Just registered to say, that the game is the most enjoyable mmo experience in the last years. In some ways, the game reminds on the "old" style mmo, like anarchy online or eve online, where you have myriads on options for character development. I like especially the instances, the investigation quests, the lore, the setting, the lovely crafted environment, the graphics. Oh, wait, I love the whole experience.… Expand

Simply superb game that I am really happy to play! Lifer here! :) Recommended for both casual and hardcore players. Solve puzzles, enjoy deep and really fun quests, especially the investigation missions that will send you searching for ansvers in totally new ways. Especially recommended for mmo veterans that I am sure will love this game!

Amazing 'new' take on mmo genere. 'New' as it takes some of the old non-level character building system which all recent mmos mesmerised in WoW success seem to forgot... and bring back to the table along no need for 'respecs' or alt grinding. First mmo which managed to actually introduced old school style quests which take more time to figure out how than repeatedly do aka 'grind' your way through. Sure You can cheese your way through content by just looking up solutions to puzzles but this game does its fair share of changing such 'grind through and get to max-level' attitude. Excellent work.… Expand

Sigh. The quest design is excellent, voice acting is a nice touch (but not always good), and the premise of the game is very unique. It's just not a good MMO. Every "class" feels like the same thing, making combat and progression kinda boring after a bit. The weapon system doesn't actually give as much freedom as you'd expect - it just lets you slightly change things up. There are three types of "classes" and three types of gear - you can mix and match for more of a soloing or PvP build or go straight up a DPS tree for example for instances, with only DPS gear. The only saving grace is the great quest design - other MMO's should take note. Unfortunately, it's not a great single-player game either - I'd rather play a great single-player game. I didn't experience that many bugs so I can't speak there - it ran okay, but definitely needs a decent machine to run well. PvP cues were a tad long for the first month of the game, and the PvP, well, there's not much of a point to it. The sound (not the music which was nice) drove me a bit nuts too..... After many hours of playing I just felt it wasn't worth it - I'd rather spend my gaming time playing something better. Kudos to the quest designers though - really cool stuff there.… Expand

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 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

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

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.

Truly unique MMO among all MMOs, kudos to Funcom for taking the genre to a new level. Do yourself a favour and give it a try you will not be disappointed, and its only going to get better.

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

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

Been playing this game for almost 80 hours now (and only about 1/4 done) and have to say it is has been one of the most thrilling mmo experience i have ever had.
Also the playerbase atleast on Arcadia seems to be mostly mature and very little whiners and gold spammers (atleast yet). Congratulations are in order to both Ragnar and Funcom for delivering this masterpiece :-) A++

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 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

Not perfect, but it's very good. Downsides are character creator, animations... Everything else is good to great. The quests are interactive, and investigation quests will sometimes make you bang your head against the wall they are so hard...

Secret societies, challenging cryptic puzzles, breath taking scenes and mind-numblingly rich character stories, dungeons and literally thousands of skill combinations to play with. I have been simply stunned by the depth of content and enjoyability of the game. Its a masterpiece, well almost.. The only thing that works against the game is the PvP system which needs some work. For a game just released it is remarkably robust. Yes, there are bugs on some quests, and with the game.. but what game didn't have them when released? As I predicted from my beta reviews this game is going to be huge simply because its the best mmo out there.. and its different too. Where other software houses have done little in the way of innovation over the years; spewing out wow clones, Funcom has created a new style of MMO that is original and incredibly absorbing.

The future of this game is extremely bright, and I would have given it 10/10 but for the PvP and they might not try hard enough to keep up the level of amazing game-play if I did that. Now, if you don't mind I have to finish learning Morse code to complete a quest.

... --- ...… Expand

This game is 8.5 rating but apparently metracritic doesn't let you do that so I just round up to 9 because this game is more a 9 than an 8.

This is the most unique MMO to date and stands out above the rest. When was the last time you played a modern-day MMO? Exactly. Not only is the atmosphere immersive, the story and questing are the most enjoyable aspect for me because it keeps you engaged and makes you want to learn more and although there are your typical kill x amount quests here and there it has a story behind. Investigation and sabotage missions steals the show and really breaks out of the typical MMO questing system. In some of these missions you have to do research outside the game to come to a solution or you may have to go stealth and avoid combat altogether. Not to mention, this has been the only MMO that I actually listen/read the quests and lore (I normally just hit OK and go kill 20 monsters in other MMO's), this shows you how intriguing the story is.

I also love the classless system, it reminds me a lot of Skyrim (which I also really enjoyed) and no levels is a welcome addition, no longer will you can't play with your friends because you're too low level. It only comes down to your abilities and how you build your character.

Overall, I highly recommend this game if you're an MMO fan that wants something different. Are you tired of fantasy medieval settings, fetch and kill quests, bland storylines, marathon dash to max level so you can start playing the "real" game? Look no further and enter the Secret World.… Expand

What I like about this game is that it's so different than any other MMO I've played and I have just about played them all. I had almost given up on the entire MMO genre until stumbling onto TSW. This game is a shinning gem in a sea of turd filled mediocrity.

Honestly though, I don't feel like reading a review does this game any justice at all. The only way to truly understand how good this game is is to try it out. After the previous stinkbombs that have been released lately (I'm looking at you SWTOR) I fully understand someone waiting until a free trial is released before playing any MMO. But I have to say, if you are remotely intereseted in a modern world, no cookie cutter FOTM classes, NO ELVES OR ORCS and most of all fun then pull the trigger. That being said, if you do try out this game give it some time because initially the ability system does seem really odd and really confusing but once you delve into this game it's quite impressive. If I were to change anything about the game I would change the first time players introduction to the game. I really did feel lost for a bit.… Expand

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 seen since 2004.… Expand

Great MMO, awesome new fresh take to the mmo genre! It has story, adventure, solving mysteries an quests!~ Nothing is just handed to you on a platter you gotta WORK for it like a mmo should be. Missions where you must think not some guide that just tells you how to do it all.

I love The Secret World - it is absolutely unlike any MMO you've played. You've probably heard all the big selling point by now, and they're all true. The setting and atmosphere are crazy brilliant, the quests are more diverse and original than most single player RPGs, and the character advancement is really unique and refreshing (you will find yourself constantly changing around your abilities to fit the situation - which is how the game sells itself as "classless"). Instead of leveling vertically in levels, you gain skill points and ability points at a fairly rapid basis... allowing you to not only be more powerful, but much more flexible (you can change out any purchased abilities on a whim, as you see fit).

