Amazing game. The combat is very fluid, but it there's a higher than usual learning curve on making a build that flows well. The lore is engaging. Unlike another fully voiced MMO we know, the questing feels a lot less pointless and I found myself trying to clear every single quest in a zone before moving on. Haven't really run into any serious quest bugs, but a lot of the investigation missions are quite difficult and may lead many to think they're bugged.

TSW is seriously underrated by critics, but if you look at the user scores you'll see that it's very high in comparison to that of other MMOs. There's no more subscriptions, but if it weren't for the misleading reviews at release, I totally would have bought a permanent subscription.… Expand

The combat in this game is quite possibly the worst experience you could have in a game. If you are looking to buy this game for it's combat, buy something else. The environments and detective quests are surprisingly enjoyable, but still I always find myself asking the same question; why couldn't they have put more effort into the combat? In my honest opinion, there are better games to waste your time on.… Expand

The title and boxart made me think this was some crappy Asian import. (Boy was I wrong.)

This is a game for people that enjoy depth and complexity. The writing is phenomenal. The class(less) system is extremely complex. This game is a hidden gem and there's no monthly fee.

I loved this game.. almost all the other MMO's are super boring to me and I literally was about to give up on them all togeather until this game came out. You always have something to work toward in this game with the unique skill system. I love being able to work on a tank set, then go for a melee dps set, or healer and can switch between them whenever I want. The story is awesome and I love the Templar faction. Only real complaint is some of the bugs and the PVP.. I can literally toss some tank gear with some dps and troll people with AOE skills. Other than that, some of the battles for the factories in pvp are legendary. I highly recommend the game.… Expand

Very under rated game. It's one of those games you can put endless amount of hours into it. There is so much to do and explore. Quests are fun and they don't feel repetitive. Developer is active and always adding new free content. I would have never tried this game if there was a monthly subscription and I'm glad. My only complaint is some of the riddles are too difficult but you can always cheat. Highly recommend it for anyone looking for a new game to get into, riddle fans or RPG fans.… Expand

Bugs.
More bugs.
Horrible controls.
Boring story.
Very limited BGM (Background Music) variety.
Too much grinding.
Way too much grinding.
Crapiest PVP system on earth. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Unlike others below, this game convinced me to give up on Funcom. It's incredibly buggy, incredibly exploited, crashes...often...Did I say that it's heavily exploited? A few minutes in the battle grounds and you will understand ;)

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

Issues after months of "fixes":

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

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

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

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

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


Other issues,… Expand

The style of character development takes some getting used to and some of the solo missions are a complete pain in the butt; however, it it turns out to be a very enjoyable game with great atmosphere and store lines.

I wish there was a better mechanism for finding groups, it feels very lonely for being a MMORPG. But if you manage to come with a friend or two of your own it is a lot of fun except those solo missions.… Expand

Amazing game do not be fooled by the low critic review this game has a great modern day world to explore, tons of interesting quests, this game is worth the 30 dollars hands down.

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

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

The other best mmrpg out there. The best being Warhammer online, of course. Yeh, perhaps the density of monsters is too high in some areas, but altogether everything else in this game is right and might.

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

Easily in the top 3 best MMO's currently out, The Secret World does almost everything right. Questing and leveling are a refreshing change from the standard formula, and the setting is immersive and unlike anything else on the market. Fans of customizing a character will love the skill-wheel system, as there are no true classes and you can change literally everything about your character's abilities. Everything has a touch of the Horror genre to it (which you'll feel in depth from the very first area.) Quests can be both very hard and rewarding, some of which require you to do actual research in the in-game browser (or just look up the answer to a puzzle in the many guides that exist.) All that said, the game falls a little flat in the endgame. PVP is mostly unsatisfying and stacked toward premade teams (which are in the same queue as soloers), the endgame Nightmare-level dungeons can be both prohibitively difficult and excessively grindy, and the move to buy-to-play has ensured that endgame content will continue coming out at a slow pace. Not perfect, but well worth the purchase price, and very easy to sink a large amount of time into.… Expand

So I just took my first look at "The Secret World" I figured no sub, one time buy... why not? I have to say that I am torn in whether liking it or totally hating it. I lean more towards the total hate side. The trailers and description are total eye candy... However as we all know the trailers will show the best the game has to offer and not the worst, similar to a photo album... All you will see is smiling faces in the pictures. The game itself has a terrific storyline but the game play just does not match it... It almost seems they put more time into the "lore" if you will then the actual game itself... I like the fact that they took a step away from the traditional MMO's that we see so often now a days but I would be lying if I said they took a step in the right direction... If a game becomes a job then there is no point to it, and many of the problem solving aspects of this game is damn near like a job... Kudos to the developers for doing their own thing and not following "the scene" but as far as a semi-hardcore players view it is lacking immersion, basics and excitement.… Expand

The Secret World is a hidden gem in the MMO landscape. The quests are brilliant and very few are simply fetch X of this and kill Y of that. They have a lot of thought put into them and the resulting questing experience is really enjoyable and has a lot of flow. Some of the investigation quests are down right devious and you'll be finding yourself using the ingame web browser to help solve them, or if you are up for a bigger challenge, spending a couple of hours trying to crack the code yourself. For instance, one quest involves deciphering morse code to figure out a location to go to. Not so hard if it was written down, but the morse code is audio. Of course the answer is freely available on the internet if you wish to go that way, or decipher yourself if you're really up for a challenge.

The dungeons are also well paced and thought out and offer a good challenge, very minimal trash so the action really flows.

There are no "levels" as such but you'll need to complete quests to gain XP to allow you to wear better armour and gain access to better skills.

Given that this game has dropped the monthly subscription (I'd be surprised to see any major MMOs launch with a monthly subscription in the future btw - I think the micro transaction model is the way of the future) it is well worth the purchase up front for hours and hours of gameplay.… Expand

For being an MMO, the storyline is amazing. It's very deep and well written, and the graphics is probably the best in it's genre. There are a few bugs here and there, but overall it's a great experience. Best part is that the subscription is gone. Pay once and play as much as you want. This game doesn't suffer from what other F2P games does. There's no "Pay to win" in this game at all. All you can purchase are more item and character slots and a few boosts that makes you level up faster, but that's more to help you progress faster and it won't effect your gameplay experience if you choose not to pay for extra stuff. Considering that you can get the game for about $20-30, being completely fee-free and offers the player alot of fun, I highly recommend this game.… Expand

Very inovative as MMORPG in many aspect. Questing is a real pleasure and the story is very deep, an uncommon feature for MMORPGs. Now that is B2P i think it deserves the the attention of many.

