Sacred 2 Remaster

Sacred 2 Remaster offers a measured but successful return. It's not revolutionary, but it's a solid and sincere tribute, polished enough to make you want to explore Ancaria once again.

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.

You’d probably find the cover of this new edition of Sacred 2 right next to the word “remastered” on Wikipedia. Jokes aside, we’re talking about a pure remaster, where the fantasy hack and slash has been brought back in its original form, with very few additions such as updated graphics, slight controller-use optimization, and some interface improvements. Sacred 2 Fallen Angel Remastered plays fine, but it carries over the same problems it had at the time of its original release — including somewhat chaotic menus and situations where input commands don’t feel quite right. Besides some occasional crashes and bugs, this dive into the past can still offer a few hours of fun without too many expectations.

Sacred 2 Remaster is a preservation effort, rather than a modernization. Longtime fans will benefit, finally being able to explore the world of Ancaria again on next-gen systems. Beyond that, however, the remaster doesn't introduce any significant improvements that would encourage a purchase outright. It remains a piece of gaming history that's refreshing to see brought to new generations. But nostalgia aside—and despite the budget price—it's undeniable that fans of the genre can now find significantly more satisfying experiences for the same money.

Sacred 2 Remaster smooths out some of the original’s worst technical issues, but it still can’t quite rein in all the chaos that made the game infamous. Sure, it’s the best way to revisit Ancaria, but you’ll still need plenty of patience.

The idea of making a Sacred 2 Remaster wasn't wrong, but the final result is an anachronistic product, a ghost in a market now dominated by giants like Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2, which fails to justify its cost and, above all, our time.

The Sacred 2 Remaster is quite lacklustre, feeling like it could have simply been a toggleable update to the original game. With performance issues being addressed, an overhaul of some unbalanced combat builds, a visual UI change and updated graphics being the main updates, it made me wonder what the point of this remaster actually was. In an attempt to ‘respect the original’, they’ve refused to bring the game into this new world of gaming, alienating a whole group of gamers by not adding any accessibility options, removing multiplayer from the console editions, and with no plans to add any new language translations. Overall, it just doesn’t offer enough to feel more than the original plus a community patch.

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.

A healf-harted remaster of a game which, in this day and age, is hardly worth your money or your time. Die-hard fans of Sacred 2 might still find it enjoyable, even though some bugs remain and the new UI comes with a few drawbacks.

Despite its vast content, the remaster is plagued by old and new bugs, crashes, and poor performance. Visual upgrades are minimal, and the controls remain as clunky as in the 2008 original. Instead of nostalgic joy, this game offers a prime example of a remaster done wrong.

The Sacred 2 Remaster is a half hearted attempt to update a game that felt kind of dated in its heyday. Beyond updated graphics and a new, buggy HUD, nothing has been done to actually remaster the title and improve upon its original flaws, with constant bugs, crashes, and problems persisting throughout. Simply put, it’s not worth your time, as a new player or a nostalgic returner.

Ultimately this “remaster” feels pointless, but due to the glaring issues this release has I’m not interested in playing further. I was going to hook up my 360 to compare to the original console release as well but I’m not very much interested in making my short time spent with this remaster feel worse. If this is the only way one can play Sacred 2 it may be worth it, but for people like myself who have any other option this is still a pass nearly 4 months later. Oof.

Remasters should refresh and fix, not add more problems. Unfortunately, Sacred 2 Remaster is a mistake that should never have been released, because... the old edition is simply better. Better, but not necessarily playable these days.