Sanctum 2

 PC
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 399 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 261 out of 399
  2. Mixed: 63 out of 399
  3. Negative: 75 out of 399

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  1. MrRotch
    May 16, 2013
    6
    If you are a fan of the first Sanctum, read this before buying.

    Sanctum 2 is very different from the first. It's almost entirely different. For one, it's main focus is just co-op, while the first was both single player AND co-op. This is proven by the different character selections. There are 4 different characters this time around, instead of just one. However, each character has one    If you are a fan of the first Sanctum, read this before buying.

    Sanctum 2 is very different from the first. It's almost entirely different. For one, it's main focus is just co-op, while the first was both single player AND co-op. This is proven by the different character selections. There are 4 different characters this time around, instead of just one. However, each character has one gun that is locked directly for them (The Assault Rifle, Rocket Launcher, Sniper rifle, and Shotgun are tied to one of the 4 characters). This is very different from the original, because in the original you could pick any 3 weapons no matter what type. This time around your first weapon is locked in, and you can only have one secondary weapon instead of two. You also cannot upgrade any weapons.

    It is also pro co-op in that some enemies have weak spots in their backs (like in the original), except this time around they attack you (and thus, face you). There is literally no way of getting around them to hit them in the weak spot. It was designed so one player would distract them while another attacks, which is not a good thing in single player.

    You can only build 10 towers as well. Now, this isn't 10 towers per player. You can only build 10 towers per map regardless if it's one of 4 players. You also do not get resources after every wave like the first. They are dropped down at the core, only only one player can pick them up. So that means if you find a bad player, they may be a resource hog and not let anyone else get anything. I find this to be an extremely poor choice in design on a game that's meant to be co-op based.

    It's also more boring than the first. The maps are a LOT smaller, and the enemies per-wave are puny compared to the first (Which looked like just a long line of enemies because there were so many).

    However, there is still fun to be had here. Just don't go into this thinking that it's going to be Sanctum but with new content, because it's not.    … Expand
  2. Loc
    May 16, 2013
    9
    The low user scores are not fair in my opinion, they pushed me to register here on Metacritic and give my own review.

    My first impression after playing 4 maps with my Sanctum veteran friends is really good. We had tons of fun figuring out how to play this new version of Sanctum. I agree it's quite different from S1, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. You can expect    The low user scores are not fair in my opinion, they pushed me to register here on Metacritic and give my own review.

    My first impression after playing 4 maps with my Sanctum veteran friends is really good. We had tons of fun figuring out how to play this new version of Sanctum. I agree it's quite different from S1, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.

    You can expect beautiful and detailed map design, leveling up your character unlocking new stuff which is very motivating. One has to come up with new strategies now that enemies can attack you, pulling them to a lightening tower can be quite effective for example :)

    The ressource thing was no issue for us as we just did it round robin style, but I can imagine this being a problem in public games.

    Yeah you can only use 10 towers on a map, but the wave numbers have been reduced too, so I believe they thought this whole thing through, we will see at later levels or when adding perks. It comes down to more coordination, which is a great thing if you play with people you know.

    We all like it a lot so far (only 2 hours in) and I can absolutely recommend to buy it, especially at this low base price.    … Expand
  3. parxmedia
    May 15, 2013
    10
    This is a great game, I love the way it improves on Sanctum 1 and tried to build on some story elements. I love the focus on upgrading towers and how it blends the FPS elements with the TD elements making neither one completely useless.

    I have still been able to sit back and watch my towers, however when I shoot something I now know that they feel it. The UI Seems to be vastly    This is a great game, I love the way it improves on Sanctum 1 and tried to build on some story elements. I love the focus on upgrading towers and how it blends the FPS elements with the TD elements making neither one completely useless.

    I have still been able to sit back and watch my towers, however when I shoot something I now know that they feel it.

    The UI Seems to be vastly improved as well, cleaning up the rough edges around the first games UI and making it easier to track for newer player.

