Yesterday Secret World Legends launched and players could start playing right away. We will tell you how the first half hour feels in the Dark Fantasy MMORPG.
The Secret World is an MMORPG from 2012 that is now attempting a relaunch as an action MMO “Secret World Legends”. Now it is free to play, all players start from scratch – the “old version” will not be further developed. We were present at the launch yesterday and will tell you how the first half hour of Secret World Legends plays.
Surprisingly flawless
On late Friday evening, June 23, 2017, the head start of Secret World Legends began. Those familiar with such events expect server crashes, insane lags, and other problems. The servers usually suffer under the rush and crash. Thus a pleasant surprise: I was able to finish the tutorial last night and it worked flawlessly.
While Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood struggled with queues and issues, those do not occur in Secret World Legends. One could speculate: Secret World is so niche and under the radar that there was no rush. But one can also say: The developers were well prepared, the usual difficulties did not occur.
Logging in works through the old Secret World account – until the actual release on June 26, you must have played the old game recently or been part of the beta to get started now.
Secret World Legends – Character Creation
Character creation in Secret World Legends is typical for the genre. You have individual categories from which you can choose from pre-made options. There are choices and sliders for:
- Height (there’s a slider)
- Gender
- Head Shapes
- Faces
- Hair
- Eyebrows
- Eye Color
- Facial Features (scars, beards)
- and Makeup.
Once the avatar is ready, you can dress him:
- Headgear
- An accessory (mostly glasses)
- Upper clothing
- A jacket
- Pants
- and shoes
Next comes the class choice, where you set your primary weapon, from which the starting class depends. I chose the Gunslinger – I played with pistols in the first part.
Ultimately, the player decides whether to go around “in civilian clothes,” in their chosen outfit, or in the “uniform” of their class.
All in all, the character creation is solid; one should not expect extraordinary adventures like in Black Desert where you can get lost for hours, but rather a relatively “normal selection” that is done in five minutes.
The Tutorial of Secret World Legends
The tutorial and intro of Secret World Legends mix cutscenes with beginner hints: A bee flies into your mouth and you develop telekinetic abilities and leave your apartment in ruins. This is how you move, this is how you shoot, these are the different types of missions.
The cutscenes remain the same as in the old game, as far as I remember. They were good back then and are still good today. The tutorial itself seems to be new; at least, I cannot remember playing like that.
There are three steps:
- In the first part you wake up in the cemetery and shoot zombies. It is noticeable that pistols now have a gimmick: a special interface where a minigame takes place. If both chambers display the same bullet at the top, the weapons deal bonus damage. You rotate the chamber with skills. It is a small bonus. The combat system of Secret World Legends does not really impress anyone, at least in the tutorial; it still plays very much like in 2012: tab-targeting, pressing hotkeys, and a bit of dodging.
- In the second part, there are easy puzzle elements reminiscent of Indiana Jones. In the first puzzle, you may only step on certain floor tiles; in the second puzzle, I had the feeling I should duck under a falling blade, but that did not happen.
- In the third part of the tutorial, a simple sabotage mission. Here, it is about not stepping in bombs and jumping over light barriers. I can imagine that this becomes the part of the game I utterly hate in later missions.
Secret World Legends – “As accessible as possible – No obstacles”
The tutorial is “light” on menus or anything that burdens players with theoretical knowledge. Everything should be solved as playfully and intuitively as possible. Except for the inventory, no menu is opened. After the tutorial, I have no idea where my skills are, where I invest points, or anything else.
The skill system of The Secret World was known to be notoriously complicated; apparently, Funcom decided to confront the player with it as late as possible in this new attempt.
The combat and graphics do not feel very different from “classic The Secret World”.
The tutorial is typical for MMORPGs: The player is a beginner. The game must first ensure that he knows how to walk three meters and interact with objects.
Interestingly, at the end of the tutorial, the player is thrown into a simulated endgame battle and gets a taste of what it might be like later, battling with dozens of others against gigantic primordial creatures in the Secret World. But that is really just a taste that soon ends.
My First Impression of Secret World Legends
It is The Secret World. The story and the cutscenes are sometimes beautiful, sometimes interesting – one moment it is dreamlike, the next it is trashy, one moment winking and clever, full of allusions, and the next scene you are fully caught in the mood that the game wants you to have.
It is one of those games where it is worth turning the sound on. I have liked the beginning of The Secret World before. The best part: You hear two overlapping voices whispering. One says “Trust the voices,” the other says “Do not trust the voices.” This nicely summarizes the atmosphere of The Secret World.
In any case, the first 30 minutes are straightforward and clear. The gameplay flows easily and whets the appetite for more. It is clearly Funcom’s attempt to say: “Let’s clear as many obstacles as possible to help many find their way into the game.” This also fits the new free-to-play approach. One is curious to see how the re-launch performs.
Secret World Legends – Was a Relaunch?
I was already wondering while testing whether a relaunch was really necessary for this. The game looks, at first glance, like the one from before. It is like returning to an apartment you lived in years ago. Perhaps the furniture has been moved, perhaps there is a new coat of paint, but it is the same apartment.
It may be that the differences become more pronounced as you progress. It is said: The graphics should be better, the combat system more responsive. I haven’t noticed much of that (yet). If better, then in homeopathic doses.
Even if there have been “improvements” in the combat system and graphics compared to 2012, I must say: The standards are so much higher today in 2017 than they were back then that one should not have too high expectations. Secret World Legends is a game that looks and feels like a game from the last or second-to-last generation of MMORPGs.
Secret World Legends (2017) is much closer to Rift (2011) than to Black Desert (2015).
That was already the case with the original – strengths were always in the story and atmosphere. This will not be different in the re-release. It is now supposed to be more accessible – that is the clear vibe I got from the game.
Those who know the original should not expect a revolution. Changes in gameplay do not stand out, at least at the beginning.
Secret World Legends – Here’s where to download
But of course: That was a preview report from the first 30 minutes. It is certainly no substitute for a complete review or a test of Secret World Legends.
For those who want to form their own impression, here is the website of Secret World Legends – the download can be started there. No later than June 26, you can then see for yourself whether the “relaunch” is truly justified. The game is free to play, it can be downloaded for free.
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