Besides the theme, and the fact that the game can get really genuinely creepy, the thing that sold me was the diversity of quests (called "missions" in TSW). These missions sometimes require solving actual puzzles and riddles, and frequently doing ACTUAL detective work (sometimes involving Google, Wikipedia, and lots of actual, real-world websites that the devs have set up - in addition to in-game clues). There are still the occasional (albeit rare) "Kill X Monsters" quests, and they're still as tedious as ever... but they're few and far between enough, that I don't mind when they pop up once or twice per zone.

That said, the game still has all the rough edges. In particular, the sheer inventiveness of the quests means that the developers are still cleaning up lots of obnoxious mission-related bugs... some of which are bad enough that they can completely stop your progress. And the real kicker is that the bugged quests almost always seem to be the coolest and most inventive (like The Black House, which would be one of the coolest game experiences ever... if it worked). There's also a pretty good number of quests where monsters are supposed to spawn but don't, or take so long that you just assume it's bugged and leave (which in turn sometimes breaks the quest even more). As with most MMO launches, this is fairly par for the course, and hopefully if you wait 2 or 3 months to try the game out, these annoyances will be fixed.

As others have also stated, character creation is really underwhelming at the moment... particularly in the realm of hair styles (for both male AND female characters). Once you are actually in the game, the clothing options available for purchase (with in-game money or actual cash) will put most fashion districts to shame - so keep in mind that as disappointing as the facial creation is, the possibilities for customizing your clothing are downright INSANE... and the cloths are really what define your character's look, anyway. But if the character creation still gets you down, know this: the developers are busy adding barber shops, plastic surgery centers, and tattoo parlors to the game - so that character you created at the beginning... it's not permanent. It can be changed and tweaked to your heart's content once you're in the game (in about a month, anyway).

And that's the kind of cool stuff that will keep my playing The Secret World for a long, long time. It's the choice, the diversity, the excitement and fear... The Secret World is a refreshing, genuinely original, and fun MMO that gets it right everywhere that counts. The developers passion for their product shines through every feature... and once they get that extra coat of spit and polish on there (in the form of bug fixes, barber shops, and plastic surgery)... then I'll be able to say with complete honesty, that this game is a perfect 10.… Expand

I've played many a PC game over a long time and quite a few MMOs. This by far my favourite MMO. Sure the toon creation could do with more options and PVP has its issues but otherwise it is a fun flavour filled game. Try it.

This game was quite the surprise for me. First of this is a game by Funcom, which doesn

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 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

I've been waiting for "The Secret World" for long, even though I didn't knew, what to expect. Literally, Funcom does the same thing, they did with "Age of Conan", which was a lovely MMORPG with different ways to experience new systems. The Setting wasn't seen till now and the cutscenes are the best i've seen in an online-rpg for years. Unfortunatly some bugs stop the flow too early and the missing of tutorials and hints makes it hard to beat the game without dying too much.… Expand

Engaging and wonderful world, with quests well written and superb dialogue. This game brings RPG back into mmorpg. I haven't played a game this deep since Vampire Bloodlines. The game isn't perfect when it comes to bugs (I've been playing at release though, so it's to be expected), but I would still highly recommend this to anyone that could fancy a stunning rpg with action, mystery and the ability to share this experience with other players. If you want to get to the endgame as fast as you can, then choose something else to play. 10 out of 10 because the trolls can suck it.… Expand

10/10... The adventurers and theorycrafters wet dream!

TSW is the best MMO i have played since the first year of WoW, it is different, challenging and beautiful.
The mission system is really awesome and simple, but can be very hard to understand if you expect another hub quest system... You do the missions YOU want to do, and there are lot's of them, in all different types and difficulty! Investigation missions are absolutely amazing and i have not enjoyed a puzzle as much since the old Lucasarts games...
The puzzles are completely voluntary and gives the same xp as doing pvp, dungeons or mob grinding would do, this really makes you able to have the fun YOU want, with the exception of the main story and faction story.
The main story is coupled with a faction specific mission chain of which there are 3 different, one for each faction, they were much more exciting then the SWToR class stories or any other mmorpg story i have ever played.
The DX11 engine is BRILLIANT, the atmosphere and styled theme this thing can pull off left me absolutely breathless, my 460gtx does medium settings at 60fps and there is no input lag or any other kind of lag. The characters are normal humans but the ability to customize your looks and clothing as you see fit is awesome, the gear you have to wear no longer decide your looks, YOU DO!
The Dungeons in TSW are the best i have EVER played, there is zero trash and the stories and replayability is awesome, bosses are open to be beaten in various different ways which makes the encounters fresh and appealing kill after kill. There are 3 different dungeon difficulties, Normal mode that starts at the end of the first area, Elite which takes over where Normal left off as an intro to endgame which is Nightmare Dungeons. Every difficulty adds new mechanics and tools that both Tank, healer and dps need to use to beat bosses.
There are tons of achievements, lore and rare boss collections that can unlock new and rare clothing for those that wish to do that, there is also open world Lair bosses which is for players that can't or don't want to do elite/nightmare dungeons.
The launch was flawless and the bugs that were present were not game breaking and are steadily being fixed in weekly patch updates.
Funcom are releasing monthly content updates of which the first one contained a bunch of Investigation missions that people have been asking for and 2 new Nightmare dungeons.
The next content patch has the same PLUS a new type of weapon that will add depth to combat, this time it was a Rocket Launcher and rumors tells of a chainsaw coming next month.
October will bring a raid in the middle of New York and in 2013 we will get downtown Tokyo as a completely new mission/story zone.
There have been alot of Funcom bashing going on, TSW is nothing like the disaster Age of Conan, but have some great roots in Funcom's Anarchy Online which is their first mmo, still running after 11 years!

TSW is by far the most underhyped mmo i have ever played and they have me hooked!… Expand

I've been playing this game since beta. This is not your average MMO. This is not the game for your if you don't enjoy THINKING as well as fighting. I've seen people complain here about having to use google. There's an in-game browser for research missions. (Again, they are also optional.) The three societies are great, each one has its own unique story. I have been lucky enough to play with a lot of people from around the world and the social experience once you've joined a cabal(guild) is fantastic. No, it's not perfect but the developers are dedicated to delivering original content and an original experience. Right now, the game is even on sale. It's worth it, I'm a lifetime sub owner.… Expand

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 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

I am totally in love of the game. I had not tried early because of the monthly subscription payments (I am pretty busy and did not want to pay for months that I may not even login once), but with the new one time payment and DLC models, it's was hard not to give it a try. And I absolutely addicted to it. Whoever likes the kind of modern/science fiction/horror universe should definitely go for it.
I feel for this game the same way as when I read a great book and watch an awesome moive: I just want other people to experience it too.… Expand

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.

