a 8 year hiatus. -Saw this on Steam Sale for $12 and the story setting of Cryptozoological,paranormal,divine, illumintai,Templars & Dragon(evil bad faction) --This idea had me excited and I dove in without knowing what to    HELPING THE UNDECIDED = DEICDE
    --Take 5 seconds and click my name for proof that I review ALL games I play. pos & neg.
    ---I'm BRAND NEW to PC GAMING(again) after a 8 year hiatus.

    -Saw this on Steam Sale for $12 and the story setting of Cryptozoological,paranormal,divine,
    illumintai,Templars & Dragon(evil bad faction)
    --This idea had me excited and I dove in without knowing what to expect..
    3 days later(today) I paid the $15 monthly to be a member because I expect to play it ALOT this month..
    -I played all 3 sessions SOLO so far.
    -I choose my faction & everything on my own as the game is VERY noob friendly..
    -I leveled quite quickly and I finally hit enemies that killed me. some sea monster baddies..
    --You pick TWO powers out of 9.
    3 guns,3 melee,3 magical
    I went with Shotgun & Electricity magic(forget name of magic)
    ---I spent a hour testing ALL the powers and weapons. as the arean was set up perfect for testing.
    they have the picture of said weapon, you click it & now its equipped. no add-dropping or equipping..all auto..awesome!!!
    --Almost picked Handguns(two pistols) and almost selected sword & blood magic & healer magic...
    --Faction--I selected the illuminati...
    each faction has a sweet intro video explaining what they are. watch them b4 you decide=I DID AND THE ILLUMINATI seem to be the A-Moral-out for self NEUTRAL faction...
    Knights Templar is the heroic good guys & the other "Dragon" are chaotic evil.. I went Neutral..
    --and I suspect the 1st missions are for every class & faction. stop zombies in some middle America Twin Peaks type of middle American suburbia town with a 1% minority %. just a observation of town type. probably coulda worded that better(don't be offended by it)

    -----Combat--I felt IN-CONTROL. All other MMO's I feel nervous in early game. but I had confidence early..
    --Graphics-pretty good BUT not gonna make any magazines under graphics..i have every setting on MAX.
    my PC is brand new but middle tier with a 750 card & i5 with 8gb ram. SO most people can enjoy jacked settings if I can..i suffered -0- lag. I thought id have to turn off something or lower resolution but I didn't..

    --Funfactor & last words--I found myself thinking of The Secret World..i was mad because I wanted to think about other games but whatevs.. I have Metal Gear & Jedi Starfighter going on PS4 & Wasteland going on XBOX1 but those game have taken the backseat..i mention this because only a fun good game can have us thinking bout it while we are away.....

    I bought my PC for StarWars The Old Republic because I'm a SW fan who read books and I played StarWars Galaxies MMO. that was actually my last good PC. so I am supposed to be playing The Old Republic. I subscribed to that and played 1 session & liked it ALOT. yes I paid the $15..wish id waited...I like the game,,but The Secret World has got me...whatevs... and that's mmy honest review so far...
    ---I cant say more cause this is a NOOB review..as all reviews should be.. hope someone on the fence goes for it.....    … Expand
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. Ryha2000
    May 29, 2013
    10
    It's easy to jump into a MMO, form an impression love it or hate it and state your opinion. I was so very tempted to do that. I had waited for this game for years, I was primed to love it, and as I started playing I found a lot to like. Great visuals, dynamic combat, gripping stories, creepy mood, beautiful ambient sound and sweeping score, fun well designed instances, insanely dificultIt's easy to jump into a MMO, form an impression love it or hate it and state your opinion. I was so very tempted to do that. I had waited for this game for years, I was primed to love it, and as I started playing I found a lot to like. Great visuals, dynamic combat, gripping stories, creepy mood, beautiful ambient sound and sweeping score, fun well designed instances, insanely dificult investigation missions... But will it last... will I want to wait for the proposed 7 years of story updates by the time I have 'finished' the launch content?

    Ok, so here I am a year later. I have finished the story campaign, and all of the side missions and caught up with the 'monthly' Issues that move the story forward and... YES! I still want more.

    I don't love the PvP, but that has never been my thing. I hear it has gotten better since launch and they have some interesting open world PvP in the pipe. I haven't advanced to the end of the instance nightmare instance lair raid progression... but working on that has been fun.

    Sure at this point I plan on scaling my playing back a bit as I wait for new Issues to come out. I'll log on to run instances with my friends or catch a player run show at the Albion or attend guild RP events... and that is great. If I had to play at full bore for 7 years... that would be too much. But given that the game is free to play now it's perfect for my pattern of play!

    This game would be worth many times it's purchase price even if you just play the story line mission and then never log on again... give it a try and my bet is that you will still be playing at the end of the 7 year story arc.    … Expand
  19. 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
  20. ThommyH
    Jan 15, 2014
    9
    I absolutely love this game, it's wonderfully unusual when compared to other MMO's. Admittedly its style may not be for everyone as there's a significant emphasis placed on research and puzzle-solving rather than straight up kill-everything-that-gets-in-the-way. I love the atmosphere, Funcom pulls off the 'dark fantasy' theme and world exceptionally well. The abilities and powers availableI absolutely love this game, it's wonderfully unusual when compared to other MMO's. Admittedly its style may not be for everyone as there's a significant emphasis placed on research and puzzle-solving rather than straight up kill-everything-that-gets-in-the-way. I love the atmosphere, Funcom pulls off the 'dark fantasy' theme and world exceptionally well. The abilities and powers available to the characters are diverse and interesting, and the potential combinations between them are fun to explore. The voice acting is also exceptional, and in my honest opinion the quality of writing is worlds better than any other MMO I've played.

    My only gripe with the game is that there are a number of small bugs that seem to have avoided the dev-hammer and while they're nothing truly gamebreaking, at least not for me, they are noticeable. For example, when using the sitting down function, it doesn't visually display for other players that were not present when the emote was used and so to them you're still standing. As I said before however the bug issue is relatively minor and has very little impact on the brilliance of the game. It's a definite must-buy for dark fantasy fans and those who are looking for an MMO experience beyond the straightforward World of Warcraft-esque grab n' grind.    … Expand
  21. kalv
    Mar 17, 2013
    10
    Very under rated game. It's one of those games you can put endless amount of hours into it. There is so much to do and explore. Quests are fun and they don't feel repetitive. Developer is active and always adding new free content. I would have never tried this game if there was a monthly subscription and I'm glad. My only complaint is some of the riddles are too difficult but you canVery under rated game. It's one of those games you can put endless amount of hours into it. There is so much to do and explore. Quests are fun and they don't feel repetitive. Developer is active and always adding new free content. I would have never tried this game if there was a monthly subscription and I'm glad. My only complaint is some of the riddles are too difficult but you can always cheat. Highly recommend it for anyone looking for a new game to get into, riddle fans or RPG fans.… Expand
  22. CiaranJ
    Jan 6, 2014
    9
    The reason I gave this game a 9/10 was because of its unique aspect. On the surface The Secret World looks different straightaway. However, after experiencing the lore, the quests, conspiracies and the world itself, it is clear that Funcom has spent a huge amount of time and effort in creating this MMO.

    Brief bullet reasons why you should play; and why it gets a 9/10. 1. Unique    The reason I gave this game a 9/10 was because of its unique aspect. On the surface The Secret World looks different straightaway. However, after experiencing the lore, the quests, conspiracies and the world itself, it is clear that Funcom has spent a huge amount of time and effort in creating this MMO.

    Brief bullet reasons why you should play; and why it gets a 9/10.