    I hope this is the start of a blossoming and wonderful Sanctum franchise branching into many areas for our enjoyment.    … Expand
  4. franck11
    May 15, 2013
    8
    Sanctum 2 take most of what made Sanctum good and expand on it to become even better. There's now 4 characters you can choose from, you have a level to get new guns/towers and perks, a lot of different maps (16 currently). Why it has 8 and not 10 is because we are very strictly limited on the number of tower (10) but the tower do makes a different but overall, i feel like this is too fewSanctum 2 take most of what made Sanctum good and expand on it to become even better. There's now 4 characters you can choose from, you have a level to get new guns/towers and perks, a lot of different maps (16 currently). Why it has 8 and not 10 is because we are very strictly limited on the number of tower (10) but the tower do makes a different but overall, i feel like this is too few for survival mode. There's also some improvements that could be made in co-op with the way resources are used and the way we select a game. All in all, I prefer this game to the previous one because enemy are more aware of you, the level system make you feel like you are progressing in the game and the sheer number of gun/tower/perk is pretty awesome IMO.… Expand
  5. Booker_Dewitt
    May 16, 2013
    10
    sanctum 2 is like a chilled out steely dan song, seemingly shallow, but accessible, at first but dig deep into it and you find all sorts intricacies, grooves, earworms and love
  6. PastryGator
    May 15, 2013
    8
    The game based on its own merits is a good one. The lambasting its getting because people are pissed off that it isn't just more of Sanctum 1 is unwarranted. I'm sorry, but if you think this is just Sanctum 1 "downgraded," you don't know about video games.

    1. Limited towers increases strategic placement. 2. Towers can only be upgraded 3 times, but resources can continually be dumped    The game based on its own merits is a good one. The lambasting its getting because people are pissed off that it isn't just more of Sanctum 1 is unwarranted. I'm sorry, but if you think this is just Sanctum 1 "downgraded," you don't know about video games.

    1. Limited towers increases strategic placement.
    2. Towers can only be upgraded 3 times, but resources can continually be dumped into level 3 towers to increase their attack power.
    3. Having resources only going to 1 person, while on the surface seems bad, avoids the situation in Sanctum 1 where someone has nowhere to put their resources because they aren't using the same towers as someone else, and can't contribute to upgrade/building towers.
    4. Folks complaining about the FPS vs TD elements are just out of their minds. FINALLY in this game, the FPS element is balanced such that you don't become a useless "moving tower" in the final waves. You are always able to contribute to what's going on on the battlefield.

    I could go on, but I know I'm part of the "silent majority" that likes this game for what it is, and find it a large improvement in production value and gameplay.    … Expand
  7. MrRazot
    May 15, 2013
    9
    Better gameplay than the first, but with strange dynamics that should not have been implemented.
    -set resources per wave
    -you have to collect resources at start of round -you can only have 10 towers However I do like the new level system and drop-in-drop-out multiplayer. Unlocks and perks are great and a ways to make the game even harder than it already is. Sanctum 2 had improved    Better gameplay than the first, but with strange dynamics that should not have been implemented.
    -set resources per wave
    -you have to collect resources at start of round
    -you can only have 10 towers

    However I do like the new level system and drop-in-drop-out multiplayer. Unlocks and perks are great and a ways to make the game even harder than it already is.

    Sanctum 2 had improved in some areas, but failed in others though this does not make it any less addictive.    … Expand
  8. MatthewTheDark
    May 17, 2013
    9
    First Note: This review has been updated with the new patch and at the bottom is a re-edited version of my review. This game is so much better now. A (E) Will be put at the start of edited sentences.

    Sanctum 2 is a game I feel gets more slack than it deserves. People weren't expecting what it turned out to be and were expecting it to be DLC rather than an actual sequel. I think that    First Note: This review has been updated with the new patch and at the bottom is a re-edited version of my review. This game is so much better now. A (E) Will be put at the start of edited sentences.

    Sanctum 2 is a game I feel gets more slack than it deserves. People weren't expecting what it turned out to be and were expecting it to be DLC rather than an actual sequel. I think that this game is perfectly fine. It's a good, hell, a great game! It still gives me the feeling I'm playing Sanctum and has some improvements that I think are for the best. However, I still am able to see some pretty flaws with the game that do somewhat sour the experience. First, the improved stuff. The gameplay has been changed quite a bit. There is a tower limit, weaker towers, and NPCs. I find this perfectly fine as the game now feels more like the game needs me rather than it could use my help on the rare occasion a sweet spot enemy strolls by. The game kinda has a story now, which is nice because it gives me something to think about as I play. There are new classes, allowing for you to choose your way of fighting, and you can actually die, allowing for you to feel more vulnerable. (E) The resources problem has been fixed with allowing everyone to get materials, improving Co-Op immensly. (E)The tower limit has been improved to 15, a much more manageable number however small it seems. The keyboard controls are a little stupid, considering the originals were much better. That's all I have to say on the matter and on the whole, I really liked Sanctum 2. It might not be so welcome to others, but I love it!