It is always an ungrateful task to write a review on MMO game without playing it for at least a year. No one needs one after such amount of time, but on other hand this game is meant to be played for long periods of time, it is a trademark of a genre. TSW looks solid as it is right now, but its not a final verdict for a game. One must experience a lot more of an endgame content in order to make final decisions about success or fail of a particular MMO. First thing that catches the eye in TSW is the fact that it is heavily story driven game. There are tons of cut-scenes, lore, quest diversity and so on. If you want to expirience this dark, gritty world make sure you do it solo, without rushing through quests and take maximum of the storytelling - it's worth it. Combat is far from idial but it is tolerable. I havent tried whole lot of PvP but from what i've seen it is really far from idial. In PvE scenario, combat feels nice overall, but yet again, alot of abilities require tweaking.
Character progression is a breed apart. No levels, no classes but there is still XP and abilities to learn. 525 abilities to be exact. I would not say that all 525 of them are unique. Some of them look really simmilar, but noone will argue that every skill tree feels different when played, and even more unique when combined with any other weapon type.
Visually game looks good. I personally liked photo realistic graphics. I'm sick of all these stylyzed MMO's already. But although engine is good, it lacks optimization. Even on top gaming rig i expirience random FPS drops from 60 to 2, and fusang pvp zone can be nightmare at times. Speaking of technical side of project, game is full of bugs. No, not gamebreaking bugs, but alot of small bugs that make you unable to finish a nice quest, make you stuck in textures or forcing you to reset whole dungeons because boss becomes unkillable. As a conclusion: TSW is definitely a good game. Investigation quests, nice boss mechanics, pretty high difficulty level of starting content - all this makes this game shine and gives you alot of fun. But yet again there is a technical side of the game. And there is shroud of darkness around endgame content. For now its a great expirience. What this game will become in, lets say, a year to come? Nobody knows.… Expand

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. 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

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

The Secret World is the best MMOG i have played in about 13 years of MMO gaming. The World has a great atmosphere. The NPCs have deep characters and their stories are actually worth listening to. The Background story is complex, exciting and very interesting to experience. The mission design is great, especially the investigation missions that really need a lot of thinking out of the box. Finding a group (at least on Kobold) isnt hard, theres lots of other players to meet everywhere.
Then why only 8 of 10? Because there are flaws. Of course - its a MMOG!
Most of them are minor bugs, that can be a nuisance sometimes, but arent gamebreaking. Then theres some features missing, that should be there at launch, but thats by far not as bad as it was in SWTOR. Thats 1 point minus.
The other point is the PvP. Its fun for a while and all, but it needs A LOT of polishing. the two battlegrounds get boring quite fast and the persistent PvP map is nothing but a Zerg fest, where the faction with the most players wins. So that either you join the Zerg or you die. TSW definetly needs more PvP maps and a lot more complex persistent PvP goals and mechanics.
Other than that, the game is simply great. Everyone should at least try it!… Expand

I think what I like most about what I am seeing regarding the reviews is how the critics seem luke warm but fans appear to be pretty excited. So why is it that the critics and fans seem to be on opposite sides of the fence lately? Most blockbusters get great reviews by the critics, but fans have clearly been disappointed. While lesser known titles that actually seem to try and innovate, with the inherent risk that comes with trying something new, fans love and critics poo poo. This game really is a breath of fresh air and is only in its infancy. I wish this company all the best with this title and hope it will have some longevity in a gaming industry littered with repeats and the same old ideas.… Expand

Finally a game made for people that can't grind mobs or raid 24/7. The quests are awesome and way different then other games. It feels like singleplayer quality all over the zones. Best part is you can repeat em if you want to play with a lower level friend. Instances are made without a million trash mobs so you can just focus on the good boss fights. I admit TSW has its error and mostly in the pvp section. Fusang is good fun the first few days then its just about getting the marks and leaving asap. Kinda like how SWTOR had the same problem in Illum. Hopefully they will fix this soon so there is a reason to pvp. This game also had one of the smoothest launches I have seen with their cloud server setup. You can play with everyone even if they are on different servers.… Expand

This is a lifetime happening. The secret World made me start playing pc game again. 5 years since I ve played. This is a "blockbuster" for sure. Ive bought extra gear and 3 mth subscription. Im gonna play for years is my instant opinion. Im in the thirties with kids and really doesnt have time for such a great game;-). Salute Funcom!

This is an MMO for MMO fans. It is a breath of fresh air in a genre still unable to shake off the dominant MMO model pioneered by Everquest in 1999. The story is excellent and engaging and is worth the price of admission alone. While character advancement is in essence the same concept as all the other EQ clones, it takes a free-form approach by taking out artificial limitations such as character level and class, to let you progress your character in the way that you want. It is a deep, complex and rewarding system, and it works. If you enjoy questing or want to enjoy questing, this game will blow you away. If you enjoy "theory-crafting" and min/maxing you character this game will floor you with its complexity and freedom.… Expand

Disclaimer: People WILL either HATE or LOVE this game(With capital characters intended). Please don't let your opinion become guided by those of others, give it a try before giving your final personal conclusion.

The secret world is one of the few(if not the only) MMO's that sucked me into it, it has the best story of any MMO I have seen this far. True, there are some issues but the friendly customer support is more than happy to assist. I absolutely love the way that the missions are designed, they require you to actually think or try to learn you something. The world is designed to make sure that there is always something to do, something to explore and something new to learn regarding the story. If you love to "think" and enjoy a good story, the game is definitely worth a try. The Secret World is clearly a different than the avarage MMO.… Expand

My first MMO was world of warcraft. I played it to much for the first 2 years, then on and off for many years to come. Recently I have been playing EVE online- it's a nice change of pace from feeling one has to log on everyday. The Secret World however has awakened the gamer within this 30+ old gamer. I want to play all the time. Though work and family has to come first. Therefor I am happy to say that TSW does not demand to much of a commitment. I would say it appeals to casual and hardcore gamers all over the world.… Expand

The Secret World is an engaging and entertaining MMO, with a strong focus on story telling, and they actually succeed very well with that. Every NPC in the game feels special, and you look forward to talking to them. The voice acting is brilliant, and every quest feels meaningful, although you don't really change anything in the world.

The most refreshing and daring MMO I've seen in years. The Secret World offers you something you have never seen before. A classless and innovative game that opens for thousands upon thousands of unique combinations. Be it clothing, skills, abilities and the option to change decks on the fly makes this game incredibly deep. With over 500 skills(!) you can either make it simple by selecting one of the pre-made decks (that also unlocks some really awesome outfits to wear) or spend hours and hours during your gametime to tweak and customize your abilities to make a truly unique character.

