Sacred 2 Remaster

Though there is not much remastering, Sacred 2 Remaster stays faithful to the original release. Despite being somewhat dated and lacking multiplayer on consoles, there is still fun to be had in this sprawling action RPG.

Sacred 2 Remaster accomplishes a couple of things. It reminds us that the original was ambitious and forward-looking in many ways. Sacred 2’s wide-open world and deep progression systems hold up well. Sacred 2 Remaster is also a reminder that the original’s tech and combat left a lot to be desired. People loved the 2008 game in spite of those things. Enjoying Sacred 2 Remaster means having to overlook them once again.

Sacred 2 was the sort of action-RPG you turned to once you’d exhausted better, more focused options in the genre. 17 years later, a decent remaster can’t mask what’s a largely plodding and miserable experience.

There's some fun to be had with Sacred 2 Remaster, but on the whole it's a disappointing update of a classic RPG. Newcomers will find many aspects of it bewildering, using skills with a controller is overly fiddly and, worst of all, multiplayer isn't an option on consoles. Much more should have been done to bring this classic up to date.

Sacred 2: Remastered doesn’t do enough to make revisiting the original on current-gen consoles worthwhile. Its systems feel dated, and the visuals, even at higher resolutions, don’t see any meaningful improvement. A solid setting is let down by subpar combat and exploration, and while its ambitions were impressive back in the day, they’ve long since been matched and surpassed. Unfortunately, this remaster does nothing to change that.