Underrated horror MMO 'The Secret World' is going free-to-play

Do you like the mind-twisting horror of H.P. Lovecraft? The blissful tedium of an RPG grind? The Secret World mashed those two concepts together.

Funcom's woefully underrated and underplayed MMO is set to return this spring with a new title -- Secret World Legends -- and so, so, sooooo much more. From the sound of things, a totally new, free-to-play game has been built right on top of the old one.

Legends takes The Secret World's framework -- literally, everything that's been released in the game to date -- and re-works it as an action-RPG. New combat mechanics, new ways to level up... but all wrapped around the same 100+ hours of content in The Secret World.

The re-working is so dramatic, in fact, that characters from the original version of the game won't be carrying over. If you play Legends, you can expect to start fresh alongside everyone else.

According to Funcom, everything in the game will be free to play and there won't be any "pay-to-win" elements that let you buy your progress. The original version of The Secret World MMO will continue to exist, but any new content will be exclusively for the re-launched version.

If you're looking for a gaming touchstone that compares to Legends, titles like Destiny and The Division may be the closest. Funcom describes Legends as a "shared-world action RPG."

I spent around 100 hours digging in with The Secret World back when it first launched in 2012. It's a standard MMO in many ways: you grind your progress out, participate in group activities, mess around with crafting systems, and ally yourself with one of the three factions (largely for PvP purposes).

If you've ever played a World of Warcraft or Star Wars: The Old Republic, you know the drill.

The Secret World sets itself apart, first, with its setting. The game's Lovecraftian horror vibe finds a perfect fit in the opening area, a small New England fishing village inhabited by zombies and other gruesome creatures.

While the setting eventually moves far beyond the very grounded streets and houses of Kingsmouth, the modern-day time period -- and arsenal -- offers a refreshing break away from the fantasy/sci-fi settings that most MMOs lean on.

The Secret World also has some nifty quests that require real investigation, both in-game and -- thanks to a built-in web browser -- on the internet.

I remember one quest in particular that involved cracking the password on a locked laptop, with only one hint to get you started: "My wife's name." A quick search around the area brought me to a pair of well-dressed corpses. Examining the bodies turned up employee ID cards; using that information, I was able to then visit the victims' corporate website and find the names of their spouses.

This isn't the sort of problem-solving you'd normally expect to find in a video game, let alone an MMO. Yet it worked very well, especially thanks to The Secret World's modern setting.

So count me as excited for Secret World Legends. The re-launch should benefit from an assortment of technical updates -- improved graphics, performance, etc. -- in addition to the re-worked game.

We don't have a release date yet, but you can find more details and sign up for the (presumably imminent) beta right here.