A game with original background and gameplay. Numerous and various missions. A must have when u love MMos. Puzzles in MMos are refreshing and bring a new blood in these kind of games.

It been since bc wow that I've lost track of time where 4 hours feels like 1 cause playing is so much fun. I loved it in beta and it's come a long way since then and keeps getting better.

The game's topic is fascinating, some of the cut scenes are OK, and the combat system is interesting. Unfortunately, for a secret societies / end of the world game, it does not have any suspense or horror feeling.

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

I cannot imagine that a developer studio that has quite some past experience with creating and running MMOs produced such an obvious B title on purpose. My impression of the game is that it was shoved out the door both regarding design and implementation, before the funding ran out, hoping to fix some of the design errors later. "Later" never came, as many customers these days rather spend their money for finished games, having enough MMOs to choose from.… Expand

Featuring original content, a rarely seen modern theme and a gaming experience that is both engaging and thought invoking, The Secret World really does bring a lot to the table. This game will push you more than most western MMOs. Messing up a puzzle could mean the difference between life and death and combat even against trash mobs is intense to the point that it really makes it clear that it's a MMO meant to be just that, playing with other players. Not only do I highly recommend this 20 dollar AAA title, I give the game a full 10/10 for its bold decision to not be another clone of a generic grinder. Once again Funcom has created a great MMO experience unlike any other for the time.

Also, I wanted to note that some 'professional' reviews have been ridiculously PMS over the game while they reviewed it in a limited closed beta test phase with nearly no content. No really, read the review from G4 and it's clear that the reviewer decided that limited closed betas are good enough as full releases and the game does not deserve a proper review... Real professional indeed.… Expand

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.

So a few things about this game that set it apart from other MMOs: Investigation Missions, which require the player to put some thought into quests (unless you look up spoilers); you will be required to use clues, and put 2+2 together to solve a mystery or puzzle. Sabotage missions: these quests typically involve stealth and non-combat to solve. There is no "stealth mode" so it means actually having to sneak by guards without fighting. No levels or classes: characters have access to every skill, ability and weapon in the game. As you progress, you eventually will have ALL the skills, weapons and abilities; the tricky part is to find the right combination of weapons and abilities that will allow you to beat a particular type of creature. You build multiple decks that can be swapped in and out as the situation requires. Lovecraftian, modern day setting: it's a mix of X-Files, Poe and Indiana Jones -- the atmosphere is just great. Because it's modern day, you have access to devices such as cell phones and a browser within the game. Story and personality: All the missions have great individual stories, and they all tie together into a larger story as you explore. Fantastic cut scenes and great humor -- the NPCs are truly inspired.

Fun, challenging dungeons: the dungeons don't have lots of trash, but they DO have great settings and very interesting mechanics. They are a bit on the difficult side, so figuring out how to tackle the big bad is always challenging and fun.

Separation of gear from clothes: you can look however you like since clothes are completely independent of the gear (talismans). Some very nifty clothing options, and cool uniforms you can unlock as you open decks on the ability wheel.

Great community: one of the friendliest, mature and most helpful I've been around. Lots of opportunity and support for RP, including pubs, a nightclub and an in-game theater stage for plays.

Downsides : PvP is still a work in progress (it has its dedicated followers), animations are a bit lackluster, and not as many facial and body type options as I would like. There's little in-game hand-holding, so the learning curve can be a bit steep, especially with the ability wheel and decks. Still, the community helps here. There are a few niggly bugs still hanging about.

Overall, though, a fantastic game, if something of a sleeper. Heartily recommended.… Expand

The best MMO I ever played (I have long background in Legends of Mir, Guild Ways, SWTOR). Interesting storyline, quests that are so different from standard (go to location X and kill 100 worms), interesting combat and character upgrade system. Really worth checking especially since now it's B2P, you pay once and pay for ever (ok, later you may want to buy DLCs, but it's up to you like in GW).

This game definitely is different in all the right ways, but the same in all the wrong ways to other MMORPGs out there. The mobs in this game are repetitive and annoying. While you do get different weapons and equipment than a standard MMO, it plays out the same. So you get a book instead of a staff or a gun instead of a bow, but you're still mashing the same attacks and doing the same damage. The UI is not intuitive is hard to customize and there are still quite a few glitches in the game. The community is hard to get involved with. One thing I hate about this game is the zones. Everyone is segregated into whatever zone they are in at the time, and it really makes it hard to have any lasting friendships made in-game and social aspects are not there like in other games. Zones can take hours to go through and have many quests, but once you move on, odds are you won't want to go back.

I did like the story, and the cut scenes, and the voice overs and the environments. But I could get much better stories, cut scenes, voice overs, and environments playing a solo RPG. The reason I wanted an MMORPG was so I could have social interaction. Since I didn't feel this community in The Secret World, the game boils down to a lackluster and glitchy low-end RPG game with mechanics that do not do well for solo play.… Expand

I was debating for weeks if I should get this game due to the reviews. I finally caved and bought it and am very glad I did. I played wow for 8 years and have been searching for a replacement for a long time. I tried countless other mmo's, and nothing could hold my attention for very long no matter how hard I wanted them to (rift, tera, gw2, swtor - the list goes on and on). The graphics, animation, combat, gameplay are all awesome. The weapon and ability customization is killer. The server I am on has tons of people, all with really cool and funny clothing (some even have dogs and cats), and the community is very helpful. Questing is a blast, more fun than I have ever had doing so.

There was a lot of people writing about puzzle quests. This is a very minimal part of the game, and being able to press b for the in game browser makes any quests you get stuck on easy as could be. Just press b, type in google: tsw and instantly the first result is a site that shows you exactly what to do, but like i said, you will not need it often.

If they keep adding on to this game it could easily become one of the best mmo's around. I would easily have paid a sub fee for this game. This is by far the most fun I have had playing an MMO. I like it so much that I was compelled to write a review for it - something I have never done before for any game, but I really wanted to get it out there to others how much fun it is.

So if you are sitting there like I was, reading 1000 reviews wondering if you should get it - do it!… Expand

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.

I didn't expect much from this game, and that's what I got. Stiff animations, boring story, and cooldowns on shotguns? Really? TSW tries, but fails to entertain me. A game can't survive on cut scenes and dull combat.

