Secret World Legends Review

Secret world construction

Of course, the Secret World has to live up to the title by building a compelling world to discover, and in that sense the Funcom team has gone above and beyond. From New York to Transylvania, Secret World Legends offers a wide range of areas to explore.

Every inch of the world seems to be made with love, or in the case of the first area, Kingsmouth ⁠— “Lovecrafted”. Besieged by a zombie apocalypse, the small New England town where the player begins his first mission displays a perfect blend of The walking dead, Stephen King and the mystical horror. Stroll along Elm Street, check out the church on Arkham Avenue, or spend some time at HP Arts and Crafts; this sleepy town offers a lot to see, although some things you wish you didn’t have.

Attention to details

This level of detail and atmosphere extends to the interiors of the buildings as well. The rooms tell a whole story only through the Bethesda setting. Missions often incorporate the environment in interesting ways, asking the player to explore rather than tell what to do.

One example I liked was on a mission to retrieve case files from a doctor’s computer. Of course, a password locks the computer. By observing the objects around the house, you can understand that the doctor is a fan of the classical composer Vivaldi and that his music played an important role in his relationship with his wife (late wife, as blood and scattered bodies suggest). She types “vivaldi” as the password e boom, computer unlocked. It’s a small moment, but it gives an insight into the doctor’s character and elevates a simple quest from mundane to memorable.

Discovering the secret world

Forcing players to explore and uncover the mysteries themselves gives Secret World Legends the feeling of being discovered. The game allows you to remove the layers between our normal world and the one below, instead of pushing it in your face.

Conventional MMOs often feel like a theme park where the player is guided from attraction to attraction, queuing up to see the same thing that millions of others have already experienced. But the Secret World looks exactly as it should: secret.