    1. Unique modern setting. Featuring: New York, London and Venice,
    2. Highly thought out missions, quests and conspiracies that are inspired by the works of: H.P Lovecraft, Stephen King and our world today.
    3. Pay once; play forever. Expansion packs, or known in The Secret World as Issues, are purchasable)
    4. Classless system. Play and be the character YOU WANT TO BE.
    5. Interesting story.
    6. Also, I believe if you bought the game before January 2013 you get the first 4 'Issues' expansion packs) FREE.
    7. Regular updates.    … Expand
  23. 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
  24. Velnon
    Sep 29, 2013
    8
    The Secret World is a Fantastic MMORPG. The story and plot are just enough for a MMORPG. Gameplay is fun, without levels or classes you are free to try any skill composition you want. The theme of the game is fun and while it lacks any true horror, at best it is slightly disturbing, the idea is really unique and well executed. This game however is somewhat frustrating for beginners as theThe Secret World is a Fantastic MMORPG. The story and plot are just enough for a MMORPG. Gameplay is fun, without levels or classes you are free to try any skill composition you want. The theme of the game is fun and while it lacks any true horror, at best it is slightly disturbing, the idea is really unique and well executed. This game however is somewhat frustrating for beginners as the skill building system, the crafting, and some of the quests will have you looking at a guide just to figure out what to do. That being said TSW also has something that I personally believe a lot of MMO's lack, difficulty, it's a hard game sometimes especially the Investigation missions where you have to be able to riddle out problems and use internet resources to find where you're going next. This brings me to my next topic, the missions have variety and are interesting for the most part. Dungeons are particularly good in TSW especially Polaris, the first dungeon, they focus mostly on boss fights with very few trash mobs in between. It is definitely worth a try for MMORPG fans especially considering it's only $30 up front.… Expand
  25. drwebs
    Aug 25, 2012
    10
    I have no clue why this game got so low of scores. It is a solid game with a fresh take on all the mmo worlds You also get tons of fun conspiratorial view points.
  26. 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
  27. 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.
  28. DemonWriter
    Jul 16, 2013
    10
    I enjoyed this game a great deal in Alpha and Beta. I got caught up in other games for a long while and I decided what the hell and bought it. I had forgotten how fun overall this game is. the story telling in it is fabulous.
    The mythos is spot on which just makes this game more for my style the quests are not just go collect X you HAVE to use your brain. the in game browser helps with    I enjoyed this game a great deal in Alpha and Beta. I got caught up in other games for a long while and I decided what the hell and bought it. I had forgotten how fun overall this game is. the story telling in it is fabulous.
    The mythos is spot on which just makes this game more for my style the quests are not just go collect X you HAVE to use your brain. the in game browser helps with that if you have issues though. I try to stay away form the sights that solve the puzzles for you though.

    If you want a challenge buy this game.
    If you love horror BUY THIS GAME!
    Also there is no longer a subscription needed to play so buy once and play forever. DLC is extra and they have a cosmetic cash shop which keeps the game alive.    … Expand
  29. 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
  30. Elii
    Oct 26, 2013
    10
    This game is an absolutely unique game and has a brilliant atmosphere. This world is so brilliant. The characters has a really good style too, IMHO this is the best looking in any of the MMOs. And the quests are so epic and various, it's amazing! The skills are also great, and has great effects, and the UI is cool, it's number one. So overall it's a great game and by the way, you don'tThis game is an absolutely unique game and has a brilliant atmosphere. This world is so brilliant. The characters has a really good style too, IMHO this is the best looking in any of the MMOs. And the quests are so epic and various, it's amazing! The skills are also great, and has great effects, and the UI is cool, it's number one. So overall it's a great game and by the way, you don't need to pay a monthly fee, so it's definitely worth it's price! … Expand
  31. owen445x
    Mar 27, 2013
    9
    I loved this game.. almost all the other MMO's are super boring to me and I literally was about to give up on them all togeather until this game came out. You always have something to work toward in this game with the unique skill system. I love being able to work on a tank set, then go for a melee dps set, or healer and can switch between them whenever I want. The story is awesome and II loved this game.. almost all the other MMO's are super boring to me and I literally was about to give up on them all togeather until this game came out. You always have something to work toward in this game with the unique skill system. I love being able to work on a tank set, then go for a melee dps set, or healer and can switch between them whenever I want. The story is awesome and I love the Templar faction. Only real complaint is some of the bugs and the PVP.. I can literally toss some tank gear with some dps and troll people with AOE skills. Other than that, some of the battles for the factories in pvp are legendary. I highly recommend the game.… Expand
  32. genesishep
    Jul 9, 2013
    10
    Easily the best MMO I have ever played. The writing is top notch, the voice acting is extremely good. This is one game where I have watched every cut scene and been happy to read the NPC content as it makes the game that much more enjoyable.

    The missions are refreshing, no grind fest here, you actually have to think to play this game and think to solve many of the missions. The overall    Easily the best MMO I have ever played. The writing is top notch, the voice acting is extremely good. This is one game where I have watched every cut scene and been happy to read the NPC content as it makes the game that much more enjoyable.

    The missions are refreshing, no grind fest here, you actually have to think to play this game and think to solve many of the missions. The overall eeriness of the game is also a big plus. I find myself drawn in each time I play it. Having just spent way way too many hours playing during their first year anniversary event I am very pleased with my purchase, very pleased that I have a lifetime subscription and cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next.

    Do not pay attention to the poor reviews about this game. Give it a shot..and look me up in-game just look for Dracnor :)

    Enjoy!    … Expand
  33. 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
  34. mitriid
    Jul 25, 2013
    9
    The Secret World is the most unique and deep mmorpg on the market now.

    Pros: 1) The Story: all main quests are professionally voiced and cover all the dark mysteries of the world. There are minor quests to discover around the map. Map is pinnable so you can save visited locations for later use. 2) Graphic: graphic is very good, framerate could be better due to sporadic lag but overall    The Secret World is the most unique and deep mmorpg on the market now.

    Pros:
    1) The Story: all main quests are professionally voiced and cover all the dark mysteries of the world. There are minor quests to discover around the map. Map is pinnable so you can save visited locations for later use.
    2) Graphic: graphic is very good, framerate could be better due to sporadic lag but overall it is very polished and capture the "feel" of every zone.
    Monsters (especially bosses) are the best designed ones in a mmorpg to date.
    3) Combat: combat is very varied, it is possible to change your gamestyle 100 times. Guns, melee, magic is all here. It can be somewhat hard to figure at the beginning but once done it is a fun ride.
    4) Difficulty: the game is hard and i love it. Progression is slow and you have a sense of accomplishment. Thing that most of the latter mmorpgs have omitted.
    5) Modern setting

    The cons:
    1) No gathering: you just loot stuff from mobs and experiment with a tool what can be done with the resources. It could be a new feature, but i really miss some old style "gathering"
    2) Social features could be better
    3) Rides: you just run all the time.

    All in all the game is still young and continously improving, Lets see what future have in stock. But as of now it is one of the best mmorpg out there.    … Expand
  35. coven
    Aug 6, 2013
    10
    I pre-ordered the game and played it for about 3 months straight (what means 10-14h a day) last summer, until I reached the point where my character achieved everything possible that time. ^^

    It's really been the weeks of my (digital) life and so I never regretted buying The Secret World. Unfortunately, regarding player counts and earnings it was a huge fail for Funcom anyway (and I    I pre-ordered the game and played it for about 3 months straight (what means 10-14h a day) last summer, until I reached the point where my character achieved everything possible that time. ^^

    It's really been the weeks of my (digital) life and so I never regretted buying The Secret World.

    Unfortunately, regarding player counts and earnings it was a huge fail for Funcom anyway (and I will never be able understand why), Funcom had to cut back on jobs and so this game was never able to make the most of its incredible potential. :-(

    Anyway: I would still recommend this game to everybody (especially if you're looking for a game you can play in a group with some friends). Great Story, Scenery and created atmosphere. Still pretty okayish graphics and sound and enough content to play about 900h+ intensively without getting bored.    … Expand
  36. iceice
    Aug 22, 2013
    10
    This really is an amazing outing by a great company who has really turned a new page in customer relations. Funcom keeps coming out with quality content at a good pace. No subscription fee this company has really listened and cant wait to see future products!