Best MMO out of the market atm. The stories the community and developers are first class. The developers have delivered over and over again with regard to updates and quality, you are genuinely doing yourself a disservice if you don't pick this up particularly now it is Buy to Play.

This game was a wonderful game for the first two areas to the middle of the third area. I was surprised by the game, I liked the model of the monsters, but not the character models (no matter how much you try it seems impossible to either make a good looking female character or a tough looking male character) - they all look weird and off. The game was intriguing and fun until Blue Mountain. The game soon became annoying. Your build begins to fall apart and even trying to take on two individuals on a mission labeled Very Easy becomes tedious and almost annoying. I can understand difficulty in a game, many of the investigation missions were fun and enjoyable until they become more of a problem than their worth. The investigation missions go from using wit, and intelligence to say "hey, this sounds like I should go to city hall to complete this quest" to "match the symbols". Mobs go from minor problems and quite fun play toys to annoying pests that make trying to walk on roads on a problem. Trying to flee will turn from an easy escape when you are overwhelmed to getting a small dose of hope before you essentially commit suicide because you know that when three regular mobs are on you... you are screwed. The Savage Coast was the most fun of the entire game I had. The mobs were diverse and fun except for the charging bug creatures. Blue mountain soon becomes cluttered and traversing an area without being attacked by any mob means you are lucky. The game has this idea that there are no level system but your level is basically determined by the quality level of your items. In the same sense that a level 1 will be devastated by a level 10 in other MMOs, a player with quality level 1 gear will be devastated by a mob designed to be attacked by a player in quality level 10 gear. I may have bashed the game severely, but do not get me wrong... I loved the game for a large portion of it and made me addicted to it. However, I have never played a game that made me so frustrated that I impulsively uninstalled the game and there have been games that have had me consider breaking my computer at the infuriating aspects.… Expand

After shelling out 25 bucks for the game on steam and playing it for 30 minutes, I decided never to play the game again. It sucks that bad ! I got suckered into buying this game because of all the good reviews on here. Now I either think these people are personally insane that gave it a good rating or these are company employees posting. LOL Now after the game is supposedly free to play now with no monthly dues they still charged my credit card after I took the billing details off their website. Hands down one of the worst experiences I have had. Now I have to contest the charges on my card and all that jazz. Such a waste of time and resources for me on my end. Save yourself some time and money and DONT buy this crappy game !… Expand

This game tries so hard to emit the creepy, eerie feeling of a classic horror story but it just fails to do so in any convincing manner. Within the first few hours of this game I was already turned off by the narrative, the presentation and the general vibe of the game. Possibly the biggest problem I have with this game is the story, if you've ever read or even casually flipped through a Lovecraft novel you'll find this games attempts to present a dark atmosphere laughably poor. The quests seem to go on forever but with no real purpose, I felt no interest in anything, even though I was trying. The only time I remember actually feeling a twinge of dread was when I remembered how much I had spent on this game.… Expand

I really have to admit funcom aspires to make a great game. They try on a lot of fronts. But not on bugfixing. There are bugs in there - major bugs which exist already since beginning and there are a lot of people complaining about it. what do they do? put new clothes in the store that you can buy. really i mean. i see that it takes time to fix stuff, but forever? for that unbelievable bad service they do not deserve any points at all. that is just bland evil.… 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).

If you're tired of the traditional-style MMO, TSW is the game for you. The dungeons are amazing, they focus more on the boss fights than the amount of trash-mobs; the cut-scenes are fun to listen to (they also have some awesome voice actors;) ) Investigation/Sabotage missions can take a while to complete and even require some outside information, or even Google; with a built-in web browser in-game it does not take away from the immersion to use a search engine (if you role-play, think of your toon using a smart-phone). The graphics are amazing, you can see the glitter of a road's asphalt in Kingsmouth Town; the structures of the game look picturesque. Each Society (or faction) has their own storyline to it, and their own way of getting things done, adding a unique feeling to each of them. There are some issues in the game (quest bugs, chat issues; many bugs that plague most MMOs to-date) you can get stuck on a quest tier, have issues with chat, have some tooltip errors or missing items. I must say, Funcom has some of the most hospitable GMs I've ever seen (from my experiences) they get everything done as fast as they can, always are in a good mood, fun to talk to sometimes to :). The combat is certainly interesting. The combinations of passive/active abilities are difficult to decide which one(s) you want in those slots, some skills are just that good. The passive/active abilities can work in harmony to create some devastating effects, like high penetration hits (which do massive damage, more than criticals I believe) or massive healing boosts/damage mitigation. Each skill tree has their strength: Hammers can benefit from Impairment (knock-down, stunning) to increase damage/defense; Blood Magic benefits from DoTs to increase penetration rating/heal/apply DoTs; and so on, so forth. You get one elite active and one elite passive, both of which can turn the tables in any fight, the tough thing is deciding which on you want to use. The Secret World is definitely a breath of fresh air from the traditional MMOs. The modern-day setting is really amazing: from the dark streets of Kingsmouth to the conflict-ridden dunes of Egypt to the gloomy woods of Transylvania; The Secret World does an excellent job at setting the mood for each of the zones and dungeons. The Secret World is definitely a game worth trying, especially if you are a fan of some famous authors ;).… 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

A very well thought out, complex game, that continues to be enjoyable even after launch. Excellent Sandbox MMO. End game is starting to come around, PvE is fun and makes you think to solves puzzles. PvP is challenging but still fun.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm totally enjoying this game and it's been well worth the money i've spent. If you like your MMOs with a narrative then this is the game for you. And now that it's free to play, there's no reason to not give it a try.… 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.

