Secret World Legends

Intense overall intensity
Highest flag: Spending — real-money purchases
HorrorMMORPG

What's in it

Dark themes graphic
High

Missions depict a town overrun and its residents killed, cult atrocities and cosmic-horror bleakness shown on screen and driving the plot.

Spending real-money purchases
High

Real money buys skill-point and experience boosts that speed progression, plus randomised caches whose contents are unknown before purchase.

Language strong
High

Scripted dialogue uses strong profanity including 'fuck' from many characters.

Violence realistic
Moderate

The player fights zombies, cultists and supernatural creatures with firearms, melee and magic; blood is shown on enemies but there is no dismemberment.

Substances depicted
Moderate

Alcohol is depicted being served and consumed at in-game bars such as the players' social hub pub.

Horror & psychological frightening
Moderate

Zombie-overrun towns, stalking monsters and unsettling supernatural areas are built to frighten, with moments of the player being hunted.

Occult & ritual occult ritual depicted
Moderate

The player wields occult-derived magic such as blood and chaos magic and takes part in missions involving summoning and rituals, with real-world occult symbolism throughout.

Mutilation / body horror depicted
Moderate

Deformed body-horror creatures and mutilated corpses appear in the world as subject matter beyond ordinary combat damage.

Sexual content innuendo
Moderate

Dialogue and mission text include adult sexual references and innuendo; nothing sexual is shown on screen.

Spending pressure limited-time / daily-login pressure
Moderate

The cash shop rotates limited-time offers and sells convenience and progression items, creating time pressure to buy.

Crime & lawlessness crime depicted
Low

Murder, cult activity and conspiracy occur in the story and world; the player does not commit ordinary crimes.

Animal combat combat mechanic
Low

Wild beasts such as wolves and other creatures can be fought and killed as ordinary combat.

Who can reach your kid

Voice chatChat with strangersDirect messagesStranger friend requests

What it is

Secret World Legends is a free-to-play online action role-playing game set in the present day, where secret societies wage a hidden war against supernatural forces breaking into the real world. Players explore locations such as a fog-bound New England fishing town and fight human cultists and monsters using firearms, melee weapons and magic; combat shows blood but no dismemberment. The story leans heavily on horror and the occult — zombies, mutated 'Filth'-corrupted bodies, demons and cult rituals — and its script carries strong profanity and adult sexual references. It is monetized through a cash shop selling cosmetic items, progression-accelerating skill-point bundles, and randomized 'cache' boxes bought with real money. As an online game it includes text and voice chat with other players.

How it's framed

The game casts the player as a newly empowered agent of an ancient secret society, framing violence as a war against supernatural threats and human cultists rather than everyday people. Horror and occult ritual are presented seriously and darkly, woven into investigative missions, while the writing treats mature and disturbing subject matter with a sardonic, literary tone. Purchases are positioned as optional accelerators over a slow free progression.

Details

Developer
Funcom
Publisher
Funcom
Released
Jul 31, 2017
Metacritic 76critic score (third-party) · out of 100

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