    This game broke out of tradition and offers something new, exciting, mysterious, with great artwork style and direction.
  37. 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
  38. salma
    Oct 25, 2015
    10
    Don't play this game for the combat , nor the PVP , nor the raids/dungeons etc.
    Play this game for the missions/quests ... You'll never feel the same about questing in MMO games afterwords.

    If you consider yourself a true MMO player , the experience provided by TSW is not something you want to miss.
  39. 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.
  40. 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.
  41. 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
  42. Mithoron
    Aug 20, 2012
    10
    I was not going to get this game...as I never got into the "futuristic" or "modern" MMO's, being a pure fantasy nut. SWTOR was just a reaffirmation of avoiding that.

    Bored with nothing new out lately, I tried the 3 day trial and was blown away! For the first time I found an interesting story and the way the game handles quests is refreshing. Instead of the basic FedEx quests and Kill    I was not going to get this game...as I never got into the "futuristic" or "modern" MMO's, being a pure fantasy nut. SWTOR was just a reaffirmation of avoiding that.

    Bored with nothing new out lately, I tried the 3 day trial and was blown away! For the first time I found an interesting story and the way the game handles quests is refreshing. Instead of the basic FedEx quests and Kill X creatures, you are have your choice of a vast number of types of quests. The puzzles are nice with the in-game browser, and having a great time.

    Even though Funcom is doing poor, I am finding this MMO stirs something in my that I haven't felt since the days of AC1...something that may keep my interest longer than a week or two.

    It is definitely worth trying out the trial...and you have to get into Kingsmouth before you throw in the towel and say it's not for you, as the starter area does not represent the game...    … Expand
  43. 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
  44. 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
  45. 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
  46. 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
  47. 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
  48. 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.
  49. 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
  50. 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
  51. 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
  52. 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
  53. 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
  54. 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
  55. Frostphoenyx
    Jul 13, 2012
    0
    + Great universe
    + Interesting quests

    - Awful animations
    - Bad character customization
    - Character leveling DOES exist
    - Zombies again and again....
  56. 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
  57. TitaniumDragon
    Jul 16, 2013
    8
    Ugh, this site has a 5000 character limit. So, to summarize:

    1) The game never should have been an MMO. 2) The game's atmosphere is spot on. 3) The game's fully voice-acted NPCs help to make you care about the world and what you're doing; you are seldom just doing quests for the sake of quests, you're also doing it for the sake of the people who are around you. 4) Your "mission    Ugh, this site has a 5000 character limit. So, to summarize:

    1) The game never should have been an MMO.
    2) The game's atmosphere is spot on.
    3) The game's fully voice-acted NPCs help to make you care about the world and what you're doing; you are seldom just doing quests for the sake of quests, you're also doing it for the sake of the people who are around you.
    4) Your "mission control" sends you emails and gives you phone calls periodically which help further reinforce the feel of the world, as well as giving you things to look forward to.
    5) The game has some wonderful dark humor in it.
    6) The investigation quests and smattering of other quests where you are solving mysteries are wonderfully immersive, require you to think outside of the box, actually require you to access real world information (and fake set-up websites), and are actually done in-character you have a smart phone and internet access in the game world, so it makes sense that you can actually look up websites to translate morse code and the like. They also require you to think about the information you have been given and make use of it, and very often require outside of the box thinking.
    7) The classless system works incredibly well. Because everyone can do literally anything, just not at the same time, you only ever have to make one character, and switch weapons between them to give them the powers you need to support your teammates or overcome challenges. The weapons are fairly diverse and interesting, though some of them (particularly the Assault Rifle for DPS) are rather centralizing, in that you're going to rely on them far more than others, while a few (Blood, namely) are underpowered and not particularly useful. However, even if you pick some bad skills, its alright you don't need to start over or rebuild your character, you can just pick up good skills, and eventually you get every skill in the game, so it doesn't really matter.
    8) Because characters only have 8 powers each, they matter more and it is easier to understand what everyone in your party is doing. Likewise, because you have access to every power in the game (eventually), you can actually know what all your allies are doing because you can do it too, and as such become familiar with everything.
    9) The game doesn't overstay its welcome. There isn't tons of pointless grinding anywhere in the game; when you are moving around in the world, you have some purpose beyond gathering xp.
    10) Some of the dungeon bosses have interesting mechanics to them which really reward teamwork and make for a fun experience.

    So what's wrong with this game?

    1) It never should have been a MMO. It really gains nothing from it. There are only a small number of things which require you to work in teams, there are a lot of things which require you to NOT work in teams (which is very bad for an MMO you're trying to play with your friends!), the mysteries are better solved on your own... really, the only team content which is really meaningful is the dungeons, and they feel a bit disconnected from the rest of the game, particularly the ones later in the game.
    2) PVP is a mess, not because it doesn't work, but because it isn't particularly interesting. It feels very pointless, which sticks out in a world where everything you do while going around the PvE areas is purposeful.
    3) It has no endgame. This would be a non-problem if it wasn't an MMO, but as an MMO, this is a fatal flaw. You complete every quest in the game and then you're essentially done with it. Sure, there are the elite and nightmare dungeons, which give you better equipment, whose only purpose is... to beat said dungeons more quickly and get even better equipment? While the dungeons are actually reasonably enjoyable to play through multiple times, the truth is that it is all utterly pointless, as there is no more "meat" to the game after you've beaten transylvania.
    4) Combat is not good. It is bog standard MMO combat. Some will complain about it being bad, but ultimately I don't think it is any worse than any other MMO combat I have played, and is actually better than many as unlike some other games, you can actually understand what is going on in combat at any given time. But as most MMOs have terrible combat, this isn't actually a good thing.
    5) Many of the boss monsters fail to really live up to their potential. Puzzle bosses and "stay off the bad" bosses are the only types of bosses that MMOs can have which are actually interesting, but many of the bosses are just "stun them at the right time" and sometimes, in the lower difficulties, not even that.

    All in all, the game should have focused on being a single player experience, and I think it would have been less disappointing to Funcom and worked out better in the end.    … Expand
  58. 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
  59. Galius
    Aug 27, 2012
    3
    Pros : Interesting skill system, fresh take on quests, great world to play in.

