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 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

I played during the beta but decided to wait a bit before buying into the game. I purchased the game in early January so I now have 2 months plus the beta time under my belt and I'm still torn on how I feel about the game. I believe Funcom should be commended for trying to think outside of the MMORPG box in regards to their skills and abilities system. Far too many MMOs follow a simplistic model where the player makes one initial "spec" choice and everything in the future is confined to this choice. By removing the idea of numerical "levels", Funcom was able to dispense with this paradigm entirely, allowing players to earn an infinite amount of Ability and Skill Points that can be allocated in any skill. These skills are then used like a customizable card game, where the player determines which skills they prefer and must discover how various skills and passive abilities complement each other. The system can be overwhelming at first but once a new player gets the hang of it, it can be very rewarding. However, because it's still an MMO at heart, players have discovered which weapons or skills are the "best" and have already started sharing "cookie cutter" builds (called "decks") to min-max potential. The act of exploring different playstyles is negated by guilds (called "cabals") who want people to build certain decks for hard mode content and raids. Gameplay is traditional MMO fare: find a rotation and stick to it. Certain skills build points while other spend the points you build and this can be managed between both equipped weapons. In many MMOs, like Warcraft, the playerbase tends to look down on classes where you only click one or two buttons and call it a day but, thanks to the design of only allowing 7 abilities, TSW makes a 2-4 button "rotation" typical for everyone regardless of weapons chosen or deck design. Within only a few hours, the monotony of the combat system sets in. While players get beefier spells as they progress, the monotony of the design never changes. An elemental magic user, for example, might graduate from "Shock" to "Arc Flash" as a primary nuke but the rotation remains the same. Graphically the game is decent but not great. It suffers from many graphical glitches. DX11 integration is lacking and often causes performance drops even on high end systems. Character models are stiff, bland, and uninteresting while combat models and particle effects are merely passable. The world environments are amazing but suffer from texture pop in and shadow issues on both DX9 and DX11 modes. The story of The Secret World tries to pass off a dark, Lovecraftian, post-apocalyptic world full of warring secret societies but falls flat. The secret societies don't feel fleshed out enough to feel as though they're really mortal enemies, and the world doesn't feel as dark as it looks. The in game store is an unmitigated disaster, often having trouble dealing with transactions and bugging out while delivering items that are bought. In addition, the cost of these items are ridiculously high ($7 for a black trenchcoat for ONE character, for example) and is often the only way to get decent cosmetic items as the game's vendors have simple, bland, goods. All told, it can be an enjoyable game but it still retains many of the bugs that were present back in the beta, nickles and dimes players as bad as free-to-play MMOs, and doesn't do anything particularly groundbreaking. The ability and skill system is refreshing for a while but marred by the repetition of the combat and the blandness of the story and character interaction. At $29.99, it is worth playing for the casual player. For the hardcore MMO player, TSW leaves much to be desired.… Expand

This game has had an amazing launch. Gameplay has been very smooth, and most of the bugs have been ironed out. I've played a lot of mmo's, and for me, what sets The Secret World apart is the skill system and the ability wheel. Best. Thing. Ever. One character. Do just about anything. Progression has never been this much fun. A score of 10 is a bit premature (I have no idea what the end game is going to be like), but I just wanted to recognize how much fun I'm having right now.… 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

The Secret World is not a game for everyone. Its a thinking person's game. Personally I find the setting, the art work, the cut scenes and voice overs to be FANTASTIC. This is a game that will challenge you and will challenge most gamer's perspective - because it is not a simple game. It is not like the thousands of Ever Quest/Ultima Online spawn that has been on the market for over a decade. Its unique with some HUGE changes to the genre.

If you like adventure games, brain teasers, really tough boss fights, a literate community - then TSW may be your game. If you like to sign on, have your hand held and given loot easily, you will find TSW an unappealing game.

If you like The Longest Journey or Dreamfall, Ragnar Tornquist's games or Deus Ex or Deus Ex: Human Revolution, then you would like this game. If you like games by Blizzard or Arena Net (NC Soft) then this game may not be appealing.

