Another action RPG from an age of gaming on the verge of fading into legend gets a remaster, and boy is this one a challenge to comment on. Sacred 2 is a rather safe effort at a remaster, its attempt to preserve the original experience as faithfully as possible being perhaps a tad too earnest.
“It’s an open world that really lets you loose to explore it.”
Developer Ascaron’s original experience did bring a lot of unique ideas to the table at the time, and managed to stand out thanks to an interesting setting and some cool builds that its players came up with. All of that fun is right there waiting for you to discover it. It’s an open world that really lets you loose to explore it, with the main setting being no more than an arrow pointing in the general direction of its next objective with a ton of distractions along the way.
That’s the good news. Here’s the bad. Those distractions lead you towards using a combat system that’s too rudimentary to withstand the test of time. I can see how it may have been passable but its clumsy hitboxes and clunky animations were quite off-putting to say the least, and quickly made me lose interest in the gear and skills systems altogether.
While the developers have done a reasonable job with bringing improved resolutions and graphics to the experience, as they should for a remaster, I question why this one couldn’t get a remake instead. It’s a title that definitely could use one as its many systems, world and quest designs, and character models are dated at this point.
“While some enemies don’t react to you unless you’re right on top of them, others seem to spot you from a mile away and come charging in for the kill.”
With that being said, there are issues even with the graphics. The Inquisitor’s opening cutscene, for instance, had a wall pop-in to place quite late, while the audio and animations were entirely out of sync leading to a jarring start to a familiar adventure. It’s also why this title just didn’t click for me.
For starters, the world is chock full of enemies with weird aggro zones. While some enemies don’t react to you unless you’re right on top of them, others seem to spot you from a mile away and come charging in for the kill. It’s quite inconsistent and made combat begin to feel like a chore way too quickly as a consequence.
But the clunky combat controls are the other part of why I believe this game needed to redesign its combat systems from the ground up. It just doesn’t entertain enough even when you unleash Combat Arts thanks to lifeless animations and enemies that just crumble to the ground like ragdolls once you deplete their HP.
Combat variety is another sore spot thanks to the lack of enemy types and the many skills and spells you unlock being rather drab to use. None of them really stand out and feel distinct outside of their reach and attack speed. It’s definitely not what I’d want from a title that sets up such an incredible premise for terrifying enemies and some excellent fighting.
“Combat variety is another sore spot thanks to the lack of enemy types and the many skills and spells you unlock being rather drab to use.”
And speaking of clunky, the inventory and vendor interaction management UI is quite familiar, and does a reasonable job of helping you keep your loot and gear in check. Finding fast travel points and accessing your storage does help with keeping your weight balanced and ensuring that you travel as smoothly and as quickly as you can across the world. But are all of the other problems something the developers could have addressed? I’d say no.
Everything that was fun about Sacred 2 back in the day was fun because it was fresh and perhaps even ground breaking at the time. Now, its open world is one that’s stale, its missions now largely containing what modern gamers called fetch-and-carry quests while the journey through its world feels uninspiring thanks to the dated look and feel of its world.
It didn’t help that my Inquisitor soon developed an odd problem, and their walking animations seemed to get locked into a sort of dance that haunted my every step through a world that was already dangerously close to losing my attention altogether. But in the spirit of experiencing as much of the game as I could, I decided to try a new character path, and see if I could discover the Inquisitor in the Shadow Warrior’s world.
But lo and behold, my Shadow Warrior developed the problem too! This foot affliction, as I called it, was only unable to affect my Dragon Mage, one of the new classes that was added to the game post its release. With a trusty staff in my hands and a lethal spell on my lips, I set off into the world. Do know that trying the game out on a different console didn’t bring up any instances of the issue.
“There’s only so much even the most talented studios can do to revamp a game that’s about 17 years old at this point short of a complete remake.”
And I can tell you that Sacred 2 does have its charms despite its dated graphics, and a boring combat system. The setting is interesting, and the replay value is there if you’re a long time fan of the franchise. The world is still interesting and suitably well-written, and the soundtrack from Blind Guardian is as metal as ever.
It was quite fun to help the band find their lost instruments and then watch them perform. That’s the kind of quirkiness that accompanies the main setting, and is a reason for Sacred 2 could be fun. It never gets old to hear your character break the fourth wall if you leave your controller idle for too long, commenting on the lack of urgency on your part in progressing the adventure.
All of that wit and charm has been wisely left as is, and diving in and out of the world is blazingly fast thanks to the PS5. So is wandering through it when your character’s feet work as they should. But for a remaster, this one could certainly use some more polish. There’s only so much even the most talented studios can do to revamp a game that’s about 17 years old at this point short of a complete remake.
Nevertheless, Sacred 2 brought too little to the table to excite me as I played through the adventure aside from fond memories of a time where I expected way less from my games. It’s a blast from the past that begins to feel like it overstays its welcome way too quickly for me to recommend it.
If you’re a fan of the franchise or the original release, this one’s definitely for you. But for a newcomer, I’d definitely tell you to wait for a sale. It does only what is expected of a remaster but does bring the original game’s biggest strengths to the table. However, those aren’t enough to make Sacred 2 Remaster earn a place among the best remasters out there today.
This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.