    Cons : Terrible developer support, poor animations, many skills feel the same

    I would pick this up when it goes free to play or when the box price drops. DO NOT fall for the lifetime subscription plan as you will get through the content within one month anyways.
  60. Skyleaf
    Jul 12, 2012
    0
    Ok so guys i know you don't want to hear this buuuut: The combat system is one of the worst combat systems EVER. You only have 7 active abilities and are limited to button mashing resource generating skills about 5 times until you can use another skill, and there also is no auto attack so you really gotta mash. Most skills are boring and only have slight differences to them (one does a bitOk so guys i know you don't want to hear this buuuut: The combat system is one of the worst combat systems EVER. You only have 7 active abilities and are limited to button mashing resource generating skills about 5 times until you can use another skill, and there also is no auto attack so you really gotta mash. Most skills are boring and only have slight differences to them (one does a bit less damage but casts faster and so on). I ended up playing this game (and i really tried using the keyboard but man it was SUCH A PAIN) with xpadder using my game pad with 2 buttons for actual combat using the makro function from xpadder. So a fight was like this: Press X on the gamepad wich corresponds to: press 2 wait 0.8 seconds press 2 wair 0.8 seconds and that 5 times then i activated a root and then 5 consumer abilites.... And no this game does not leave room for optimization since there are no procs, no abilities that need timing or such. And the feeling to the combat also is horrible, effects suck, animations are hilarious at times and it just feels like your standing there and doing nothing ( esp. in pvp). So now to the part that makes many people think this game is so special: it does not offer levels, ok sounds great right? WRONG!!!!! Levels are just replaces by QL ( quality levels from ITEMS) so this whole game ends up being about farming items... that just **** boring and since enemys don't always drop the items you need(or quests as reward) you will end up having a very **** feel to the "progession" this game offers. The skill wheel at first sight seem rather complex, let me tell you this: it is not, it is one of the worst systems i ever saw in an mmo. You farm forever to unlock abilites towards the end of a "circle" and most of the time the game leaves you absolutely no choice which abilities to combine since the active skills AND THE PASSIVES often need each other to function properly. Further the weapon system limits the systems overall "flexibility" even further. On the good sides of this game are some rare missions in which you can have adventure like game play, but the quality of those is not comparable to a GOOD adventure game! Ok but honestly, the world is gray in gray throughout kingsmouth etc, and can be very depressing at times. For like 15 hours that would be ok i guess, but man this drags on and on. PvP is a mess too: The combat system makes sure fun is destroyed after a few matches, and the battlegrounds are primitive and designed poorly . Let me remind you of one thing: MOST OF THE TIME YOU WILL BE FIGHTING IN THIS GAME, LIKE IN ANY MMO, AND COMBAT SUCKS HERE! So no matter how different this game may look, it is just more of the same and worse than most other games out there. And the new stuff is mediocre overall at best. And no the great camera angels don't help if what happens during the cut scenes isn't even worth watching them. Oh and i almost forgot: This game is a rip off: Selling life time subscriptions for a game the developer said it will be f2p in no time just seems like wanting all the cash possible before sinking the ship. AND THIS GAME HAS A REALLY EXPENSIVE INGAME SHOP FOR CHARACTER SLOTS BOOSTERS ETC!!!!! This is unbelievable and wrong for a GAME WITH A 15 DOLLAR FEE PER MONTH. Guild wars 2 is a way better game and anyone should rather buy it instead of this since IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION FEE AND A FAIR ITEM SHOP. I had so much more fun with Gw2's beta than i had with TSW after launch. I **** regret even spending one buck on this game!… Expand
  61. santosx
    Aug 29, 2012
    0
    At first i realy liked the game, but unfortunately there is a fair amount of game breakers in this game. It starts with little things which are most likely the influence of EA. For example even though its a subscription based game, there is a cash shop. Many outfits have a single item, which is not available ingame except from the cash shop. So either pay cash or never complete yourAt first i realy liked the game, but unfortunately there is a fair amount of game breakers in this game. It starts with little things which are most likely the influence of EA. For example even though its a subscription based game, there is a cash shop. Many outfits have a single item, which is not available ingame except from the cash shop. So either pay cash or never complete your outfit.---------------------- Next thing they offer in the cash shop is server transfers. Dragon faction members are underpopulated on almost all "Dimensions" (virtual servers on the single TSW server). But instead of offering free transfers to them, they are blackmailed into "stay in your factions empty "fusang" (persistant pvp area), or pay 20 euros". And there is a huge bunch of annoying bugs, some of the dungeon bosses are only killable by exploiting and especialy pvp is full of bugs. For example a signet that is bugged and gives 100% blockrate. Its known since months, and fixing it would only require to change it from "stacking" to "not stacking". But it simply isnt fixed because no one cares. Or an ability called Reap and Sew which basicaly makes healers useless as in its bugged state causes dmg output to heal the passive target constantly. There can be fun had in this game, but you should wait until you get it for less then 20… Expand
  62. iseethereforiam
    Dec 12, 2012
    2
    Please do not waste your money. I've played many pay to play and free to play MMOs over the course of 12 years and I can confidently say that I was extremely foolish for buying this game. If you see positive reviews for this game please consider that they are possibly reviews created by the game's PR staff.

    Let me breakdown some positive and negative aspects of this game from a buyers    Please do not waste your money. I've played many pay to play and free to play MMOs over the course of 12 years and I can confidently say that I was extremely foolish for buying this game. If you see positive reviews for this game please consider that they are possibly reviews created by the game's PR staff.

    Let me breakdown some positive and negative aspects of this game from a buyers perspective:

    (Keep in mind: My PC is setup to smoothly play TERA, Final Fantasy XIV, and Crysis 2 all on highest settings.)

    Positive (The only reasons this game got a 2 from me):
    - The game scenery looks nice.

    - The game has a unique and interesting storyline compared to other MMOs

    Negative
    - The character creation process is ridiculously limited

    - The character visuals and animations are horrible. The game's scenery looks way better than the character visuals.

    - This Pay to Play game has an In-Game item shop which offers items that are far superior to the items achievable via game progress. You have the option to purchase items in the store with in-game farmed currency, a ton of in-game currency. (really? wtf were the devs thinking?)

    - Combat is below lackluster. Imagine if GTA mated with Second Life and they produced a child game with down-syndrome -> Voila The Secret World Combat System. - PVP in The Secret World is probably the worst PVP that has ever been created in the history of all MMOs. Seriously. Couple this with the derp-a-tronic lamesauce combat system and you will be shortly bashing your head into nearby objects in order to pound some sanity back into your mind.

    - Questing is subpar. This aspect of the game isn't as horrendous as the others but it is a close runner up as far as the actual conent of the questing goes. The only thing that partially makes the questing bearable is the storyline and scenery (which are also the only two aspects which get a favorable review in my opinion).

    I could go on and on but eventually I would run out of word count.

    I gave this game a chance. I leveled and quested until I could only go further for the sake of validating reasons why this game caused me serious Buyer's Remorse.

    If you buy this game for 49.99 on steam then I am sad to say that you have wasted your money horrendously. If you don't believe me then try their 3 day free trial (which they created due to the massive amount of customers wanting refunds due to buyer's remorse. seriously they didnt even have a 3 day trial to begin with until this BS game started making people angry)