To me, this is the best MMORPG on the market and I am very happy with my Lifetime Subscription.… Expand

Oh my this is a 10 all the way. It's unlike any MMO I've played before. I personally find the combat far superior to GW2 and like the graphic style and locations. It also plays at a nice pace (much more relaxed than most MMO's). I missions (quests) have thought involved and don't rely on the constant 'Hello I need 15 apples from the forest' crap. This alone makes this game stand out. I wanted to grab it at release but with so many other games at the time, I neglected it. With the now buy and play deal (aka no more monthly fees) it seemed like the perfect time to test drive the game. People's views on games varies hugely and TSW is no exception here. I hear that the initial release had many mission breaking bugs and assume that's why the critic reviews score it so low. So far, I'm yet to find any of these and think that if it was re-reviewed in it's current state the critical score would be much higher. I for one will champion TSW as it deserves the praise. I just joined the Firefall beta and was extremely unimpressed with it. People need to look at new ways to entertain the public. TSW does this. Buy and enjoy.… Expand

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 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

Ok, i can take funcom off my hate list. this game is simply stunning. I cannot explain how fun it is to have an MMO set in modern times. Kingsmouth is the single best MMO zone i have every experienced. How funcom pulled this one out of the hat i have no idea. Better voiceover quests that that starwars game, the best writing in any MMO by far. Interesting quests, no more collect x of y and bring to z. HIGHLY recommend this game. This is how all MMO's should be from now on.… Expand

Damn this game has blown me away it was the smoothest MMO launch I have ever seen. The secret world is a beautiful DX11 masterpiece with no lag whatsoever and stunning locations filled with people and monsters to interact with and what I have seen of the crafting system looks deep and interesting. If you are looking for a new MMO to play and have been disappointed with recent releases you owe it to yourself you buy this game!

PS: I like how the only negative reviews are people who **** up using the slider and still say good things about the game.… Expand

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 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

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

Okay people check this game out thorughly BEFORE you buy it. Watch videos on youtube about gameplay and character creation. I took a bit of a risk buying this game, it did not pay off.
First issue for me is the CC. I think modern day mmos should have excellent chartacter creators, the one in SW is poor. The hairstyles for females are a joke, plenty of mohawks, short boy cuts and some very messy looking bobs and mid length hair styles (about 3) NO LONG HAIR AT ALL. That stinks. The hair colours are weird and dont match the palette, the make-up otions are awful, two badly done ordinary blush and lip colour selections the rest of the make-up choices are horrendous tattoos and clown faces. The slider selections are limited to face selection, jaw, eye shape (not size) lip shape and nose shape. No sizing for body or face at all. ALL BODIES ARE EXACTLY SAME SIZE AND SHAPE. You get to choose some start off clothes, big thrill (NOT) Only accessory choices are glasses, no hats or any other type of accessory.
I found the graphics appallingly clunky and chunky, it looks and feels like a game made ten years ago, no details, the clothes are the same, badly drawn and low quality textures. My husband tweaked graphics as much as he could but game is still very poor to look at.
First taste of fighting was some ridiculous dream sequence, awful fighting mechanics, my character felt heavy and difficult to manage. So far I am nearly hating this game. It feels like a chore and I feel very badly about the money I wasted on it. Am trying to play some more to see if there are any good points. Will come back and add more if I find any.
PLEASE PLEASE dont believe all the hype you read here, check this game out VERY carefully before you buy.… Expand

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

Consider it the irony of all ironies. On its surface, there's nothing special about The Secret World. Classic MMO with a change of setting. But the deeper you go, the deeper it feels. The character (ability) customization is second to none. The varied playstyle between the multiple "decks" (classes) is very wide. And Investigation and Sabatoge quests bring incredibly unique elements to the MMO genre. The problem is this: If you don't give TSW a long enough chance to really sink your teeth into it, it's very easy to just pass over and I don't feel like Funcom really gives you a good enough idea of what the game is about until a few hours in. Granted, this isn't FFXIII where you need 40 hours of patience. Just a couple. Try out a few of the investigation (Green) quests and the Sabatoge (Yellow) quest in the starting zone. Look across all the decks of all the classes. You will see just how deep the rabbit hole goes. I didn't plan on playing this game past GW2- but I might end up playing both. I am very pleased with how TSW is turning out.… Expand

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.

Great constantly growing singeplayer+MMO.
Just try it if you have somewhat powerful PC. It definitely worth more than its price (B2P now) just for singleplayer content. So just try.

