It is one of the saddest stories in the world of online role-playing games: The MMORPG with the best story and perfectly suited for single players has been lying dormant for years. Currently, it has an average of just 50 players on Steam: We’re talking about The Secret World Legends. An MMORPG where everything went wrong that could go wrong.
What kind of game is it?
- The Secret World is an MMORPG set in a version of the real world, except that all myths and every conspiracy theory you have ever heard are true.
- The MMORPG is considered one of the ones that tell the best stories, and it is ideally suited for single players.
- The game is free to play on Steam. However, some optional DLCs are sold. On Steam, “The Secret World Legends” has 68 percent positive reviews.
Like a short story collection from the best horror authors
Why is the game so good? The Secret World is worth a visit for all fans of MMORPGs and good horror stories:
- The game tells great stories; at its best moments, The Secret World feels like you are immersed in a collection of really good horror short stories
- The MMORPG is well-produced, with good voice acting and a fantastic atmosphere
- The game is clever: time and again, you have to search for the solution to puzzles like a detective
If it’s so good, why is it such a flop? With “The Secret World,” everything that could go wrong really did go wrong:
- The publisher Funcom had previously tarnished its reputation with many due to “Age of Conan”
- The MMORPG was released right between the hit games Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2
- Additionally, Funcom had a financial scandal due to insider trading.
Ultimately, the studio ran out of money and was close to bankruptcy, which also harmed The Secret World. Only the surprise hit “Conan Exiles” saved Funcom in 2017.
They attempted to half-heartedly relaunch The Secret World with the fresh money, but it was too late: The relaunch of the MMORPG as a free-to-play game “The Secret World Legends” in spring 2017 barely attracted anyone.
What is the state of the game today? The Secret World has never had very many players on Steam, and in recent years, it has become fewer and fewer. Since March 2022, or for two years now, it has dropped to a core player base, resulting in between 50 and 80 players being online.
But active players assure that it’s not so bad. You can complete most content in the game solo anyway, and for the few group content, someone can always be found (via reddit).
Officially, Funcom is still working on The Secret World: Events are still taking place, but you probably shouldn’t expect new content.
How much interest there still is in the game can be seen from the fact that Kickstarter projects get funded at lightning speed.
“Alan Wake 2 is like a AAA The Secret World”
What is the alternative? In a forum thread, somewhat nostalgic players of The Secret World say that anyone who wants to get a feel for what The Secret World would have been like if it had become a hit should just check out Alan Wake 2.
Overall, The Secret World is one of the saddest stories of MMORPGs, but at least The Secret World had a chance. There are some MMORPGs that never saw the light of day and even died before their release: 5 promising MMORPGs that died before they had their release.