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

Everything you would expect from an MMO in this genre, which is saying A LOT because I'm not aware of another MMO that uses the supernatural/X-files/Grimm genre, dark humor included. The UI is ridiculously well designed and intuitive. The Graphics are top notch, while Funcom's Game Engine is the most advanced, and has been for a long time. The questing system flows so that you are rarely without something to do, either solo or with friends or pick-up group. dungeons are boss only, no trash mobs, or very little. Crafting is intuitive. landscape is incredibly well done, and attention to environment detail is ridiculous. PVP is great for all levels, and you can theoretically do all your leveling and buy all your gear from pvp'ing. Armor is replaced with Talismans, that are fully customizable and upgradable repeatedly, where a new upgrade just pushes out the old one. players are rewarded for being versatile and experimenting with their setup, and punished for being lazy and trying to be a one-trick-pony. you can save dozens of different setups and switch to them on the fly. Weapons can be skinned, modified, upgraded or even built from scratch and then broken down again when you are done with it. playfields are huge in scope, while the compass system and maps are well done and easy to follow. teaming is easy. dimensions are broken into shards, where anyone from any server can team up with anyone from another server, great if you want to farm an area and its already full. transportation in tsw is fast and convenient. there is little penalty for dying, except that you can either run back and find corpse or Resurrect elsewhere at a well of your choice, or when in a dungeon fighting boss. if you die fighting a boss in a dungeon, you are locked to an anima well, but you can click the camera option and get a birds eye view of the fight from any teammate still in the fight, which helps to learn the tactics if you die and are new to that boss. ----- In conclusion; this is the best MMO in history for those that love the genre, and just hate grinding. you will meet some of the most fleshed out characters in this MMO, characters that remind you of real people. All voice acted. You will constantly be rewarded everywhere you go, and experimenting with weird and uncanny builds will only serve to benefit you in the long run. If you haven't bought this game yet, do it. just be warned: you will not be able to stop playing.… Expand

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

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

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

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

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

Negative
- The character creation process is ridiculously limited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Secret World had potential. However, if you have played MMOs before and are a veteran looking for a deep sense of accomplishment and gratification then this title is a bane to your existence. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere or spending your money on something more rewarding like a lottery ticket.… Expand

The dialogue and story are where this game really shines. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed the humor in this game.

The downside is solo play. Even more than most MMOs, this game (like all Funcom games) is really designed for very social gamers. If you prefer to solo TSW can be incredibly grindy and frustrating.

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!

Its different yes, which also means that it does things differently.

So if you are looking for a new WoW clone, then look elsewhere - because this is just so much better than what you are looking for then. This game is among the best games i have played and it is also a solid MMORPG. For once we see innovation in the MMORPG genre and i like it. Graphics are crisps, no performance issues, solid questing system and better storytelling than any other MMO (Maybe SWTOR have better story, but then again that is more of a massive-single-player-RPG). And big thumbs-up for the monthly content updates and bug fixes. Unlike many other, FunCom is very dedicated to correcting and expanding the game. Already after one month old areas was worth a re-visit to see the new stuff. Try it - it is definitely worth your time!… Expand

This game is great. The modern day setting, the story-line, the voice acting, the puzzles; are fresh. I like the fact that you only need one character to fill any party role. In other MMO's I would roll an alt for every class. Now I can pursue endgame content full time. If groups are needing a healer, I'm that. If they need DPS, I'm that. Still learning tanking, but if they break the glass, I can even be that.

All monsters are real. All conspiracies are real. I love this game so much, and see so much room for future content I bought my first MMO lifetime subscription.… Expand

The game is a blast and for an MMO the game play, setting, and story is refreshing. Unlike many MMOs as you continue through the storyline you do feel that your character is taking a side in the world conflict.

I would say this game is designed with the target audience being experienced MMO players who are tired of hight fantasy MMOs and are looking for something different. While the game does not strictly put you into one of the basic classes (Tank, healer, DPS) because of the open ended ability wheel and being able to hot-swap what your character does, don't think this means it's a "classless" game. The community as well as how the game mechanics work will eventually lead you to building a set of abilities that basically makes you a tank, healer, or dps. However what is nice is the variety of combinations that you can use to achieve your goal makes leveling and unlocking new abilities and trying them out to see if one is better than another a real treat.

Endgame still has the same problems as any other MMO in that once you hit it and once you've gotten all the gear you want, there's basically nothing left to do but PVP and finish up the numerous little achievement goals they set out. I hit the cap about two months ago (been playing since release) and am finally to the point where I'm not playing the game every day.

The monthly updates makes sure that there's always a reason to keep your subscription going (or at least reactivate it ever two or three months).… Expand

I've actually waited a few to come and post my 2 cents worth of a review. Mostly, because I've been wondering if at some point I would get bored with it.

Four months later... I'm still playing the game and enjoying every minute of the game play. Even if I'm just doing missions or if I'm grouping up with my cabal mates to tackle a dungeon. The main story was very compelling and even now I still talk about the little theories I have about the stories development with my friends.

Sure things are clunky, but what game that comes out is not without issues. WoW had them, as did EQ, Star Wars Galaxies and a slew of other games. Definitely give this game a chance and watch the content unfold, it really is worth the time.… Expand

I was really excited about TSW. It seemed to offer heaps of innovation. I pre-ordered it, and only played for a week, didn't renew my subscription. Very disappointed. The setting, theme etc are really different. It has story, voice acting etc. Great stuff and well done for that. More MMOs should be like it. BUT, the game is dull. You spend ages just running around, unable to interact with the world around you (especially the bicycles lying around which would really speed things up if you were allowed to click on them!). The combat is extremely repetitive and old-fashioned. Just mash the same button over and over again, against the same-looking set of zombies over and over again. It's like SWTOR, story and character, but the gameplay is stuck in the bad part of 2003.… Expand

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

I created an account just so that I can provide my opinion of this game. I purchased this game when it launched on steam (after the initial launch) and was very disapointed with my purchase. The game was still lacking in the polish department which was unacceptible for the price paid. Text dissapearing from character names and logs, poor font visibility, and insanely poor combat animations are all things that should have been fixed before this game came out. People should not pay retail for a company to actually finish their game. I have played many MMO's over the ages, (DAoC, WoW, UO, Tera, LoTRO, GW2, etc) and trust me this is an MMO to avoid... I gave this a three due to good ideas and decent atmosphere but overall this game is a mess. Further, I honestly think NoFuncom is paying people to Lie in here...… Expand

The Secret World is one of the best MMO experiences I have had to date. The lore and story is very immersive and extremely well done. The voice acting is top notch and really puts you into the story. The skill based system is very interesting, and allows you create a character of your liking. Funcom has also proven that they can delivery content updates and features worthy of the subscription fee. I highly suggest you give this game a try.… Expand

The best MMO i ever played. Cool modern world setting. Unreachable MMO graphics. Funny actionbased gameplay. And a much harder end content in instances than all other MMOs have. There is no better MMO on the market. And the game will be better every month with this content updates.

Finally a game that requires real intelligence. a lord fantastic, beautiful graphics.
If you want a game simple and lightweight go your way. By cons, if you are looking for a deep play and require The secret world is the best game that you can find

This game was a lot of fun. I played it for 2 months did everything i could that wasn't a dull grind and then moved on with my life. I loved the investigation missions and the atmosphere of the game. PVP being terrible is the only reason why i didn't give this game a 9. I will be back time and time again as they put out new updates to the awesome world.