    The Secret World had potential. However, if you have played MMOs before and are a veteran looking for a deep sense of accomplishment and gratification then this title is a bane to your existence. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere or spending your money on something more rewarding like a lottery ticket.    … Expand
  63. schweddy
    Jul 13, 2012
    2
    This game was released to early. It is plagued with multiple problems. Complaints range from account issues and not being able to log in, to mission that players can not complete. While the story seems like it would be fun, and the cut scenes are nice, it is hard to progress to really get into the game. Constant reloading of the UI or re-starting the game is standard protocol. TheThis game was released to early. It is plagued with multiple problems. Complaints range from account issues and not being able to log in, to mission that players can not complete. While the story seems like it would be fun, and the cut scenes are nice, it is hard to progress to really get into the game. Constant reloading of the UI or re-starting the game is standard protocol. The game makers should have held out for 4 more beta tests and a couple of months to make this game worth buying currently.… Expand
  64. sef326
    Aug 13, 2012
    4
    Secret World is a mixed bag of great game and dropped balls. It excels in story and voice acting, but your character does not speak and just weirdly gestures. The environments are excellent and atmospheric and draws you into the world, but character customization (hair, face, body type) severely lacks, and animation is still horrendous even after trying to fix it between betas and launch.Secret World is a mixed bag of great game and dropped balls. It excels in story and voice acting, but your character does not speak and just weirdly gestures. The environments are excellent and atmospheric and draws you into the world, but character customization (hair, face, body type) severely lacks, and animation is still horrendous even after trying to fix it between betas and launch. It's still the same idle pose, and your char wont move unless he sheathes his weapons. Funcom's excuse for horrible animation is the untethering of the lower & upper bodies for being able to cast while moving. But other devs (in newer MMOs) have done this without the same horrible result in TSW. This can be overlooked if Funcom is new to MMOs and building games, but it is not. 3-faction PVP, as advertised being a main feature, is not implemented well in Fusang and ends up just a game of switching control between wells. Bugs, bugs, bugs. it gets frustrating when you are at step 6 of 7 and the next step wont trigger. Their workaround: go to a dimension where the quest isnt bugged. Funcom is doing all this charging you for the box price, for a monthly and a cosmetic shop. So much promise, but it got Funcommed and EA'd.… Expand
  65. jigme
    Jul 9, 2012
    2
    I really tried to like this game. I can usually forgive a newly launched game a few bugs, but this is too much. I consistently felt that the developers were in over their heads, and trying to dress up five year old graphics. Animations are crude. The game crashed regularly (on a new machine). Occasionally I got dropped into a no mans land with nothing to do but restart. Combine that withI really tried to like this game. I can usually forgive a newly launched game a few bugs, but this is too much. I consistently felt that the developers were in over their heads, and trying to dress up five year old graphics. Animations are crude. The game crashed regularly (on a new machine). Occasionally I got dropped into a no mans land with nothing to do but restart. Combine that with game mechanics that feel awkward, even cut and pasted, and the few "innovations" of the game mean little. I tried several decks. Gradually, you realize they all function exactly the same way (no matter your build, you keep doing the same things). I also tried each faction, but found that they are all essentially the same (even the "decks" are exactly the same; you would think each faction would have its own type of character builds, but no: "cut and pasted"). The so-called "puzzle" gameplay is just a novelty. It gets old, like the rest of the game. I had lots of fun with their "Age of Conan", so this was a real disappointment. I do not see this game surviving long.… Expand
  66. Stalgrim
    Dec 25, 2012
    0
    This game tries so hard to emit the creepy, eerie feeling of a classic horror story but it just fails to do so in any convincing manner. Within the first few hours of this game I was already turned off by the narrative, the presentation and the general vibe of the game. Possibly the biggest problem I have with this game is the story, if you've ever read or even casually flipped through aThis game tries so hard to emit the creepy, eerie feeling of a classic horror story but it just fails to do so in any convincing manner. Within the first few hours of this game I was already turned off by the narrative, the presentation and the general vibe of the game. Possibly the biggest problem I have with this game is the story, if you've ever read or even casually flipped through a Lovecraft novel you'll find this games attempts to present a dark atmosphere laughably poor. The quests seem to go on forever but with no real purpose, I felt no interest in anything, even though I was trying. The only time I remember actually feeling a twinge of dread was when I remembered how much I had spent on this game.… Expand
  67. meru
    Jan 13, 2013
    0
    The game's topic is fascinating, some of the cut scenes are OK, and the combat system is interesting. Unfortunately, for a secret societies / end of the world game, it does not have any suspense or horror feeling.

    Expect to start playing the game either with heavy support through game chat, or by searching the net for hints, as both the user interface and the quest design often is    The game's topic is fascinating, some of the cut scenes are OK, and the combat system is interesting. Unfortunately, for a secret societies / end of the world game, it does not have any suspense or horror feeling.

    Expect to start playing the game either with heavy support through game chat, or by searching the net for hints, as both the user interface and the quest design often is lacking. The community is nice and helpful, though, compared to other MMO communities, so getting started is not too bad.

    I cannot imagine that a developer studio that has quite some past experience with creating and running MMOs produced such an obvious B title on purpose. My impression of the game is that it was shoved out the door both regarding design and implementation, before the funding ran out, hoping to fix some of the design errors later. "Later" never came, as many customers these days rather spend their money for finished games, having enough MMOs to choose from.    … Expand
  68. sandrom
    Dec 25, 2012
    0
    I really have to admit funcom aspires to make a great game. They try on a lot of fronts. But not on bugfixing. There are bugs in there - major bugs which exist already since beginning and there are a lot of people complaining about it. what do they do? put new clothes in the store that you can buy. really i mean. i see that it takes time to fix stuff, but forever? for that unbelievable badI really have to admit funcom aspires to make a great game. They try on a lot of fronts. But not on bugfixing. There are bugs in there - major bugs which exist already since beginning and there are a lot of people complaining about it. what do they do? put new clothes in the store that you can buy. really i mean. i see that it takes time to fix stuff, but forever? for that unbelievable bad service they do not deserve any points at all. that is just bland evil.… Expand
  69. OliverGrau
    Mar 8, 2014
    1
    I would like to credit the developers for trying to make a new kind of MMORPG, where levels and classes don't matter. It's a great way to TRY and make a fresh new MMORPG. Yet it fails miserably, not only on the before mentioned. However, even though there are no levels nor classes, there is. You do gain levels and classes are bound by weapons. Each weapon represents a specific class andI would like to credit the developers for trying to make a new kind of MMORPG, where levels and classes don't matter. It's a great way to TRY and make a fresh new MMORPG. Yet it fails miserably, not only on the before mentioned. However, even though there are no levels nor classes, there is. You do gain levels and classes are bound by weapons. Each weapon represents a specific class and levels are aquired to gain new skills and wear new armor. So, there are levels and there are classes. If you don't got enough levels or good enough gear, you can't move on. Just like in a regular MMORPG.

    I would like to state that I did enjoy the atmosphere and the graphics, they are some of the best I've seen in a MMORPG. Yet, it's not optimized well enough. My fairly high-end system featuring a GTX 670 and an i5-3570k are struggling too keep up at high/highest settings. At times dipping well under 30 FPS.

    Also, some of the quests were exciting enough to keep me interested for a few hours, yet the quality of the quests drop really fast. They become your typical grind and pick quests way too fast.
    Combat is bland though and your hotbar is way too small in my opinion. Only featuring 5 passives and 5 actives.