    In all, the new update raised my score and I think the game is just incredible now. The only parts that kick me is the controls and the lack of a server browser. Besides that, it's spectacular.    … Expand
  9. Spawnah
    May 15, 2013
    3
    Every aspect of this game is a massive downgrade on the original Sanctum. While I like how many new towers and weapons there are, the new characters and some pretty comics, everything else just feels like playing a crappier version of Sanctum 1. I haven't played this game for long, but I immediacies knew that this game isn't very good and was so bad that I have no intention of playingEvery aspect of this game is a massive downgrade on the original Sanctum. While I like how many new towers and weapons there are, the new characters and some pretty comics, everything else just feels like playing a crappier version of Sanctum 1. I haven't played this game for long, but I immediacies knew that this game isn't very good and was so bad that I have no intention of playing further to see if it gets better..

    For starters, resources aren't given to each player at the start of a build phase, a box full of them are dropped near the core, meaning whoever gets there first gets all the resources and blocks the towers go on. You can't upgrade your guns, which I loved about the first one. You also have a limited amount of towers, which is a idea, since they can barely be upgraded and being able to aim down the sight feels pointless.

    It has a perk and leveling system, something I never felt the original needed, while it might be pretty cool with some nifty unlocks, I never felt like it was something I needed to have. A problem with this is when joining other peoples game, they could be a might higher level than you, or they could be lower than you. This sucks because you can't just hop into a game and everyone be equal and the results are determined by the players skill and strategy, rather what level they are and what things they have unlocked.

    Pretty much everything about this game that differs from the first I feel is a downgrade. Play Sanctum 1 instead.    … Expand
  10. JimCorbett
    May 15, 2013
    2
    Play Sanctum 1 instead. This game feels nothing like the original, just a FPS with towers added for kicks and giggles. There is a limit of 10 towers per map, limited number of blocks you can build for your maze (you'll pretty much never get a decent maze set up because of how limited these are), tower upgrades limited to level 3, no upgradable weapons, and timed build phase which takes outPlay Sanctum 1 instead. This game feels nothing like the original, just a FPS with towers added for kicks and giggles. There is a limit of 10 towers per map, limited number of blocks you can build for your maze (you'll pretty much never get a decent maze set up because of how limited these are), tower upgrades limited to level 3, no upgradable weapons, and timed build phase which takes out any possible planning. Basically, the devs have ripped apart the TD part of Sanctum 1 and built upon the FPS part. On the positive end, the player progression is a step in the right direction. You get new weapons, towers, and "perks" as you gain levels. There are also new enemy types and bosses. But that doesn't make up for the atrocities Coffee Stain Studios committed when the tore apart what made Sanctum 1 fun. Sanctum 2, at it's core, is a FPS horde mode with puny towers to a little bit of dps. Sanctum 1 fans should stay away from this title.… Expand
  11. Flowed
    May 15, 2013
    2
    Sanctum 2 is a disaster. As a fan of the first episode (which was a tower defense with certain FPS aspects) I'm extremely disappointed by this sequel. The game has limitations everywhere limited time in building phase (which is horrible limited number of tower (max 10 limited number of block that you can place each wave, no more weapons upgrade, the towers now only upgrade to the thirdSanctum 2 is a disaster. As a fan of the first episode (which was a tower defense with certain FPS aspects) I'm extremely disappointed by this sequel. The game has limitations everywhere limited time in building phase (which is horrible limited number of tower (max 10 limited number of block that you can place each wave, no more weapons upgrade, the towers now only upgrade to the third level... I don't understand why did they had such features I'm always frustrated when playing the game because I don't have the freedom I had in the first episode. Sanctum 2 is a basic and stupid FPS, not a tower defense at all. If you're looking for a good tower defense game, don't buy Sanctum 2, but play the first Sanctum which is way better its sequel.… Expand
  12. K-Money
    May 15, 2013
    1
    Sanctum 2 is an unbelievable disappointment of a game. The developers seemed to strip the original game of any sort of strategic tower defense gameplay and instead focused on changing the first-person shooting aspect to be more like a pale imitation of Call of Duty or Halo. Don't get me wrong, Call of Duty and Halo are decent games to play once in a while, but a large part of what made theSanctum 2 is an unbelievable disappointment of a game. The developers seemed to strip the original game of any sort of strategic tower defense gameplay and instead focused on changing the first-person shooting aspect to be more like a pale imitation of Call of Duty or Halo. Don't get me wrong, Call of Duty and Halo are decent games to play once in a while, but a large part of what made the original Sanctum great was the tower defense. Do not listen to the positive reviews of large gaming sites. As you can see with the massive amount of negative user reviews, fans of the original game are not satisfied with Sanctum 2. At very least, try it for yourself before you spend any money on it.… Expand
  13. mcdaring
    May 15, 2013
    2
    It's essentially Call of Duty: Sanctum Mod, with little resemblance at all to the first game. The gunplay is stiff and unsatisfying, maze and tower placement is clunky and stagnant, and you will spend your entire time just running from spawn point to spawn point to spawn point in claustrophobic maps. I'm not a graphics person, but the game aesthetically took a dive as well.