This is the best game I have played for a very long time. TSW makes you actually think about the missions and the choices you make in the game. The skill wheel is a genuis idea, even though you can only use 2 weapons at any one time (plus we get an extra weapon later we can use as an extra) you are not tied to them or their passive skills, you can pick a choose a passive from anywhere on the wheel. Not happy with pistols? Then pick another weapon. none of your weapons have impair? then choose from a range of passives that can fix that for you. The points do come thick and fast which means you don't have to grind to get more points, a blessing in the beginning of the game when you are starting out and may make some mistakes. The ability to use any passives you want is one of the best ideas I have seen in an MMO for a long time. "YOU" get to pick and choose what you want to use, not what the devs want you to use. But it's the story telling and missions that make this game. (TOR please take note, I actually remember the NPCs and where they are based as they made such an impact on me). The storytelling will blow you away (I sometimes play "guess the stars voice") and the missions? Some will make you tear your hair out, some will have you laughing, some will make you hold your breathe, some will make you jump and not want to play in the dark. This game makes you think outside SO many boxes it will blow your socks off. It's a mixed bag of puzzles, stealth and shot em ups!

Also you will never get to that moment where you have run out of missions for your level and have to slowly grind your way to be able to unlock the next batch of missions. (points finger at TOR again) TSW doesn't work like that (thank the gods!) yes this game has had bugs (name one MMO that started out bug free?) but what is great is the devs seem to listen to the community and have been fixing those where they can. We have devs posting to say when they are working on issues/ problems and what is coming up if someone is discussing something they would like to see. The GM support in game is brilliant, the longest I've waited for help on a known mission bug was 30 minutes on a busy weekend when new content came out and they waited for me to go back to the mission I was having probs with so they could help. Also if you get stuck in game with a mission the community is pretty quick to help you out. So yes it has it's flaws but you know they are working on things to make the game better all the time, which is nice to know. The landscape and monsters are just beautifully done, sometimes it's nice to stop and look around to take it all in. I've even got into playing PvP and am loving it, even though the last few MMO's put me right off playing PvP content. yes it needs to be improved but they are working on this so things can only get better. I've not done the dungeons yet so cannot comment but they have introduced lairs to each zone for those looking for harder content and I've run screaming from a few of them. Also we get free updates and the devs have stated that they won't be doing add ons we have to pay extra for. updates normally have a few missions (which you get clothing items for completing them) and there's a new raid coming and a theatre for the RP to use! Free updates and free stuff to do keeps players happy :) we got a new barbar and plastic surgeon so we now have more looks to play with and halloween content just round the corner. what's not to love?! :) If you play 20 hours a day, like your hand being held all the time, only do PvP, like easy peasy "kill x bunny" missions and like being told what weapons you can use then maybe it's not the game for you. For the rest of you, come on over and bring a swimsuit, the water is lovely!… Expand

Extremely inconsistent game; poor balance between "classes" (your class is, more or less, the two weapons you're using) leading to a small number of flavor-of-the-month builds; constant exploitation and bugs; questionable endgame involving extremely repetitive farming.

It's not a perfect game.... but it's the best game in 2012.. actually is the best MMORPG why? because it is a MMO ROLE PLAY GAME differently from many other came out under the MMORPG label but that are honestly not ROLE PLAY GAMES a game with only class and no role cannot be considered a RPG it's closer to a FPS then to a RPG (and a bad FPS) I understand the contect wont last in the hand of people that play 10 hours a day but for a person that play at a normal peace is a very nice game different and interesting… Expand

If I compare TSW with any other MMO I've played in the last years - this one really captured me. I just recently started with doing Lair bosses and they are a good alternative to the nightmare dungeons or pvp combat zones. I've seen many players coming back from GW2 recently, which I see as a good sign for the future of TSW. With the new game director Joel Bylos there will be many more features to explore and play with in the next few months - so I will definitly keep on playing that game and no other...… 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

Really 8.5 but as there are no half marks, I gave it a 9. Perfect MMO? No. Innovative MMO? Hell yes. In truth this is like a breath of fresh air in the stagnant world of MMOs, most of whom aspire to be WoW-but-looks-a-bit-different. The Secret World actually *is* different. Moreover Funcom are reactive to major bugs, the Devs actually comment in threads on the official forum and I have never had better customer service in any game from in-game GMs when I file a petition for some reason. That last point alone is probably worth 2 points on the score! The freedom this game offers from the cookie cutter 'Trinity' and 'One Best Build for Task' is very refreshing indeed. The story lines are uncompromisingly adult and the puzzles are bloody hard (the game has a modern setting and an in-game browser so you can google things!). So if you like a game to molly coddle you and not force you to think, then this is *not* the game for you. Likewise you actually have to move in this game because position matters, so if you prefer games that are essentially your min-max spreadsheet against his min-max spreadsheet, again this game might not be your cup of tea. Otherwise, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Oh and if you are a fan of the HP Lovecraft genre of horror, you will be hit in the face by all the references like a rubbery Shoggoth tentacle. Simply splendid.… Expand

Best. Game. Ever. I would discuss why but it's been said in most of the 10/10's What I would suggest is being wary of many of the really negative reviews. Only because quite a few have been so glaring wrong (and I mean factually as opposed to their opinion) that I doubt they really even played the game. Although a tad expensive I feel the regular content updates coupled With the excellent concepts coming out of the dev teams really make it worth it's money. On top of this, the content designers are actually listening to the fan and building and implementing what's being asked for. Please note however that this is a very PvE centric game and whilst developers are aiming to improve and expand the PvP content it would not appear to be the main focus. So if roflstomping your fellow man is your bag then you may need to readjust your expectation should you decide to subscribe to the truly excellent The Secret World.… Expand

The game is very mixed: a great levelling process followed by character progression that is purely gear related. It was so close to being a good game, but at the end of the day, it's one for the grinders only.

What a fantastic MMO. Best experience I ever had, challenging, immersion is top notch, storytelling is a dream, graphics and engine are top notch bleeding edge. Got tesselation in my MMO? Hell yeah! Well, I´m not much of a PvPer but the only thing that keeps TSW from a 10 is a little work invested into PvP, but that´s what they already plan. Also a lot do and a lot to come for RPers as well. So, this gets a clean honest 9 from me. Thanks for putting brain back into gaming and looking forward to many years of fun in my new MMO home.… Expand

One of the best mmo's I have played. And it keeps getting better every month.
Its unique, its fresh and its fun!
I have gone through hundreds of mmos most didnt even last one month, TSW? I just cant stop playing it

Lots of fun, amazing lore, lots of content, something new, deep combat & leveling system.