    It's clear to me why the game went from monthly fee to 'buy once, play forever'. It's not worth the money that you spend, so stear clear and save yourself some money.    … Expand
  70. 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.
  71. WiLdEcaRd
    Nov 30, 2015
    10
    One of the best mature games out there,and hands down one of best MMO a ever played.
    I'm solving mysteries in my sleep! Can't get enough of this game!
  72. PansyFire
    Jul 14, 2012
    1
    Essentially fibbing in its claims of being a game without classes or levels, that is precisely what this game contains. One kills monsters to gain experience points to reach the next "tier" (i.e., level) and begins the game by choosing a "weapon" (i.e., the class whose skills they will increase as they level up). There is nothing particularly innovative about this game. PVE is monotonous.Essentially fibbing in its claims of being a game without classes or levels, that is precisely what this game contains. One kills monsters to gain experience points to reach the next "tier" (i.e., level) and begins the game by choosing a "weapon" (i.e., the class whose skills they will increase as they level up). There is nothing particularly innovative about this game. PVE is monotonous. Combat is stale. Heaven forbid, you might as well just go back to playing SW:TOR.… Expand
  73. Warpster
    Aug 30, 2012
    4
    Sadly, this would have been great as a single player game. Excellent story and questing marred by boring, unpolished combat, tacked on PvP and a WoW-esque approach to endgame. Third time is unfortunately not a charm for Funcom.
  74. Mandrax
    Sep 12, 2012
    3
    Terrible combat. Rubbish animations. Too much running back and forth due to Funcom deciding you can only carry one of a particular type of quest. I'm giving it 3 specifically for the investigation quests. These are the ONLY good part of the game. The rest is pretty poor. The story is OK, not great. The voice acting is awful in places, especially the NPCs with English accents, andTerrible combat. Rubbish animations. Too much running back and forth due to Funcom deciding you can only carry one of a particular type of quest. I'm giving it 3 specifically for the investigation quests. These are the ONLY good part of the game. The rest is pretty poor. The story is OK, not great. The voice acting is awful in places, especially the NPCs with English accents, and London in general is a joke. I really wanted to love this game, but in my opinion, Funcom did their usual thing and rushed it to get it out before GW2 and maybe MoP. It didn't work. I'm glad I wasn't one of those suckers that bought the GM pack. The biggest fail here however is the monthly sub. This game does not warrant the largest monthly sub fee of any MMORPG that is available in the UK. Funcom are ripping players off by charging around £3.00 more than the market leader - World of Warcraft. That's suicide right there if you ask me.… Expand
  75. Anthropophobia
    Sep 13, 2012
    3
    This game is not worth it. The only thing that makes it different from any other MMORPG is the modern-time setting. Don't forget you'll be buying the game AND paying a 15 dollar monthly subscription. The graphics are nothing glorious, the animations are basic and abrupt (i.e. you can go sprinting, then randomly jump higher than two cars piled, then land normally and go on sprinting), theThis game is not worth it. The only thing that makes it different from any other MMORPG is the modern-time setting. Don't forget you'll be buying the game AND paying a 15 dollar monthly subscription. The graphics are nothing glorious, the animations are basic and abrupt (i.e. you can go sprinting, then randomly jump higher than two cars piled, then land normally and go on sprinting), the combat system is horrible and the missions are blatantly repetitive. Of course it has an original storyline and setting, no doubt about that. But Funcom is just trying to leech your wallet - a different story doesn't make the game worth its current prices. Star Wars The Old Republic made it free to play, and if they don't do the same with The Secret world, its going to fall... face-first. Summing it up: Game CD + 15 dollars per month for something you can do on WoW, Allods, Forsaken World, Vindictus, or any other MMORPG, with no special features or revolutionary game mechanics. Is it worth it? Not by an inch.… Expand
  76. ricesteam
    Jul 5, 2012
    3
    I'm really disappointed in this game. What a huge regret buying this game. I was expecting something fresh. I read some of the reviews thinking the game was fresh. A lot of these reviews makes me think the authors were in a cave playing only WoW for 10 years and nothing else. The game is so dated and clunky that I'm surprised it was even released. The combat is by far the worse. It isI'm really disappointed in this game. What a huge regret buying this game. I was expecting something fresh. I read some of the reviews thinking the game was fresh. A lot of these reviews makes me think the authors were in a cave playing only WoW for 10 years and nothing else. The game is so dated and clunky that I'm surprised it was even released. The combat is by far the worse. It is not new. It's the same old mmo gameplay tweaked to try to be different. Where's the story? It's just a bunch of mini quest that are voiced by terrible voice actors. Where's the unique missions that are not mmo missions? Most of these reviews are lies. I believe there's puzzles in the game but I have yet to see one. Grah, now I have to fight for a refund. Don't make the mistake I made believing this mmo is fresh.… Expand
  77. Coeco
    Jul 6, 2012
    3
    Ah, the secret world. How I longed for this game at its very first secret-ish reveal with the website that had the coded numbers, counting down until it's release, which turned out to be bogus thanks for that, Funcom. No. But the real sh!tsinker here is that they chose Electronics Arts as their publisher later on which was the biggest kick in the balls for me, knowing that one of the mostAh, the secret world. How I longed for this game at its very first secret-ish reveal with the website that had the coded numbers, counting down until it's release, which turned out to be bogus thanks for that, Funcom. No. But the real sh!tsinker here is that they chose Electronics Arts as their publisher later on which was the biggest kick in the balls for me, knowing that one of the most acclaimed "creative" studios are to be mutilated completely by budget-cuts and "quality assurance" departments while having the release be full to the brink with glitches and short-cuts in the design at release and boy was I right. There is next to no facial expression or movement in the cutscenes in where they have glorified so much in the trailers, leaving any chance to an in-game atmosphere in the hands of the voice actors. Who in all fairness, does a good job in bringing out personality from the polyphonic excuses of characters and the grinding. Oh the grinding they promised us the game didn't have. You will be pressing one button five times and then another button. If anything, it is a cut-down version of wow's grinding, only including Rogues. Oh and "Active dodging"? Moving to avoid attacks? The only motion of avoiding damage is to slowly back away as an enemy stands still for 15 seconds, charging its AoE and letting you know how much is left by showing an obnoxious expanding circle beneath its feet, which bugs out completely if there is a change of elevation nearby. You could also be "Actively dodging" in any way, direction or timing but it will not reduce or remove ANY kind of damage, be it ranged, magic, melee or AoE and this is AFTER they "Reformed" it fit for release. Developers that are serious in having "Active dodging" should honestly go and try out Gunz: The Duel before smearing down the word "skill" but then again, Funcom is just like Electronic Arts, in which it comes to no surprise they have partner-shipped considering their combined illegal business practices and non-existing decent customer support. Yes. I initially asked for a refund after they've had the bright idea of strangling the already underpopulated pvp activity by mutilating the reward-system right before release and I got greeted with "Hi, yeah, we can't give your money back for your GAME ORDER because you've logged into the game". I gave the kind support staff a lesson in customer rights and ethics but he continuously repeated their EULA and ignored me, forcing me to contact the BBB. Five minutes later, I got my refund so a big warning to anyone out there, considering to purchase and/or glorify this game. Yes, It is unique. But at what price? Fanboys, greedy corporates and monthly fees with imbalances at every turn. P.S Big thanks to all the fanboys of the title that will be thumbing down my review, just like they've done with everyone else that rated this game negatively without reading what they've typed. It really just proves my point. :)… Expand
  78. CL1CKS
    Aug 8, 2012
    0
    This game is trash just like most EA games. Does not feel polished. Gameplay is slow and doesn't seem responsive. I predict F2P in 6 months easy. Its just like any other MMO.
  79. sohoguy
    Jul 6, 2012
    1
    Do not believe the hype. Try this game first. If they will give you trial that is. Combat is b.o.r.i.n.g. Missions are b.o.r.i.n.g. Crafting is total failure. PvP? gimme a break. Also, no motion capture was used so your toon moves like a rag doll. Game looks quite nice when you do not move though.
  80. babyjack
    Jul 5, 2012
    0
    I wanted to like this game. I wanted to LOVE this game. Modern day settling with a supernatural theme and secret societies? What is not to love?

    Unfortunately the answer to that is, the graphics, the story and the gameplay. The game is woefully short on content and because of that the developers have implimented a quest limitation system to force you to constantly retrace your    I wanted to like this game. I wanted to LOVE this game. Modern day settling with a supernatural theme and secret societies? What is not to love?

    Unfortunately the answer to that is, the graphics, the story and the gameplay.

    The game is woefully short on content and because of that the developers have implimented a quest limitation system to force you to constantly retrace your steps to complete missions. (You can only have 1 mission type at a time, so when you find a new mission, you have to "pause' your current mission) then go and complete the new mission, then go back to the first person and then "unpause" the previous mission.

    The PvP is standard and borning, as is the combat system.

    Such a shame.. it had such great potential, but fell apart in execution.    … Expand
  81. dameyersman
    Jul 5, 2012
    0
    Between it's 6 year old graphics, boring combat style and linear missions system this game fails on all levels that it promised.

    You are unable to get immersed into the game due to a quest limiting system that forces you to complete one quest type at a time.
  82. getorky
    Jun 28, 2013
    0
    This game has great visual design and awful gameplay. I'm reviewing the gameplay. ZERO. unplayable
    There are so many games out there that deserve the exposure of TSW. TSW does not deserve any.
  83. johann1978
    Jul 13, 2012
    9
    The Game is the same as Star Wars: The old Republic. You play it for the Story, and wenn you finished you have nothing to too ... Funcom must update the Game fast to hold the Player
  84. dangreene
    Jul 5, 2012
    0
    I am not quite sure where all the good reviews are coming from, but it doesn't seem to be from the player base, who all seem to be privately complaining about the game.

    There are a few "fan boys" for sure, but the public chat has been very negative as are the messages on the official boards (except for the ones stickied at the top). I think people really wanted to like this genre and    I am not quite sure where all the good reviews are coming from, but it doesn't seem to be from the player base, who all seem to be privately complaining about the game.

    There are a few "fan boys" for sure, but the public chat has been very negative as are the messages on the official boards (except for the ones stickied at the top). I think people really wanted to like this genre and have been longing for it, but this isn't the game that executes it.