The world is set in today's modern society with real-life locations like parts of London, New York, Soul and much more, but twists it with its horror theme making it very exciting (and sometimes utterly scary!) to explore and progress through. I find myself scouring every little hidden location, dungeon what have you in search of secrets and rewards that the game has to offer. And there's so much of it! The areas are huge, but I only wish it was more. Much more! I simply can't get enough of this.
The beauty of this game is that no gear or skills defines your look in the traditional way. Everybody I see in-game has they're own different and distinct look. This is because of the stats system which increases your characters strength through talismans rather than gear which is in its own separate menu. Thus allowing every player to look whatever he/she wants to look like. And the choices of clothing are vast. Earn your clothes through mission unlocks, rewards from completing dungeons or maybe you want go shopping for clothes in London?

The missions are really something else. Aside from the traditional missions you've seen before there's also investigation/sabotage missions that really makes you think. Funcom has created loads of fictional but "real" websites that you have to visit by googling them via the in-game browser to look for clues to advance your mission tiers. It's really fun to actually use your head, to think and learn about stuff you probably never knew about before. Scary stuff like occultism or arts and famous painters come to life in these many missions that offers hours and hours of gameplay.

Take a chance with The Secret World and I promise you that you won't be disappointed. Without knowing it you have been waiting for a game like this. Trust me. It's worth it.… Expand

I have played many MMORPGs before I tried The Secret World, but none has been able to pull me away from my primary game. However, with TSW this changed. My primary game is now TSW, and that is the only game I play.

The main reason for that is that the game is really good at keeping you on your toes. By that I mean that you have to pay attention to the fighting, there is no q /afk, auto attack. You have to constantly pay attention to and avoid monsters attacks by strafing and dodging. The flexibility of building your character, and in combination with the gear manager, you can swap between tank, healer, dps with a click of a button. This makes it really easy to form teams that work well. The play fields in the world look amazing, though there might be games out there with slightly better looking graphics, the mood in the settings is absolutely unparalleled. Some of the missions might make you have nightmares, that's how good they are.

All the people I meet in the game seems genuinely happy with the game thus creating a very good community.

If you are tired of rage quitting your current game, why not give TSW a chance to illuminate you with it's breath of fresh air, and this unique way to look at MMORPG.

Content updates are promised every month, and FunCom delivered as promised the first update 1 month after launch.… Expand

I have had little interest in any MMO, until I started following this game. The story is engaging, the skills are interesting, and some of the quests actually require thought! The thing that knocked it down from a 10 is the lack of meaningful PvP content, which is hopefully coming with one of the monthly content patches.

This game is absolutely top notch!! It is unlike any other MMO you have played. The game has great atmosphere, amazing story and great zones to play through. It also has a really unique leveling system, with no levels. This game definitely deserves a reward!! 10/10

A refreshing setting. Quests that feel meaningful and challenging. And a solid base for improvement after a smoothest launch in recent years. It tells a story unlike I have encountered in an MMO. It has potential to last, but only time will tell if Funcom can utilize it to fullest. It's main fault and blessing is that it does not try to please everybody.

Ive been playing mmos forever and ive played probably 90% of the more popular ones and I can tell you as Im sure some of you reading this know and have felt, I was completely burnt out. Until. This game is amazing. I am hooked and I honestly can not believe it. To start with you cant play this on a run of the mill pc. You can't play this on a semi built i-5 laptop either. If you want to run this game in its glory you better be packing at least a desktop 2500k oc with a 560 ti at min, not saying you need that to get it to run on low, that setup is to run it on close to max / ultra, and I must say what a gorgeous game. To those people saying that the graphics need work or the animations look off, I will say your pc is your issue or you are the issue the game is stunning. Secondly, if your expecting something like wow or gw2, it is not a fantasy game of that genre, it is not set in the medieval, it is set in the here and now, current world, example, London, Tokyo, Transylvania, raid upcoming in New York city. GW2 actually is doing things that TSW is doing and I have to say was doing first do to the fact that its been out for 2 months. Example, you can use any skill while moving, and active dodge, but TSW does it better because you get to double click for the dodge, also the screen shake and the using of the dual weapon switch system in combat looking for synergy in skills and builds. TSW just happens to do these things in a non over bright cartoon way but actually the complete opposite due to the game being more of a horror based mmo and much darker atmosphere, not saying the game is dark, it is very HD in a dark setting if you have the pc to maximize what your looking at. Skill setting in this game is a nice change. You can not go into this game like anything you've played before. The skill wheel makes things very interesting and you have to be a little smarter then the average bear to actually understand what your looking at. It is not cut and paste, build my tank, healer, dps. It is not Rift with its switch out from tank to heal to dps on the fly. Everything you do is based on the weapons you have equipped, but passive skill sets can be used from any of the weapons skills trees (clever). You get 7 active and 7 passive and yes I want more but only because I don't want to think so much, tbh. I spend some serious time looking through my wheel trying to find synergy and usually find myself itching for 50 more AP points (they come quick further along) so I can get to that next skill I think nobodies found but me yet and unlock that super special secret synergy that I know doesnt exist.... or does it :). The quest system is fresh and is not the same as usual yet it is familiar. You have the typical npc standing around with the quest icon or two or three but the interaction and cut scenes are special. I played SWTOR and I am not a big story line person but I heard so many good things about star wars and its story line that you just had to watch it. Well that was disappointing to say the least, I actually quit swtor because I could not esc through the story line (before the first patch) and the cut scenes are so horrible it was truly disappointing. This game however has me watching every single cut scene. The voice overs are great, the story line is as good as any sit down book that pulls you and and you don't want to put it down. I actually found myself in a state of anger after I trained through a bunch of mobs and found a quest giver only to have my cut scene cut off by being hit by a random mob that just happen to have the right distance to hit me 1 time before it broke off. Don't be surprised if you play this game and find yourself watching instead of mashing the esc key. Investigation quest lines are a nice change of pace also. I wont spoil those but if you don't use a walk through site you are in for a serious treat and challenge, very little that is meant to be hard is handed to you in this game. The only reason I can not give this game a 10 is the lack of group play and the lack of social interaction. Some may find that nice, I like the solo gig as much as the next guy and I have solo'd my way up to the max quality level of gear (green). Green being good, Blue being better, Purple being best. I have to say though that getting the really good gear requires doing the 5 man dungeons and doing them in (hard) mode and I have yet to get a group for that or experience the glory that this must be. The game had issues at the start with chat being messed up and communication being the main problem that did not help its launch, but other then that and a few very misguided beta reviews from reviewers that were working with out dated pc's and out dated thinking it has been a pretty flawless ride and I haven't touched pvp or dungeons and that just seems crazy to me. The negative reviews are a little… Expand

Storyline in this game is truly excellent and now that it requires no subscription and costs about $25, there's simply no reason not to try this (even if you are not into MMOs in general, just for the quests, story and setting).