Fun: Combat is challenging, but not frustrating. There's plenty of easier content to run through if you are in the mood for a casual day. Plenty of really tough stuff to run through if you are in the mood for a challenge, too. The game does a great job of making you feel like more of a bad-ass as you level up, as well. Lore: It is like a good novel. Interesting characters, some pretty intense situations, very few pulled punches, extremely creative. The writing and voice overs are top notch. Even if you aren't interested in getting sucked into a MMO, I'd encourage you to consider playing through this game like a single player game.

Content: There's a pretty huge amount of content. Lots of quests, lots of land to explore. I do repeat quests that I find fun, but you could progress very far into this game without ever repeating a quest if you so choose.

Something New: Really love the investigation quests. Puzzles are very challenging, require some modern tools (like google, through an in-game browser), and help isn't hard to find when you get stuck. As a side-note, the community is pretty great. Deep Combat & Classes: I love to build. I've been a D&D addict for a long time for that very reason -- it is a fairly complex system that lets you get creative. TSW is exactly the same! You can mix and match abilities from a variety of trees to create a build that compliments your play style. You can literally learn every skill on the same character given time, as well, so your build doesn't need to get stale. Just pick up a new weapon when you want something fresh. Learning abilities is fairly quick, so you do not need to go through the chore of grinding for weeks & weeks to do so, either.

Overall, great game, highly recommended.… Expand

+ -At last something different. -Not just braindead hack and slash and get your reward and your gear and your level up. -Not just stand in a dungeon and press your 400 abilities to spam some boss. -Not have have to chose your destiny before playing... -Not have to create several chars to try different playstyles. be anything you like. -A wery challenging endgame that keeps you experimenting a lot and have groupmembers actually cominucate whats the smart thing to do.
-You have to think. (i find this refreshing)

-
-The Zones before endgame is like singleplayer game.
-The Endgame is very much repeat same dungeon over and over many times before you are geared/skilled enough to move on to next one. Should haven been many more dungeon with a smoother progression in how difficult they are. -You have to think (some dont like to think)
-Should have pve areas that clearly without doubt rewards grouping.… Expand

Simply the only mmo i can play and have fun.The character development is huge you can bent your character quite easily into what your desire and not start about the huge breathtaking scenario,world and of course the innovative skills and ability systems without any class or fancy armor or stupid orcs.

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

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

Try 3 days for free at secretworld.com, don't just take my word that this is the most under-rated MMO by critics on Metacritic. Currently tied with GW2 as the #1 MMO on Metacritic by user reviews (8.3) with good reason (TSW is way better IMO). Ignore the min system specs, my laptop is below min requirements but the game runs fine on it (AMD E-350 1.6GHz Dual Core 64, AMD Radeon HD 6310M, Win 7 Home Premium, 6GB RAM), the free trial will let you see how it runs on your PC so you'll know for sure. This is the first MMO I've tried and liked better than WoW classic/BC. If you are sick of WoW clones and/or childish MMOs give this one a try:
+2 has a free trial to see if I like the game before buying it
+2 free form questing, do quests in any order, ignore any non-story quests you don't like without penalty
+2 no classes, you can use any weapon and ability with the potential to learn all 525 abilities, you can weild 2 weapons at a time, and choose 7 active and 7 passive skills from either weapon from many options. Abilities and weapons you choose will spec you tank/healer/dps on the fly.
+1 for quasi-leveless game play, you learn more abilities and strengthen them to progress, but there is no traditional character level
+1 is a different world (present day horror theme) from a typical MMO for those bored with Elves, etc.
+1 for bringing a FPS feel to an MMO (at least for me with the assault rifle equipped)
+2 for memorable characters and very well voiced-acted cut-scenes for every quest you accept. -0.5 for your character being mute in them which is kind of weird.
+1 for good story telling, quests start by finding items, your cell phone ringing, or you talking to an NPC and seeing a great cut-scene. Turn in quests by reporting them done on your cell phone.
+1 for very few kill 10x quests, only found 2 in first 30 hours of game-play
+1 for special sabotage quests where you need to avoid motion sensors, trip-wire and lasers, etc.
+1 for special mission quests where you need to look for clues in the real world searching Google, Wikipedia, real online web sites for companies in the game, etc.
-1 for making the special mission and sabotage quests so damn hard lol (btw find other MMOs too easy? these are for you)
+1 rated M 17+ targeting adult audience, NPCs swear a lot (especially New Yorkers) and sexual themes are common.
+1 for great selection of character face and clothes (better than my RL wardrobe lol!), so far I've accidentally created look-alikes for Jonathan Frakes, Kurt Cobain and my RL friend from Laos lol)
+1 you can team up with your friends no matter which realm they are on (except for WvWvW)+1 for daily patches for bugs. I've seen way more bugs playing MOP for 5 hours than TSW for 30 hours (No bugs I have found in TSW were game-breaking.)
+1 for content released once per month on average (give or take 2 weeks), much better than WoW, etc.
+1 death works just like WoW, but no annoying rez sickness if you res at GY (+1) (and no annoying downed state lol)
+1 global looking for group channels allow you to see groups forming while questing (no more running back and forth in SW bored while waiting for something exciting to happen lol)
+1 GUI is customizable, move windows where you want, size your bags how you want (although how to do it is not obvious)
+1 optionally use Facebook (instead of some walled custom method) to find if my friends play and if they are online.
+1 cash shop has only cosmetic items (except for server transfers which cost real money)
+1 for video tutorial to explain skill/ability system (which is very different than other MMOs)
+1 new in launcher lets you know about latest bugs, content updates, scheduled maintenance, etc. (no more looking on Reddit to find out lol)
-2 has monthly subscription (perfer hybrid or just paying for expansions myself)
+0 play on normal, RP, French & English dimensions(realms)
-1 no normal world PVP
+1 no forced grind of daily quests, you can repeat once a day if you want, but no better rewards than doing new quests
-1 for telling me to upgrade my computer everytime I log on although the game runs fine on it
-0.5 for too many logo screens everytime I log on (press space to skip, but is annoying)
+0 has no end-game yet (but plans to add it in the future). Personally, I'm burnt out on end game right now anyway.
+1 for having the server tied to a character (ie: not your account like GW2)
So 22/10 ha ha, if I could rate it 11/10 I would but 10/10 will have to do.… 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.

