Sanctum 2

Lore & Background

Sanctum 2 takes place in the future on the planet Loek-III, where a major human colony has been established by the Britech Foundation in the city of Elysion-1. A previous arboreal settlement, Brightholme, collapsed from repeated attacks by the Lumes, a race of diverse creatures native to the planet. Some settlers may still survive in the ruins of Brightholme as part of an obscure organization known as Tsygan, which opposes Britech's power. Key to the colonies' survival are Cores, large blue spheres of energy that convert inert gases into oxygen and cleanse areas of toxic mushroom-like spores linked to Lume activity. The Lumes propagate plant-like access shafts toward Cores and launch coordinated attacks to destroy them. The Britech Foundation created a military wing called the Core Guardians to defend the Cores using weapons and defensive towers.

Reader's Guide

Sanctum 2 received mostly positive reviews from critics, holding an aggregated Metacritic score of 77/100 for both Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. The game's significance lies in its fusion of first-person shooting and tower defense genres, a niche that Coffee Stain Studios continued to explore after the original Sanctum. The plot follows four Core Guardians—Skye Autumn, Sweet Autumn, Haigen Hawkins, and SiMo—as they defend Cores from Lume attacks. The story reveals that the cores' usage has increased spore production, worsening the Lume threat, leading Skye and Haigen to transmit data to Tsygan instead of Britech. The game ends with a colossal Lume advancing toward Elysion-1, leaving the city's fate uncertain. Its legacy includes being a notable indie title that expanded on the tower defense formula with a first-person perspective.

Did You Know?

• Sanctum 2 was announced in 2012 and released on 15 May 2013.
• The game is set on the planet Loek-III, where the Britech Foundation established the city of Elysion-1.
• The Lumes are a race of diverse creatures native to Loek-III that attack Cores.
• The player can control one of four Core Guardians: Skye Autumn, Sweet Autumn, Haigen Hawkins, or SiMo.