Released in 2012, The Secret World was an MMO set in the modern day and themed around conspiracy theories, urban legends and Lovecraftian horror. It was original, atmospheric and very well written, but it wasn't a big hit in the long run. I imagine developer Funcom's financial problems didn't help either.
In 2017 the game was rebooted as Secret World Legends. A number of changes were made, with the most notable being a reworking of the combat to make it more action-y, and other adjustments to make it a smoother, more player friendly experience. SWL is the Live* version of the game now, and that's what I'm delving into.
*Live, relatively speaking. SWL isn't technically in maintenance mode, but updates are few and far between, and with Funcom's focus on Conan Exiles and the upcoming Dune game I don't envisage that changing any time soon, if ever.
I don't have a lot of history with TSW/SWL. I've dipped into it a couple of times in the past but I've never gone further than the first zone of Solomon Island, early on in the game.
For my faction I've signed up with the Illuminati. They feel like the 'default' setting of the game – being the first option on the character select screen and having the highest profile in popular culture. The introductions to the setting laid out by the first few NPCs encountered in the Illuminati sequence also feel like the baseline from which the Templar and Dragon intros go off each in their own direction. The tone isn't as sombre as it is with the Templars, or as out and out strange as the Dragon. The sardonic, cynical attitude of the Illuminati also means the player isn't being asked to take all this exposition too seriously right away.
There's a TON of exposition in this game, but it's handled very cleverly. The essential information for character introductions and mission briefings is delivered through well made cutscenes that go on for just the right length of time, and that's all you need. However there's also a lot of additional dialogue that you can follow up on if you want to – all of it voiced and all of it interesting. It's there if you want it, but the game doesn't force you to sit through it if you'd rather get on with other things.
Personally I go through all of it. Secret World Legends is the best written MMO I've ever played – arguably the best written game I've played of any genre – and the voice acting is uniformly superb.
So onward, to the New England coast.
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