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

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 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

I've been playing MMOs for over a decade now, and not since the original iteration of SWG has a game stunned me the way Secret World has. This MMO sets itself apart from a field of rather lackluster and dated games in every way. The combat is fantastic, coupled with a skill-based leveling system that lets you create a truly unique build. The world that Funcom has created for this game is mind-blowing, and the attention to detail is nothing short of incredible. Having experienced the dreadful AoC launch, I was incredibly wary that this game would suffer a similar fate, but to my surprise it has had the smoothest launch of any MMO I've ever played. I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking to break away from the typical WoW-like MMOs, you won't be disappointed.… Expand

This is a weird game...but it is enjoyable. It really doesn't hold your hand or explain very much. Fortunately, if you have a question there is a huge community that probably already has the answer that can be quickly accessed in the ingame web browser. The graphics are above par for an MMO. A ton of care has been taken into the story telling for each individual quest. The game is awash in missions to complete, and you can even go back and DO THEM AGAIN after they cooldown. The frequency of updates for little tweaks is nice as well, and let's you know the developer is listening to the community. And the atmosphere...absolutely awesome. That being said, I've been playing this game for about a week...and the leveling/skilling, vendor situation is still incomprehensible to me. While the missions are fun, it's just not very clear what the strategy is for acquiring skills. It's not even clear what the skills really do until you purchase them and try them out. Even the XP system is fairly vague. After a lot of grinding to get to upper level AR skills, which had it's own issues telling me I needed the incorrect things to unlock, resulted in me spilling 9 AP (that's alot at an early level) in my first AWESOME upper level skill...to obtain something that is actually worse than a similar skill I gained right off the bat. I'm guessing it has some sort of stacking ability that can be really awesome if someone else has some other skill and buffs me...but how do I know what that skill is? How do I find someone that intentionally went for this buff or even knows that this buff will make an AR guy like me a beast and be looking for me? This is where the game really falls down. The difficulty rises pretty quickly and your skill choices become more and more costly...even though half of them seem like traps that are garbage skills. If not, the game never explained the usage. The interface is at times really cool, and others really clunky. This game is so good and so bad at the same time. I would still give it a 7. Even when I get frustrated with it, I come back to it a little later. They need to clear up the vendor system. Work a little bit harder at explaining the mechanics.… Expand

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.

Far too much focus has been placed on the storytelling aspect of this game, which is, after all is said & done, a standard combat MMO. Once the story has been experienced once, it's no longer important, no? So why all the focus on this in a subscription based game we're supposed to play for years? The biggest problem as a result of this mis-focus is unsatisfying combat. Since the player will spend the majority of his time fighting in a game like this, it's crucial that combat be well thought through. Instead, it appears that no thought whatsoever has been given to this front & centre aspect. As a result, a child could predict that this game will fail. I've given a very low score due to the fact that I know the developers have been aware of the combat issue for a very long time now, but opted for the usual bone-idle denial rather than making corrections that could have easily made the game a success. Such roaring stupidity does not deserve mercy.… Expand

The game advertises that players can choose to build their character any way they choose. That's all well and great, but the game still follows the standard tank/dps/healer model of gameplay. So obviously some character builds will be superior than others to fill these roles. And of course there will be elitist players ingame who insist that if you're not following the standard cookie cutter build, you're not really serious about group content. Still, I find the game to be enjoyable. The atmosphere is absolutely wonderful. I love the horror theme of the game, something that's new in the MMO genre. I'm having fun and I continue to log in to play which says a lot more for this game than most other MMOs on the market. I think you'll enjoy it too.… Expand

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.

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.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this is the best mmorpg ever made,no elves or other, be what you want and dont worry about lvl`s
the quests are great,always good option in quests solve a mystery or shoot your way thru,not the ordenary boring wall of text when you get a newmission...it is really amazing… Expand

I purchased this game without knowing much about it. And now i must say : i am a happy customer. The Secret world takes questing to a whole new level by introducing investigation for the first time in a MMo. Forget the typical kill 5 wolves quest. This game will not take you by the hand as it forces you to think. It's a clever game and other developers should learn from this quest system. The ability system is also well though and allows you to customise your play-style to create a unique character. Dungeons look nice and also offer a good challenge with proper rewards. My only complains are the poor character animations and PvP. PvP at this point is not the backbone of this game as it offers nothing new to the table, and is rather unstable at the moment. If you are looking for an MMo to do quests and dungeons, the secret world is the game you're looking for. If PvP is the only thing you are after, don't bother, GW2 is just around the corner and they are other games such as EvE online that offer a much better PvP experience than TSW.… Expand

This is the MMORPG we were waiting for. Smooth release. Fantastic world. So fun to play. You can play what ever you want. Tons of spells and weapons to test your builds. Just perfect MMORPG.

And the story and Voice over are just amazing. You need to experience this game yourselfs.