Ok first off I have no respect for the company who make this game which is a bad start. I will keep this short is this a Good game? Unique game? Worth your MOney? IMO No,No,and No.
If you still wish to play the game wait a month or two it will be free to play as Funcom already have the tooling to make it so. For those who bought Life subs I am sorry for your loss, but same happened to me in Lord of the Rings Online when the shaft3d me and went Free to play leaving Life subscribers like me with no value for my money. I learned my lesson accepted my loss and moved on as the free to play version of Lord of the Rings Online was completely useless. So hang on play for free well not really free cash shoppy but you know what I mean soon.… Expand

I found the game fun but not worth paying for. The action gameplay style and skill based combat concept is nice but the game itself doesn't grab you by the face and draw you in. Instead it plops you down and tells you good luck follow the butterfly.

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

Very underestimated game. It is beautiful in visuals, story, lore, investigation missions and setting. NPC animations and voice acting is simply great. Probably the first MMO that has single player experience compared with the best RPG singles. However it is much better then usual single player games in the long run because of guaranteed new monthly content for the next 7 years (as it was promised by Ragnar). Group PVE is also very, very nice since dungeon mechanics is interesting and challenging. Animations, effects are OK for me and I do not understand why some people put so much emphasis to them it their negative reviews. I solved subscription issue by buying lifetime account=)… 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

If I had to choose one word to describe this game, it would be "bipolar". While it has clear aspirations to be one thing, the implementation of game often seems to be quite the opposite. Starting with the story, the setting and the tone it sets, it felt like a breath of fresh air in the MMO landscape. But then it chose to give your character no voice, literally or figuratively. In all the quests and cut-scenes, there is almost no input from you, or even your character, who stands mute and emotionless during the monologues of the quest giver (or dialogues, in the few cases where the giver is more than one person). I felt less involvement and immersion with my character, than I have in most FPS games, much less one that is supposed to be an RPG. (Even the characters you play in Left4Dead have more personality.) At the end of the first chapter, I was afforded a choice, which took me aback. But even here, I felt I lacked the information I needed to make it, and afterwards, I felt little repercussions from it. Also, I found that contrary to the setting and premise, there's very little exploration of the conflict between the secret societies. For the most part, it's filled with "monster-of-the-moment" quests, with little flexibility as to achieving the goal--and after you do so, the lack of interacting with the quest giver again often feels like there is a lack of closure to the mini-story. After finishing the first chapter, looking back it just didn't feel like a cohesive and engrossing plot line--just a string of connected events. The "subterfuge" type quests promised different gameplay, and in one sense it does as you try to avoid combat, but without any stealth mechanics in the game (not even the ability to crouch behind things ala Deus Ex: HR), "sneaking around" means just staying out of aggro range. You cross open areas with enemies in plain sight, but just not close enough for them to engage. I guess they are all very nearsighted and lack glasses.... The investigation-type quests also had potential, but since this takes up a slot as your one allowed main mission, you feel "frozen" as you have it, and instead of keeping it in the back of your mind as you explore, I found myself getting very impatient with them. The game touts itself as "leveless", but it only meets that literally. You have to buy abilities with AP and some skills with SP. Tied with bonuses due to gear, this means that the game has a very definite progression, perhaps less than in some leveled systems, but still very pronounced. Plus, the ability system seems to reach "plateaus" of effectiveness, meaning that there are often huge stair-steps in your progression. Eventually, about 2/3 of the way through the first chapter, I found that I had pretty much max'ed out a build, and that to try to achieve something better would mean trashing and reformulating my build, all the while not getting any "better". Gameplay itself, while promising to be fresh, plays that way to begin, but then devolves into monotony, as with only 7 active abilities at one time there's very little tactical selection when playing solo. You end up using the same rotations over and over. As a final comment, since this game uses a subscription model, you are constantly reminded of the fun-vs-cost ratio that must be maintained for your own satisfaction. In my opinion, it doesn't come close to meeting my bar for such. If you are looking for a story experience, SW:TOR delivers far better. If you are looking for gameplay, many others are more entertaining.… Expand

This game is not worth it. The only thing that makes it different from any other MMORPG is the modern-time setting. Don't forget you'll be buying the game AND paying a 15 dollar monthly subscription. The graphics are nothing glorious, the animations are basic and abrupt (i.e. you can go sprinting, then randomly jump higher than two cars piled, then land normally and go on sprinting), the combat system is horrible and the missions are blatantly repetitive. Of course it has an original storyline and setting, no doubt about that. But Funcom is just trying to leech your wallet - a different story doesn't make the game worth its current prices. Star Wars The Old Republic made it free to play, and if they don't do the same with The Secret world, its going to fall... face-first. Summing it up: Game CD + 15 dollars per month for something you can do on WoW, Allods, Forsaken World, Vindictus, or any other MMORPG, with no special features or revolutionary game mechanics. Is it worth it? Not by an inch.… Expand

Terrible combat. Rubbish animations. Too much running back and forth due to Funcom deciding you can only carry one of a particular type of quest. I'm giving it 3 specifically for the investigation quests. These are the ONLY good part of the game. The rest is pretty poor. The story is OK, not great. The voice acting is awful in places, especially the NPCs with English accents, and London in general is a joke. I really wanted to love this game, but in my opinion, Funcom did their usual thing and rushed it to get it out before GW2 and maybe MoP. It didn't work. I'm glad I wasn't one of those suckers that bought the GM pack. The biggest fail here however is the monthly sub. This game does not warrant the largest monthly sub fee of any MMORPG that is available in the UK. Funcom are ripping players off by charging around £3.00 more than the market leader - World of Warcraft. That's suicide right there if you ask me.… Expand

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.

Perhaps I didn't give this game enough of a chance but I simply could not get into it. The premise and concepts are right up my alley but the delivery just doesn't seem to be there. I think it does a lot of things well...but when it comes right down to it, it feels like just another MMO. The combat was fun at first but got fairly repetitive quick. The graphics, design and overall atmosphere are definitely a plus. I was disappointed with the supposedly loads of conspiracy theory material. Most of it seemed very derived and boring and just didn't seem to make much sense in a lot of instances and I am normally a fan of this stuff. That said, I can certainly see why some people are thoroughly enjoying the game. For my part, it started off great but got stale very quickly.… Expand

What a surprise ! This game is certainly the best MMO I ever played since 2004... Great world, mature content ! Amazing quests, lot of enigmas, you need to seek answers everywhere ! Full of animations and voices : the leveling part is funnier than swtor ! Thanks funcom !