A really great alternative to the current blockbuster MMO's. Its a great mechanics and an awesome story.. well worth the new price point - and now subscription free which gives this 'new' TSW a perfect 10.

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 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

First MMO that is set in the present day. The zones do a great job of combines the stuff of scifi and fantasy with the "real" world. Has great variety of quests varying from old school adventure games to platformers. I also have to mention the character development system that allows you to truely build up your character whatever way you like. Best new MMO release since LotRO in 2007. Definitely worth trying.… Expand

Not quite the best MMO so far. However, this game has an amazing foundation and depth. Funcom really redeemed themselves with this game. The quests are actually well fleshed out for the most part; however, combat needs to be polished a bit more. Though the game had a good launch, it really did not have that much stress put on their servers due to population. TSW is a game that is going to start out small, but grow continuously throughout it's life span. If funcom keeps the game up to date, you're going to be hearing ALOT more about TSW than you have in the past.… Expand

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 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

This is actually a really funMMO. Reminds me of many different games, and yet is totally original. Has some complex elements, definitely not a boring POS like WoW, SWTOR or other MMOs that have released in the last couple years. I won't go into details, since there's a lot of stuff out there you can research yourself before trying it, TSW website being a good start. It has minor issues that I expect a new MMO launch to have, but none ever frustrate me or make me want to quit - I need to take a week off from work to soak it up.… Expand

Don't let the bad critics of people who only played a few hours to keep you away of this game. There must be people giving multiple bad reviews. Actually the player base is very happy with the game and the devs response to some questions (chat and some minors bugs in the first launch) is awesome. The game had the smooth launch I remember in a game (I play since UO in Europa).

The Secret world is a very innovative and refreshing game if you give it an opportunity to surprise you, and if you try and learn a new way of play (That means innovative). Just don't try to evaluate the game with the pow of others mmorpgs.

After you create your character and choose faction (Templars, Dragons or Illuminati), you start your travel in the dark world. The main factor in the game is that the quests are not a way of grinding of a simple excuse for level. Every quest (basic ones or more complex ones) are exquisite designed, with an incredible level of detail. Some of the quests will surprise you, others will defy you (enhance your game avoiding spoilers, is just a friendly advise).
The first zones are carefully designed to guide the new player in the learning of the main mechanics of the game: the process of questing, the crafting, the combat, and the main history.
Every zone is alive and very different, Kingsmouth is a lovecraftian sea-town of Maine, full of... you will see... Al-Merayah is a little village in Egypt by the ancients Akhenathen's ruins...
Give the game an opportunity and enter the world of TSW... and don't let the first difficulties win you... is a game for mature players and very different from the others MMOrpgs. Different.… Expand

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.

I had given up all hope for mmo's. click on the quest giver, kill 5 of these, run back and hand in, dont bother reading anything. And then like a ray of light, The Secret World comes out and its truly a breath of fresh air!. Quests that are engaging! puzzles that have me biting my lip and googling answers, a truly entertaining set of lore and all based off modern times. Graphics are extremely well done, the BEST pvp zone ive ever seen, up to 200 people all at once in a persistent pvp area that grants in world bonuses for the entire faction! i find myself wanting to skip work just so i can unravel one more mystery. Im an especially picky player, but ill say, the secret world blew my mind.… Expand

It's a game that has learned a lot of lessons from other MMOs, and puts it in a unique setting. Quests are interesting, all voice-acted, and make sense. The graphics and environment are beautiful. The combat and leveling system has a learning curve. In-game tutorials and pre-made skill builds help a lot if you find yourself getting lost in it all, because there is a lot there - imagine playing WoW and getting every talent tree and spell for every class available to you, and you can mix/match, and eventually you can have ALL of them. The combat is as fun as any other MMO, with a little more added positioning, but more challenging to manage your buffs/debuffs which make up a huge aspect of the combat.… Expand

Not wanting to spoil TSW for myself, I decided to avoid all beta testing and so my first gameplay taste was on launch. The storyline is interesting, the immersion is GREAT and the RPG elements truly are well done. But after reaching the second zone where combat is less forgiving, I just couldn't handle the combat any more. Not because of a learning curve or challenge, which I would have loved; simply because the combat is horrible. Instead of click-reaction, it feels more like click-clunk-maybe. This really spoils the entire feel of the game as combat is inseparable from TSW as a whole. At the end of launch week I ended up booting the game, playing for 30 mins and then logging off in frustration. If you can handle a shoddy FTP style combat system, this is the best game out today.… Expand

The best mmo I have played in years, or possibly ever. It seems you will either love or hate the game when I see on the scores given. I was very pleasantly surprised by the game after not being convinced by the beta weekends. It seems like a lot of the people that didn't like the game based their review on the beta weekends and not the actual released game so those reviews can be misleading. The game is easily worth the price, even if you just play it for a month, and with regular content updates and tweaks it can be worth staying subscribed even longer. One of the best things about the game is the huge potential for future content, and the game will probably only get better when new features and content is added.… Expand

This game set new standards in MMOs with regards to storytelling and questing. A unique and interesting story based on modern age mixed with fantasy elements plays out exceptionally well. The story and it's characters are very well done, and I liked the tongue-in-cheek humor mixed in as well. Voice over is used extensively, and is high quality throughout which adds to the immersion. This is done even better than in SWTOR in my opinion, although in TSW it's not been hyped as aggressively.

The quests (or missions in TSW terms) bring a bunch of fresh ideas to MMOs, and many times during your missions it really feels like you are playing a very good adventure or puzzle game instead of the stereotypical kill x mobs or gather y resources found in most MMOs. Sabotage missions have you sneak around mobs and avoid traps instead of killing. In investigation missions you uncover information about the game world by doing research and solving puzzles.

The game is not perfect: there is a steeper than normal learning curve for MMO, mainly due to lack of tutorials and a bit confusing skill system, at least to the casual player. Some of the missions are much harder than many current MMOs offer. But the lack of hand-holding and the flexibility of the skill system do reward players who wish to explore and learn things by themselves. I would be one of them!

All in all, an excellent MMO for a more adult audience that sets itself apart from the traditional constraints of the genre.… Expand

I'll be short and to the point. Game is an Experience. Like that, from a capital letter. It is a trip that will take you to places that will Blow. Your. Mind. It being an MMORPG makes it that much better, but the core of the game is in the fact that it promises to show you the things that will make you stare at your screen with your jaw dropped to the table. And it delivers 100%. Ignore the pre-paid magazine/website reviews. Get it, play it, let it surprise you in a way that probably no other game did.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm impressed.