    Why did it take 6 years to launch a game with so little valuable content and such a thin storyline? (By the way, the graphics show that it was started many years ago, because that is how it looks).

    To make up for the lack of content, the developers decided to make you grind for you levels (ahem, skill points) by making you repeat the same quests over and over OR pause and unpause them to get others done.

    I got completely bored after just a few hours of playing and had no desire to continue. Thank GOD I got a code from a friend and didn't have to waste money to find out about this game.    … Expand
  85. Sir_Callahan
    Aug 9, 2012
    1
    The... worst... game ive played. Bought it for $90. NOT WORTH IT!!! terrible aiming system. you cant run, move your view and shoot at the same time, unless you have three hands. you click something, and then need to push another button (1,2,3 etc) to attack, so you can't just click and have default attack. I may be wrong here, but I didn't give the game enough time to find out: it didn'tThe... worst... game ive played. Bought it for $90. NOT WORTH IT!!! terrible aiming system. you cant run, move your view and shoot at the same time, unless you have three hands. you click something, and then need to push another button (1,2,3 etc) to attack, so you can't just click and have default attack. I may be wrong here, but I didn't give the game enough time to find out: it didn't deserve it. You're told to find the "secret" illuminati. Who everyone, EVERYONE on the street happens to know and be talking about at that exact time. but even if you couldn't listen to them, or find the woeful "technology trail" there were still icons on the screen pointing to the desired location. On top of that, you have a lot of speech options, with no real reason to use any that aren't directly involved with your quest. Not to mention an over complicated skill set/system. Terrible. Totally... terrible. I'm surprised i even bothered writing a review of it.… Expand
  86. xgambit
    Jul 19, 2012
    2
    I was excited about this game. I love the concept of the strange fractured realities and so on. But since it included adult content I won't never play this game. What a shame that such a great game had to be ruined because someone can't keep his dirty mind out of the development.
  87. 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
  88. Zen-Zinxe
    Mar 11, 2014
    8
    The first time I saw this game advertised I thought it could be amazing. But then I heard about the subscription and decided I should stick with WoW, as I already knew what to expect. Then they moved to a pay once model with cosmetic microtransactions, and one of my friends sent me the game as a gift on steam.

    When I first played the game, I wanted to apologize to the developers for not    The first time I saw this game advertised I thought it could be amazing. But then I heard about the subscription and decided I should stick with WoW, as I already knew what to expect. Then they moved to a pay once model with cosmetic microtransactions, and one of my friends sent me the game as a gift on steam.

    When I first played the game, I wanted to apologize to the developers for not giving the game a chance and playing when they had the subscriptions. It was that good. I was convinced that this was the best MMO I had ever played, it was like nothing I had ever played before, with a style that I absolutely loved. I was almost certain that this game would end up taking up more time than WoW ever did for me. But I was wrong.

    There's not much wrong with the game at first, in fact there are so many things right it's almost shocking. Playing through the missions for your first time is a euphoric experience. There are some minor bugs I remember coming across, but nothing that broke the game. So why didn't this end up being the end all be all MMO for me?

    It's all because of the endgame. When you start the game you're presented with a glorious wheel of abilities that you can choose from. Ultimately you can reach a level so high that you will have learned every skill for every weapon in the game, everyone can. The thing about this game is levelling up and doing missions is more fun than the endgame by far. The anticipation of getting another skill to try out in your set, of getting the outfits associated with certain builds, adds a lot to the levelling experience.

    The thing is, I spent nearly 400 hours on this game. A bargain considering it costs 30$. But what I found out was that you are pidgeonholed in your abilities at the end of the game depending on what you want to do. Once you reach the level of gear required to do nightmare mode dungeons, you'll realize that if you're not a ranged dps, you're probably gonna have a **** time trying to find a group. When I first started the game I was excited for the endgame because I figured I could use almost any of the weapons any way I wanted. But the fact is, a melee dps just isn't as viable as a ranged. Even though fist weapon abilities can either be offensive or used for healing, it doesn't mean you can make a dps build for dungeons using claws as your primary weapon. There's no benefit to taking a melee dps over ranged. In a nightmare dungeon you are more likely to be killed being melee, you are also less likely to do as much damage because you're constantly running away from AOE. While ranged people can attack at range, obviously.

    It's not that you can't do a dungeon as a melee dps, I found a few groups willing to put up with me and we successfully did the dungeon. But it's a headache, half the groups won't pick me up and to the ones that do I'm basically completely optional because almost anyone could do my job better, no matter how good I was at staying alive during boss fights, you just don't get the time to dps that ranged characters do. If we ended up having trouble with a boss fight, I was almost always the first one to be kicked, and justifiably so.

    So with that huge rant, this game still deserves an 8/10. 400 hours, 30 dollars, nearly 2 months of playing this game religiously, I didn't even finish every single mission. But I finished the main story mission, and when I did I realized the endgame had nothing that I wanted.

    Worth every penny that my friend spent. The PVP is ok.    … Expand
  89. TheVindelator
    Apr 12, 2013
    10
    The title and boxart made me think this was some crappy Asian import. (Boy was I wrong.)

    This is a game for people that enjoy depth and complexity. The writing is phenomenal. The class(less) system is extremely complex. This game is a hidden gem and there's no monthly fee.
  90. bluesnacks
    Feb 21, 2014
    8
    Fun and interesting. I originally never gave this game a chance. I was wrong; once I tried it again it turned out to be amazing, creepy and immersive. The story gets grindy, and some of the stories are only single player.

    However, it is so captivating and interesting that I have to play more. This game is for people who love horrors, mythology, a modern fantasy game, or who love to    Fun and interesting. I originally never gave this game a chance. I was wrong; once I tried it again it turned out to be amazing, creepy and immersive. The story gets grindy, and some of the stories are only single player.

    However, it is so captivating and interesting that I have to play more. This game is for people who love horrors, mythology, a modern fantasy game, or who love to fight. I'm not much of a horror person, but there is a drive to keep going and find out how everything is happening.

    10 stars for being awesome, fun, different and original. -2 stars for the excessive grind.    … Expand
  91. russ-angel
    Jan 2, 2013
    8
    Its a strange game but very interesting.I don't know what to make of it yet but it's definitely got something.Great settings and exploration so far.Combat is a bit odd though.
  92. PeterRJG
    May 6, 2015
    8
    It's easy to write this off as Funcom's third flop in sequence but they gave this one 110% in effort. There's a lot of heart and soul in this game. So why does virtually nobody play it? My theory is that it is too weird and niche for its own good. There's no levels, no classes and people who load this up for the first time may be lost in a sea of confusion as to what's going on. There's noIt's easy to write this off as Funcom's third flop in sequence but they gave this one 110% in effort. There's a lot of heart and soul in this game. So why does virtually nobody play it? My theory is that it is too weird and niche for its own good. There's no levels, no classes and people who load this up for the first time may be lost in a sea of confusion as to what's going on. There's no comfort zone here. Beyond that initial puzzlement, it's a rewarding and challenging game, but you have to get there.

    It's a semi-fully voiced (your character is silent), action-oriented MMO with some fairly decent graphics but the combat animations - especially from the zombies - do look awful though. That's one minus, but overall, the monsters look and animate well. Just not the zombies. Their running and fighting animations are comically farcical.

    The Secret World tries so hard to be hip, cool and out there, overloaded with pop culture and internet-speak references, it's beyond belief. You'll either laugh or facepalm at all the talk, maybe both.

    But if you do buy this and give it a shot, persevere with it. Experiment with the builds, try new things. Just don't expect too much social interaction. Despite all those people camped at the Agartha zone-in, you'll be playing this game 99% by yourself unless you really try hard to group with someone. Even then it has mandatory solo sequences, which IMHO, don't belong in a multiplayer game.