While it is true that Funcom has not solved the "play alone together" problem all MMORPGs seem to face, the number of other MMORPG problems Funcom has addressed is remarkable.

The class-less/level-less system allows for both more character individualization and alt-less play ala guildwars. Any character can learn any build at any time.

The environment is creepy and foreboding. The modern day setting makes it feel familiar... but only familiar in the way an HP lovecraft story is familiar. The horror element and continual suprises always keep you on edge and engaged.

The gameplay, story elements and puzzles are remarkably well integrated. Unless you read and think about the story, you wont succeed. This will likely turn off grind-oriented players but for those of us who were turned off by the grind, this is a breath of fresh air. You are always learning something new *and significant* about the world around you and how to deal with it.

This is not a mass market game. Its a thinkers game. And a game for those who prefer "street level" heroes to world-shaking power-fantasies. But its a big breath of fresh air and depth in a market that has been on a steady march to bland and shallow crowd pleasers for a long time now.… 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

A new approach to MMO genre and a step forward for the gaming community .Everything about TSW is new and innovative .Yes it has a few rough edges but with 7 years of planned content with monthly updates .i have no doubt this game will do very well.

I'm playing TSW since release now, and am still motivated enough to play it almost every day, unlike SWTOR, where I lost all interest after my character finished the story and reached max. lvl. I sort of stumbled over the beta-weekends and after reaching Kingsmouth the atmosphere of the game sucked me in. The story, the well-crafted quests (especially the adventure-like Investigative Missions) and the great characters and dialogue turn The Secret World into something special. And while the skill system seemed really chaotic to me in the beginning, I got used to it pretty fast. Graphics and sounds are well done although the characters are pretty low-polygon, which really shows in close-ups. Lighting and shadows are great, especially under DX11. Conclusion: The Secret World is my favorite MMORPG in 2012.… Expand

I'm playing this game for two months in casual style and it remains as interesting as before. Very nice graphics, story and ability wheel system. Great community.

I have to say one of the best MMOs I have played. No, its not perfect if I'm trying to pick it apart. However, this is a perfect release. I expect changes after the first few months to balance things out. But Overall this is great twist to a diluted genre.

If you like good story - you should play this game. Unlike childish SW:TOR, plot is written to interest mature people. Cut scenes are directed so well, that you don

Simply fantastic. Quest, skill, and endgame design are just about perfect. The only caveat I have is that the final part of endgame, raids, haven't yet been implemented; that said, the gearing process is the best I've ever worked with (played WoW, SWTOR, TERRA, and GW2), and the dungeon designs are great. There are some bugs still being ironed out, though on that score the launch is significantly better than either WoW or SWTOR--the active response from the devs is the reason I don't deduct a point, here. They've been great at listening and responding to community feedback.… Expand

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

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

The game has the best ambiance and quests of any of the MMO's I've played to date. Combat is lively and centered around timing, movement, and your knowledge of builds. The game system and content is both very deep and challenging. It's story line is really first rate. The writing is both mature and filled with humor. On top of this, the game is really quite a bit different in substantial ways from the games common to the genre. As an aside I found many of the critic reviews to be quite odd. Many seem to have been written on either minimal exposure to the game or exposure only to the games beta. The developer has offered a number of free trials, some of which I believe are still ongoing. There is honestly little reason to depend on critics for information anymore. Just see with your own eyes. A side benefit will be knowing which of the critics provide solid reviews and which ones are just fishing for page counts or filing articles to meet deadlines.… Expand

Secret World is the most fun I've had in an MMORPG in a long time. I'm never been a fan of zombies, monsters, or creepy things. But Secret World does it in such a way that makes it really fun. The combat and the way you can combine various attacks/ability trees lets you really play the character you want.

Missions/Quests: The writing, humor,and detail on many of the missions is really, really good. So going back later and repeating the missions is fun, and about 90% of the missions are repeatable. Other games have "daily" missions, in which you usually grind something boring. But in Secret World you can pick your favorite missions and do THOSE as dailies, which is sooo much more fun. The NPC's in Secret World have their little quirks and actual personality that make them stand out. Character development: I never felt gimped or underpowered when starting new characters. Other games have the level grind, and you need increasingly more and more XP in order to make your character better in some way. Not in the Secret World, because the XP needed for the next ability point stays the same. This allows for fantastic levels of customization as you can consistently unlock new abilities. Progression was steady and well paced. Secret World allows players to eventually unlock every ability/attack/passive bonus in the game. You can only slot 7 active attacks/abilities and 7 passive abilities (14 total). But you can change them around and swap them out at any time, with any ability that you've unlocked. The reasonable XP needed to gain ability points means that you can flesh out your character in ways that are fun. For example, how about an elementalist with some dual pistol attacks tossed in! It gives you a lot or room for creating the character you're looking for.

Setting and graphics; I'm running an NVidia 275 GTX card, and the graphics are really good. The modern setting feels comfortable, because so much of it is familiar. It also adds to the creepiness in some areas, because of how things are destroyed or affected. I personally don't see anything wrong with the attack animations. In fact, I think some of them look really cool (Like pistols, and the elemenal electric attacks). Overall I'm having a lot of fun, and look forward to playing this game for quite a long time.… Expand

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

In short: This is the only MMORPG that I have ever found worth playing, and not for lack of trying. The quest design is impeccable (a lot of SP RPGs aren't as good!), the system is fresh and interesting, and the setting and atmosphere is absolutely great. So far, the game is absolutely worth its retail price. For me, it remains to be seen if I'll keep playing, as I am not usually an MMO player, but I am confident. The Raids are interesting (especially with the mutable skill sets - your group doesn't succeed with a boss? Change your tactics on the fly! Hell, change your CLASS on the fly!). PVP is a bit chaotic as of yet, but remedy seems to be underway. Also, I find a bit of chaos more to my liking than having static battles that all work the same. While the graphics are mostly okay, the animations are a bit awkward. The design of the world is beautiful and adds a lot to the fantastic atmosphere. There are likable characters throughout the story, which are all completely voiced by good voice actors. All in all it's a 9/10, corrected to 10 to offset some of the ridiculously low ratings.… Expand