The game plays well, the quests are a nice blend of dead simple smaller tasks all the way up to the large scale mind boggling hard ones. I just love the way they blend into the "real world" with small details. (E.g. if you find an URL on equipment or in a computer log, you can in all the cases I've tried it just open a real world browser in game and type in that URL to go to an actual website. [minor spoiler]In some cases you might even have to do it to research the problem at hand.[/minor spoiler])

The point deducted comes from bugs, primarily in aggro from mobs, but also in some missions which does not play out the way there are supposed to do. But with the kind of attention the GMs are giving the player in game, problems are mostly sorted within minutes. (All my petitions has been handled within 30 minutes.)

Get the bugs sorted, and this thing will shine as the gem it really is.… Expand

Still rough around the edges after several patches. Core gameplay "mostly" works, as several bugged quests reportedly are fixed. Graphics bugs still are present, with problems such as the skill UI reverting to basic descriptions and random artifacts on-screen. The new auction system is buggy. Questing in some cases is still not multi-user friendly, which seems like it would be an obvious design consideration.

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

Puzzles can be extremely difficult, but there are many walkthroughs now available for stuck players. Overall, if you can deal with the bugs, bad design decisions, and other nuisances, the game has some entertainment value at least temporarily.… Expand

The Secret World breaks all the rules of mass market MMOs: It aims to make you think, rather than handing you answers on a plate and focuses on story and content rather than button mashing.

The game has a modern world setting, focusing on occultism and conspiracy theories for its action rather than good and evil, elves and skeletons. There are a few genuine scares and the characters are very human and relatable rather than mindless quest donors - I felt so bad for some wandering monsters I was almost in tears. The game has many nods to beloved pop culture sources - plenty of Lovecraft, Stephen King, George Romero, Wes Craven, Robert Anton Wilson, Dan Brown and Neil Gaiman - locations so true to life that you can find your way around them as a real-world local, and dialogue so beautiful you could stand and play it over and over again for days.

Quests come in three main flavours - red combat missions, where you can solve most of your problems with violence; yellow sabotage missions, where you sneak about and avoid violence at all costs, and green investigation missions, which are where the game shines. While at this point, it's quite possible to find solutions for every quest on the internet, the sheer thrill of thinking your way through an investigation - applying your general knowledge or using the in-game browser as a reference library - is second to none. They've also gone to substantial lengths to deepen a player's immersion by incorporating ARG elements such as websites for certain in-game organizations and youtube clips. While the amount of content in the game is currently only just beyond the point where you can see everything at least once in the span of a month, with 5 years of ARG behind it, there is probably 6 months to a year of engrossing material for someone inclined to look deeper, and content updates occur roughly once every month.

There are still a few bugs in the game; some are annoying, but Funcom have been responsive to bug reports so far and there is nothing to make the game unplayable for any but the most tantrum-prone.

The community so far is overall excellent - friendly and helpful, welcoming to newbies, and very team oriented, despite most of the content being quite accessible to a skilled or careful solo player. Elements that discourage team work in other games, such as "kill stealing" simply aren't possible in TSW, so a player is quite welcome to charge to the rescue of someone being mobbed - which deepens the immersion substantially - and the player you help with a difficult quest today will be the one who saves your skin next week with the rewards he or she obtained.

One very pivotal factor for me was how woman-friendly the game is. Rather than shoving away a large proportion of its potential player base by turning every female character into a mandatory sex object, you are free to choose from a range of perfectly plausible styles of dress and be as sexy or as practical as you choose. Character customization is still somewhat limited - face and hair only, with clothing "limited" to the rather huge range available between the in-game clothing stores and the vanity-item-only cash shop - you can't design your own clothes yet, but there is the possibility of that, and body customization, in future. Bodies for both sexes are presently uniformly athletic but neither overly thin nor Mr Universe proportions - they look like people who spend a lot of time every day running and fighting, which is about right. And the mandatory F-cups and biceps aren't so wearying because you can put a coat on if you want.

There are no annoying gold sellers at all. All in all, I have not regretted one single penny I have spent on this game. It will always be niche, as there are many who don't want to think or be challenged in their game-play, but it's a niche that needed filling and one that I love.… Expand

I have played WOW, SWTOR,AOC,EVERQUEST 1& 2 this was by far the game thats kept my interest the most. Love the story and atmosphere, only reason i wouldnt give it a 9.5 was the fighting takes some getting used to.

This is a fantastic spin on classless gaming that unfortunately boils down into class based game play in the long term...regardless. FunCom has put together an excellent game structure and game dynamics system which makes The Secret World unique in the current industry. The reason I feel its not running higher than a 7 of 10 is largely because this is yet another single player MMO. The story is great, the writing is absolutely fantastic, the voice actors put into use for the project are top rate and the observance of occult lore and spiritualism is absolutely off the charts. But again...its a theme park, ride the rides you can ride til you can ride the next ride. Visually the game is top rate, but its character creation system is extremely limited in relation to the industry standard. PVP is good, and not your usual generic battlegrounds. Overall TSW is definitely a good MMO if theme park MMO's are really still what people want. But in the end its long term play options are pretty thin, unless you're OCD and simply have to fill every part of your skill wheel to feel as if you've accomplished anything in the game I can't see it holding much interest for long term players after they complete their story lines. In the end I think FunCom did a good job here, but emulated SW:TOR a bit too much in the story driven theme park department. Fun, a few fresh ideas (well they look fresh, some of them just got a new coat of paint is all), and an interesting and rarely done setting for an MMO. Not a bad game, but definitely not going to be revolutionizing an already struggling MMO industry.… Expand

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 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

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 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

TSW is different from every other MMORPG thus far. That really is the only thing that needs to be said. In a market that is saturated with the same cookie-cutter games, TSW is the first one in nearly a decade that has tried to rewrite the genre. If you've played MMOs in the past, been frustrated by the same old thing over and over again, and gotten sick of elves and such, then this is the game for you.

The fact that the critic score was low for this game is an absolute indication of how useless game critics have become. TSW is innovative, unique, and it almost completely breaks the mold of the standard MMO. There are a few areas that need improvement, but the launch was the smoothest of any MMO i've played on day one, and the storyline, voice acting, and quests are top notch. It is firmly in my top three favorite MMOs, and I hope it continues for a long time.… Expand

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

Great game with great potential. Fun, innovatory, educative and most of all - very immersive. Everybody is crying for new ways in MMO but if there is such game, everybody is crying thats too much new ;) Game mechanics arent easy to understand but if you go deeper - you are rewarded.;)Try trial!

