Sacred 3

Sacred 3, released in 2014, is a hack and slash brawler that belongs to the Sacred series, though it differs significantly from earlier entries in both how it plays and how it looks. The game was created by Keen Games and put out by Deep Silver, which had obtained the rights to the franchise from the now-defunct Ascaron Entertainment. Critical and player responses were largely mixed or negative.

A side-scrolling action brawler called Sacred Citadel, which serves as a prequel to Sacred 3’s story, came out in 2013 on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Steam, developed by Southend Interactive.

**Gameplay** Players can choose from several character classes, but none from Sacred 2: Fallen Angel return. Instead, the Safiri Warrior and Ancarian Lancer are available. Some settings from the earlier game, such as Castle Braverock, reappear. Sacred 3 supports cooperative play for up to four players, both online and offline. Each ally has their own unique active and passive skills, but the number of abilities each character can equip at once is limited to prevent the team from becoming too powerful. Players can also combine their team’s powers for extra ways to defeat enemies.

**Plot** For centuries, the Seraphim—guardians of the “Heart of Ancaria”—maintained peace through a sacred bond with the people, but they have since been forgotten. Lord Zane, ruler of the Ashen Empire, allied with demons and aims to open the gates to the underworld. A resistance of Heroes forms, bound together by the chains of this evil empire. Players must defeat the oppressive ruler Zane Ashen and stop him from seizing the powerful artifact known as the Heart of Ancaria.

**Development** Keen Games developed Sacred 3 for publisher Deep Silver. After announcing the game at Gamescom, Deep Silver asked for fan input on desired features through its official community forums. In an interview, Martin Wein said that a key goal for Sacred 3 was to improve quality assurance, noting that a bug-free game was possible. When asked about similarities to past installments, Wein stated the team wanted to keep the series’ charm and that players would encounter familiar characters from earlier games.

**Reception** According to review aggregator Metacritic, Sacred 3 received “mixed” reviews.