Whenever you’re reviewing a sequel, there’s going to be a point where you compare the game to previous instalments in the franchise. This is not an easy task for Sacred 3. The problem lies in the fact that Sacred 3 is not really a sequel to Sacred 2. It’s actually a simple action title dipped in a Sacred coloured coat of paint. It may take place in the same world and use the same lore, but the similarities between this sequel and the previous games are only skin deep. This is probably because the franchise is under new ownership. Original creators Ascaron Entertainment are defunct and the IP is now in the hands of Deep Silver. It was clear that the publusher wanted to make Sacred more accessible when they gave the project to Keen Games, a studio with no RPG experience at all.
The first two Sacred games, whilst by no means perfect, gained a cult following for their exploration, novel progression system and replayabillity. All of that is thrown out in Sacred 3. Gone is the series’ open world, replaced with a series of linear stages. There are no NPCs, no towns and no quests. The continent of Ancaria is viewed only as a stage select screen. Levels can be played in any order but there’s no reason not to play them through chronologically. Whilst there are side quests on offer, these are just small stages that only take 3 minutes to complete. Gamers looking for a deep RPG experience will be left wanting.
Of course, playing differently from its predecessors does not automatically make Sacred 3 a bad game. The creators could be forgiven for focusing so heavily on the action if the action itself was very good. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Combat in Sacred 3 is very simple. You only have one combo to use, which is activated by clicking the left mouse button three times. There’s also a dodge, a bash attack, a finishing move and two special abilities called combat arts. You can choose to give you characters a block move instead of a dodge but the latter works a lot better. The lack of variety means that all the game’s encounters eventually come down to the same thing; spamming the left mouse button whilst hitting space to dodge and occasionally using a bash attack or special ability. It’s fun and can get be quite addictive in a Dynasty Warriors kind of way but boredom does eventually set in.
Even with boss and mini boss battles the tactics are the same: dodge their heavily telegraphed attacks then hit them from the side or rear. There are though a couple of boss battles that bring in different mechanics to spice things up. For example, one of the earlier stages pits the heroes against a battleship. Players must pick up mines that are littered around the arena and throw them against the ship, all the while dealing with canon fire and swarming enemies. At various stages, the enemy fleet will launch landing craft and the player must destroy these too to continue getting access to mines. It’s one of the games best moments.
This example demonstrates that the problems of the games simple combat mechanics could have been somewhat alleviated by inventive level design, which is where Sacred 3‘s first level offers some hope. Rather than just fighting your way through waves of enemies, the beginning stage is actually quite varied. There’s a segment where you must avoid falling objects and another where you must spin a wheel six times while fending off enemies. You’re also tasked with destroying a number of structures and dodging a series of traps. This kind of level design could have been really great if it continued throughout the whole campaign. Instead there is endless repetition. Every stage has an area where you must avoid falling objects; every stage has a wheel which you must spin six times. It feels as if the developers finished making the first level and then completely ran out of ideas.
There’s a similar lack of originality in the story. I won’t bore you with the details but suffice to say it’s about the most generic fantasy story you can imagine. Blah blah blah evil emperor blah blah blah magic relic blah blah blah band of heroes. You know the rest. The game may be rated at 17+ but the only mature aspect of its plot is the constant sexual innuendo. Whilst it can become irritating hearing the same repeated lines of dialogue, the story thankfully keeps out of the way and all the cutscenes are skippable.
The band of heroes contains four playable classes, down from the seven available in Sacred 2. The Warrior, Paladin and Lancer all play pretty the same with the only variety coming from the ranged character, Vajra the Archer. They all play the same levels and have access to the same items and weapon spirits. In previous Sacred games, each class got unique items, unique quests, unique skills and a unique starting position. Now, the only difference between the characters are their weapons and combat arts, which you can upgrade with the gold you collect during the game. However, all the upgrades are locked until you reach a certain level. Rather than being able to customise your class and focus on certain playstyles, every player’s character will be getting the same upgrades at roughly the same time.
The most fun class to play as is the dual wielding, blood magic using Assassin. The developers seem to know that he’s the best character too as you have to pay an additional $3.99 to unlock him, on top of the $50 you’ve already paid to play the game. The gaming industry’s approach to downloadable content is pretty shady at the best of times but locking your game’s best character as day one DLC is on a whole other level.
The one true highlight of the game is its co-op. Any mission can be played single player or multiplayer and the transition between them is perfectly smooth. By changing your online settings to public, anyone else playing Sacred 3 can join or leave your game at any time. Whenever a new player joins you the enemies get tougher and when they leave the enemies get weaker again. Alternatively you can hop into the lobby and choose to join someone else’s game instead. Apart from a few frame rate issues, Sacred 3‘s drop in/drop out co-op is seamless. Teaming up with three other people to battle your way through a horde of challenging enemies is the most fun you can have with this title. This is a game designed around frantic co-op action but it’s a shame that the single player campaign had to suffer so much because of it.
What is most disappointing about Sacred 3 is what a missed opportunity it is. A sequel that followed in the footsteps of the previous games but utilised modern technology, could truly have been something special. Instead the publisher decided to make an standard action title with the Sacred IP tacked on to sell more copies. Sacred fans should stay away at all costs and action fans can find better offerings elsewhere.