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Let's go directly to the point Okay: the game is not for everyone. It's a different kind of MMO that some people will love and be willing to spend 250 bucks for lifetime (so did i). On the other side, the game's investigation missions will challenge you up to a point where some people will simply abandon (like solving some morse code). I must also admit that the fighting part of the game is definitely not like anything you've ever seen. It's indeed a rinse and repeat finisher that some people will find boring, but it's all about personal opinion. The fact that there is a cash shop is a con though. Paying each month or 250 bucks is a shame is you need to buy more stuff into the in-game shop. Back to gameplay, the biggest pro is the group instances like Polaris. Hiding from the draug that is currently destroying the rock in your face was pretty scary but interesting. Some bugs are also annoying but the game does not deserves a 0 or a 1.… Expand

This game is nearly perfect. There are a few bugs, most MMOs have a fair amount especially right after launch. Absolutely wonderful story, atmosphere, and gameplay. Combat is great imo.

PvP could use some work, but all in all I am VERY pleased with this game and I would and have been recommending it to all my friends.

I just hate the fantasy settings: elfs, orcs, swords, spells.... that kind of crazy stuff so the 99% of MMORPGS on the market bored me to death.
Then, like a flash of light in an endless night, "The Secret World" hit the market and I happily bought it and played it since launch: immersive and clever quests, 3 faction pvp and good graphics are the highlight of this gem of a MMORPG. Very innovative and modern/mature themed MMO: it's like the Holy Grail for an old gamer like me. It's really money well spent. GO TSW !!!… Expand

This game is not for the Hardcore-ADD-Crowd always-skipping-cutscenes and running through the game. If you used too or still play point and click adventure games and enjoy a little D&D then this is the perfect game for you.

I am appalled by the reviewers giving this game anything less than 8/10, i can understand that the game is not for everyone but in its genre it is at-least a 9/10 if not a 10/10.

I have played for about 170-180 hours and i still have not done everything in the game.

To the conspiracy theorist, yes this is my only review, i almost never do reviews, I am not a native English speaker and i have minor dyslexia so writing a review takes time for me.
The only reason I created this review is too support a game that i Love, and I hope others would Enjoy as much as i do.… Expand

The Secret World is what I have been searching for. It combines the sensitivities and fascinating world-building of an adventure game with the complexities and social tools of an MMOG. The Universe is top notch, Funcom's storytelling at it's finest. The game mechanics (particularly character customization) may not be as excitingly new as some people seem to think they should be, but they are solid and fit the game.

I especially appreciate that the narrative the player goes through does not try to convince the player that he is "special". You are a soldier, one of many, and it is not surprising that there are a bunch of people running around doing the same work you are.

The game is not without its faults. Lag in PvP and a handful of other irritating bugs keep this game from being a 10, for now. However, with the fast roll-out of updates planned for the game, I am confident many of these complaints will be fixed, and look forward to spending many years in the Secret World.… Expand

i consider myself addicted to the MMORPG genre having to play just about every new one that comes out. The Secret World is a fresh modern day take on the genre. i started playing during the last couple of betas, pre-ordered, and signed on for lifetime a week into the games launch. the game has seen significant improvement over time and can only get better with monthly content updates. would be a perfect 10 if it weren't for PvP issues and a mission bug here and there, but they are very minor issues.… Expand

Although not for everyone, the secret world is possibly the best mmo released since world of warcraft.
It does play differently then many of the MMO's released to date, it's more difficult to understand the concept of the classless ability system (skill wheel) but when you get it the possibilities are almost endless.

Buy it and try it for atleast a month, you won't regret it.

The Secret World is in my humble opinion the best MMO on the market per 2012. If you like pandas and cuddly toons, this game is probably not for you. I've played for 250 hours and looking forward to playing hundreds more!

I've been playing MMO's since 1998, and spent the best part of ten years playing Ultima Online, so I am as you might imagine a firm fan of Sandboxes. That said, The Secret World is one of the best online gameplay experiences I have had the pleasure of experiencing, and it terms of Theme Parks is top dog in my view.
The story, the voice acting, the graphics, the theme and setting, the sheer number of builds I can play with... all fantastic. The game does have it's flaws and still needs some polish here and there, but if it keeps growing and more content gets added it will become a juggernaut in time.
I also have a great deal of faith in Ragnar, Joel, Martin and co who developed the game. I am sure they will continue to improve the game and deliver an awesome experience.… Expand

I do not like to write reviews, but for this game I will make an exception.
This game is exceedingly good. The design is phenomenal; all the way from the combat system to the manner in which the missions (or quests are performed).
When playing this game, you can clearly see and feel the level hard work, thought and creation put into The Secret World. It is clearly a labor of love.
I enjoy coming home from work and being able to sit down and actually be *challenged* in a game, unlike any game I've played since back in the days of vanilla WoW.
It does have a few bugs, like any game during first release, but not nearly in such quantity as usually found in new MMOs.

I do not like to write reviews and I do not care to read "critic" reviews, as most of us know and understand that money plays a part in how their reviews are formed.

I want to stand up for this game. It's one of the best games I've ever played. It does NOT deserve the bad reviews that have been released; which clearly will result in a lot of hurt and disappointment.
This game is wonderful and I plan to keep playing.
I should note too, no one has *PAID* me to say this.… Expand

Aside from the brilliant setting, atmosphere and story, what makes me love this game is the gear and ability system. The sheer gaming joy of going through all the options and choosing the 7 actives and 7 passives suiting my style and preferences is unparalelled IMO. Currently I have 8 setups of gear and abilites stored, incorporating pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, chaos magic, blood magic and elementalism (I'm not too keen on melee). One of these is for soloing some very hard mobs dropping signets (more on these in a bit), and I made it after trying tons of combinations, trying and failing until I found one that worked. In most other MMO's, you only have the choice of one of the 2-3 cookie cutter builds your class offers (SWtOR, I'm looking at you). I have 3 different builds I change between while doing nightmare difficulty dungeons, one for single target dps and two for AoE. The variations are seemingly endless.

Then there is the gear. You choose yourself if you want to focus on healing, damage or raw health. Then you soon find out you need to put glyphs in your gear, and choose whether to emphasize hit rating, critical hits, evade, damage mitigation, etc., or whatever combination of the possible effects that most synergize with your build. When you get to the best gear, quality level 10, you get signet slots added to the mix. These can be straight up +2 % damage to pistols etc., or a variety of proc-type effects, and again you nee to find the ones the most fitting to your build. For people like me, with a constantly wandering mind and urge to explore and try new things all the time, this is character customization heaven. Besting other people's builds in pvp is of course even more fun.

Considering the above, and that the game have hardly any bugs, and that Funcom have promised new content on a monthly basis, I have no qualms about rating this game a 10.… Expand

No classes, no levels, total user choice of how to play the character, not fixed roles, stunning visual in DX11, missions that you need to use brain to complete, 3 faction pvp with a persistent zone and facton buffs... very good game

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.… Collapse

This game offers awesome game-play, graphics that are fresh and imaginative, sound and music tracks which set the mood extremely well and game-play that is fresh and innovative. The quests offer investigation missions for those who love scouring the web, covert missions for those who enjoy being stealthy, and missions for those who love crashing through doors screaming, "BRING IT ON SUCKERS, THE TERMINATOR IS HERE!"

