Lovecraftian Games, part 1: “The Secret World”

And so begins an eldritch look into Lovecraftian games! Part 1: The Secret World.

I’m including The Secret World in this series because I’ve heard quite a few times that it has Lovecraftian elements, and that certainly seems to be the case; however, it’s not strictly Lovecraftian — there will apparently be many myths in this game. It certainly incorporates the “there’s a hidden world behind this one” element. I’m not a big gamer, but I’ll definitely be playing this one.

Here’s the story synopsis from Wikipedia:

The game will feature an original setting created by Funcom, with contemporary elements as well as “magic, myths, conspiracies and dark horrors.” At GDC 2009, Tørnquist revealed more about the setting and the story. He stressed that the game is set in the “modern day real world” but also incorporates pieces of ancient mythologies, real and false history, urban legends, and pop culture, and ties them into an original back-story. The latter is said to go back in time for 100 million years and encompass long extinct ancient civilizations. The players will assume the roles of supernatural heroes who participate in a “future war between good and evil”, fighting dark monsters that threaten the modern world. Tørnquist identified the genre of the story as dark fantasy, mentioning vampires, demons, and zombies. The players will be free to travel across different locations of the world (both real, like London, New York and Seoul, and mythical, e.g. Agartha, the legendary city located within Hollow Earth) and even in time, to pursue the overall plot and investigate new mysteries in connection to the dark invasion. The overall plot will have a conclusion but the designers also leave room for future expansions.

Watch the official game trailer below. Even if you aren’t a gamer, you’ll enjoy it — The Secret World looks absolutely incredible.

The Secret World has just become available for pre-order.