    But give it a shot. It might be the best thing you'll ever play. Who knows?    … Expand
  93. Its_Nice_In_RW
    Sep 29, 2012
    4
    Ok first off I have no respect for the company who make this game which is a bad start. I will keep this short is this a Good game? Unique game? Worth your MOney? IMO No,No,and No.
    If you still wish to play the game wait a month or two it will be free to play as Funcom already have the tooling to make it so. For those who bought Life subs I am sorry for your loss, but same happened to me    Ok first off I have no respect for the company who make this game which is a bad start. I will keep this short is this a Good game? Unique game? Worth your MOney? IMO No,No,and No.
    If you still wish to play the game wait a month or two it will be free to play as Funcom already have the tooling to make it so. For those who bought Life subs I am sorry for your loss, but same happened to me in Lord of the Rings Online when the shaft3d me and went Free to play leaving Life subscribers like me with no value for my money. I learned my lesson accepted my loss and moved on as the free to play version of Lord of the Rings Online was completely useless. So hang on play for free well not really free cash shoppy but you know what I mean soon.    … Expand
  94. Keltik0ne
    Oct 11, 2012
    4
    The game is very mixed: a great levelling process followed by character progression that is purely gear related. It was so close to being a good game, but at the end of the day, it's one for the grinders only.
  95. Moza_m
    Jan 4, 2014
    8
    I'm enjoying the game however, Funcom needs to sort out their customer service. I rolled on a dead server, like, seriously I didnt see anyone for hours and hours. They want me to pay for a server transfer, which seems dodgy..if you have a dead server, why let new toons start on it? Seriously, if there is ANY aspect in a game that literally takes the fun out of the experience, just removeI'm enjoying the game however, Funcom needs to sort out their customer service. I rolled on a dead server, like, seriously I didnt see anyone for hours and hours. They want me to pay for a server transfer, which seems dodgy..if you have a dead server, why let new toons start on it? Seriously, if there is ANY aspect in a game that literally takes the fun out of the experience, just remove it... simple. Or at least let us have a couple of free bonus points to change to a more lively server. It is silly to allow this. Their customer support was entirely unhelpful and had no respect that I had paid money and was not getting what they advertised (a MMO experience).
    Aside from Funcom's failings as a company, the game is fun and worth trying out.    … Expand
  96. bluefunk
    Jan 1, 2013
    10
    Best MMO out of the market atm. The stories the community and developers are first class. The developers have delivered over and over again with regard to updates and quality, you are genuinely doing yourself a disservice if you don't pick this up particularly now it is Buy to Play.
  97. grenouille
    Jan 26, 2014
    8
    I have been playing this mmo more like a 'normal' game than as I would normally approach an mmo and, as such, it is quite enjoyable. Fully voiced npcs with unique and genuinely interesting personalities alongside its novel weapon-leveling system makes this one well worth it. I am just in love with this world and they definitely delivered on giving a genuine Lovecraft experience.
  98. DemonicRuins
    Feb 1, 2013
    4
    So I just took my first look at "The Secret World" I figured no sub, one time buy... why not? I have to say that I am torn in whether liking it or totally hating it. I lean more towards the total hate side. The trailers and description are total eye candy... However as we all know the trailers will show the best the game has to offer and not the worst, similar to a photo album... AllSo I just took my first look at "The Secret World" I figured no sub, one time buy... why not? I have to say that I am torn in whether liking it or totally hating it. I lean more towards the total hate side. The trailers and description are total eye candy... However as we all know the trailers will show the best the game has to offer and not the worst, similar to a photo album... All you will see is smiling faces in the pictures. The game itself has a terrific storyline but the game play just does not match it... It almost seems they put more time into the "lore" if you will then the actual game itself... I like the fact that they took a step away from the traditional MMO's that we see so often now a days but I would be lying if I said they took a step in the right direction... If a game becomes a job then there is no point to it, and many of the problem solving aspects of this game is damn near like a job... Kudos to the developers for doing their own thing and not following "the scene" but as far as a semi-hardcore players view it is lacking immersion, basics and excitement.… Expand
  99. Marenwynn
    Apr 27, 2013
    10
    Amazing game. The combat is very fluid, but it there's a higher than usual learning curve on making a build that flows well. The lore is engaging. Unlike another fully voiced MMO we know, the questing feels a lot less pointless and I found myself trying to clear every single quest in a zone before moving on. Haven't really run into any serious quest bugs, but a lot of the investigationAmazing game. The combat is very fluid, but it there's a higher than usual learning curve on making a build that flows well. The lore is engaging. Unlike another fully voiced MMO we know, the questing feels a lot less pointless and I found myself trying to clear every single quest in a zone before moving on. Haven't really run into any serious quest bugs, but a lot of the investigation missions are quite difficult and may lead many to think they're bugged.

    TSW is seriously underrated by critics, but if you look at the user scores you'll see that it's very high in comparison to that of other MMOs. There's no more subscriptions, but if it weren't for the misleading reviews at release, I totally would have bought a permanent subscription.    … Expand
  100. BlackForest
    May 23, 2013
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. You step into the game and are greeted by a solitaire cowboy warming up on a bonfire. Then you notice something is not quite right. Suddenly the cowboy grabs his rifle and shoots a wandering zombie in the head. You can't help but thinking "you are so cool".

    Welcome to The Secret World, one of the most under-rated mmorpgs of all time. The game is an amalgamation of horror and sci-fi genres joined by a good storyline. Zombies, Lovecraft, city detectives, secret societies, egyptians gods, vampires, war horrors...Really refreshing to not have a fantasy theme for once

    Honestly my note should really be a 9, but I feel this games has been unfairly reviewed by the press. I've joined the game recently so my explanation is that there were many bugs in the release. Happily the game is pretty much bug free although there's a few still around.

    Only pity is the game fails to deliver the final punch and you keep thinking "if-only". If only the dialogues could be more interactive and your character could speak. If only the pvp was better. If only there would be more endgame content. There's a feeling with a bigger budget this game could have been a masterpiece. In any case the case is tons of fun as long as you are forgiving with a few issues and don't mind the conditionals:

    - you are not a pure pvp oriented player: there's only one effective pvp map and it often feels like headless chickens running around. Also there is no real proof of skill and there are no ranked matches so often matches are noob-stomping by premades group. Still jumping in once in a while is good fun.

    - you are not hardcore: there's plenty of content in the game and it's incredible good value for the small price (it's f2p now) but it's possible to "finish" the game beating the hardest content after about 200 hours of gameplay. A really wide approximation from my side but my point is that you can actually "finish" the game after a respectable amount of time. Unlike other MMOs where you basically has to lose your real life to beat the last boss.

    - you are a mature adult: the game treats like an intelligent being, there's not "toons" graphic and the community is nice and sane. There's a notorious lack of abuse, insults etc in general channels

    The strong points of the game are:

    - plenty of quests to do on your own with good storylines and distinct flavours
    - an innovative skill system that allows an interesting way of developing your character. It's easy to get a basic build up but being able to build the perfect build is more challenging. Then you have the possibility to become the three tank/heal/dps roles at the same time which works wonderfully
    - Interesting and challenging dungeons: 8 dungeons with a storyline, hardly any trash mobs and challenging boss mechanics.
    - Being able to equip cool weapons like assault rifles, shotguns or blades, each one offering different play styles. Plus 5 auxiliary weapons (rocket launcher, flamethrower...) that add a little extra spice to your build

    - Excellent GM support

    - Free to play subscription is real free. You'll never feel like a second class citizen for not paying.

    I've been playing MMORPGs for 15 years now and can honestly say this is one of the games I've had more fun with. I love you can still progress in the game without the feeling of it becoming a second job. The game seems to be designed for adults, who don't have so much time to sink and can get the "wink" of so much of the content. It really feels great to walk in in-game streets of new york, london or seoul and notice the details that make them so similar like the real ones.

    Absolutely recommended and incredibly good value for money.    … 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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