THe voice acting of the npcs (from many recognisable top actors/actresses) is superb and tells the story in a wonderfully rich way which draws you in, the game lore is scattered about the game areas for those who love Easter egg hunts, there are achievements to gain for those who love to keep count of their kills and the places they have been. The single virtual server structure means you can play with anyone in the world with a chance to form groups at almost any time of day because Europe and the USA servers aren't segregated it is one big melting pot.

To put it bluntly this game is the best current offering in current months and offers the freshest experience I have seen in a long time, give it a go, make it a WoW beater.… Expand

This game came out of nowhere for me, I have never been a fan of King or Lovecraft either, but it has turned me into one, I love the modern setting, great story, kills SWTOR on voice acting, the skill wheel is an amazing innovation to the MMO genre. Don't let the naysayers fool you, this game gets better as you go deeper in. The difficulty level is prefect, you are challenged constantly, need to adapt your builds to suit, but everything can be overcome. There are a few minor bugs and glitches but that is to be expected in any new MMO, nothing has been gamebreaking for me anyways. PVE wise this game is my game of choice.… Expand

I absolutely love this game! The combat system is not as simple as World of Warcraft and not as complicated as Age of Conan. And the possibilities are endless! I can make a healer, tank and summoner on the same character. A few more clicks and BAM, you got an entirely new build. The graphic is amazing (even on my low-end laptop, which isn't even supposed to handle the game, but somehow it does). The cut-scenes and the storytelling is mindblowing, it is so well adapted so I don't care that my character never says a word (like in Age of Conan or SWTOR, when you can have full conversations with NPC;s). I applaude Funcom for this innovative game. Just a final note: How the hell could this masterpiece get so low metascore?… Expand

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 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

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

One of the most unique and ingaging mmorpg's out there that actually thought outside the copy+paste mmo genre..If you like mysteries, myths , and creepy monster designs; you're in for a treat!

It's a fun game. Perhaps not suited for people that are used to grinding through an MMO but if you treat it like a game its really good. The plot and setting are refreshing and the skill tree is ok (a bit confusing )

Try to avoid using walkthroughs or google. It will really suck the fun out of the very fun puzzles. Me and my wife really enjoy solving them together.

Secret World is a breath of fresh air from the monotony of the average MMO and is one of the most original and exciting games to be released in years. The setting, a modern-day fantasy world with a dash of Lovecraftian horror, brings back fond memories of the pen-and-paper RPG Shadowrun or Vampire the Masquerade. Perhaps the most innovative and exciting aspect of this game are the PvE investigative missions. Tired of 'kill 10 bears, then kill 10 more'? Well, don your Holmes pipe and get your notepad ready to do some occult sleuthing. Better brush up on your latin translations and Morse code though because these puzzles are HARD. Like, old-school 'You are likely to be eaten by a Grue' stuck-for-days hard. The not-quite leveling system is also brilliant, with a near infinite combination of character classes in each weapon class. Only a few significant downsides to this game: still a great deal of MMO-grinding particularly in the terrible timed-kill missions; no indication for some group or high-level missions; and sometimes tediously long speeches from mission-givers. These are minor quibbles, though. Step away from GW2 and give this game a try- you will not be disappointed.… Expand

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.

Best MMO ever! Will blast every other game away for years - Finally something for brains! Players and critics that rate this lower than Diablo III and WOW are hereby selfnamed NO-BRAINERS!

The Secret World is finally, FINALLY something a little bit refreshing. There are LOTS of MMOs that are so similiar to each other, that despite being entirely "new" they bore me out of my mind during the first hour of gameplay... And in theory those are games for MONTHS! The Secret World has an uniqe character developement (it's selling point) which is simply quite simple and is both item and skill oriented. You need to carefully decide what to equip and you can shift between healer, dps or tank. You can switch quickly any moment or choose an average in all of those. Story is VERY entertaining and there are many quests and they never REQUIRE you to grind anything - unless you like to yourself.… Expand

The atmosphere and aesthetics of this game are just through the roof compared with any other MMORPG I've played. The scenery, the NPCs, the quests are all truly very well done - and the investigation quests are of old-school puzzle RPG complexity and will really force you to think out of the box. The flexibility of the classless ability wheel provides for a ton of on-the-fly gameplay variety (and you'll need to use it and swap abilities in and out later in the game). Combat is fun and dynamic, where positioning matters versus most mobs - they'll use AoE effects you should dodge, plenty of options to break LOS to mobs with cast time abilities, and versus groups you can line them up so they get in each other's way and only a few can hit you at a time. The instances are very fun and rewarding, with interesting boss mechanics and hardly any trash mobs. And the classless system means it is really easy for people to jump into tank and healer roles so you can form a viable group.… Expand

This game REALLY shines in its creativity on gameplay, story line and ability to get you hooked! The system on abilities are out of this world, the possibilities are almost endless! and the game wants you too pursue how you like to play with your character not needing to play what the game needs you to play. There are so much they can add later on to the game, the world are so open with possibilities and they have already launched a monthly content pack! No MMORPG have this kind of content flow, and i'm positive that Funcom will deliver months and months on. Thank you Funcom for this great game, and too bad for my wife that you made it....… Expand

This game is what has been missing from the MMO space for a very long time. It feels like forever since I've played a game that has captured my interest as much, a game that challenges the brain as well as telling a compelling story. It's not a game for you if you like to power level (levels are largely irrelevant) or if you hate to watch cut scenes, but if you want to play something that doesn't treat you like an idiot, check this out.

The combat is simple to grasp the basics of, but displays its true versatility when exploring the range of complementary skills. Over time it deepens and broadens your range of options, forcing the player to adapt as the play field difficulty ramps up. While there have been rumblings that combat is over simplistic, that's an illusion; it's as complex as you want it to be, and necessitates experimentation.

Again, this is not your game if you don't like to make choices, or you want a "one size fits all" play style.

The environments are broad and challenging, with a good variety of mission types. It's not an all you can eat buffet, with a stack of quests you pile up to munch through, it's a stride through a roaring market where you sample what takes your fancy as you take in the spectacle. The system of tiered missions encourages exploration and avoids leading you by the nose while still displaying the play fields to best advantage.

No need to emphasis the quality of the cut-scenes and the story, as the most biased of Nay Sayers have been unable to find fault with either of these features. I could go on, but the review is already too long and I want to get back to playing...… Expand