    -No    It's essentially Call of Duty: Sanctum Mod, with little resemblance at all to the first game. The gunplay is stiff and unsatisfying, maze and tower placement is clunky and stagnant, and you will spend your entire time just running from spawn point to spawn point to spawn point in claustrophobic maps. I'm not a graphics person, but the game aesthetically took a dive as well.

    -No weapon upgrades (Perk system instead)
    -Ridiculously slow reload times (they prompt you to "Switch weapons!")
    -You have to run to the core to collect your resources in between rounds, which are limited.
    -Only one person in coop can place towers.

    It feels like a bad version of Halo with some perfunctory tower defenses. Buy Super Sanctum TD instead.    … Expand
  14. Chaosrift
    May 15, 2013
    1
    Very very poor sequel to sanctum 1 feels like a call of duty clone with a poor tower defense element attatched to it where towers feel as if they are firing BB pellets and walls that are completely useless seeing as your limited to 10 towers even on the larger multiflowing maps and multiplayer is poor due to no shared resources opening people to ninja resources
  15. Rawnl
    May 15, 2013
    3
    I'm more or less surprised by how all the popular critics unanimously think it is amazing compared to the first meanwhile most other people are giving it realistic reviews based on how it is an empty shell of it's former self. If you truly want the Sanctum experience buy the first one.
  16. JaydenPickens
    May 22, 2019
    7
    Got this one for free, played it with a friend, we finished it and it was fun. FPS mixed with tower defense stuff. Pickens approves!
  17. decoy26517
    Sep 10, 2013
    5
    Looks like the developers are taking this once beloved game and turning it into Call of Duty with towers.
    the towers are practically useless. The deal so little damage that there is little point in building them. Basically buy this if you enjoy FPSs and shooting things that run in a line.
  18. gravitas
    Oct 27, 2013
    10
    It's like Halo, Call of Duty and tower defense all in one. With in depth RPG elements that make Dungeon Defenders look like pong, and an end game comparable to that of Diablo III. 10/10 would buy again.
  19. sanctumbestgame
    Oct 27, 2013
    10
    If dubstep were to music what the American revolution was to politics than this game is to video games what the Kama Sutra was for the asian population. Where should I start? The deep rpg elements? The fast paced realistic fps experience? The sense of accomplishment when you finish in co-op like an impotent man climaxing for the first time in years? This game has it all, and then some! TheIf dubstep were to music what the American revolution was to politics than this game is to video games what the Kama Sutra was for the asian population. Where should I start? The deep rpg elements? The fast paced realistic fps experience? The sense of accomplishment when you finish in co-op like an impotent man climaxing for the first time in years? This game has it all, and then some! The new dlc is phucking awesome, borderlands 2 and gearbox could learn a thing or two from this indie studio! I would definitely repurchase this game again! If only all my friends didn't already have it! Give it a try, change your life, kifloom!… Expand
  20. Nimfix
    Dec 3, 2013
    7
    I got this from the humble bundle. So meaning there wasn't much money involved buying this so I cant base my review on its worth of money.

    So lets start with the gameplay. Its different compared to the first. I like the perk system and I also love the campaign. it requires to think different and place certain towers in a different way where they are most useful. I do hope that the tower    I got this from the humble bundle. So meaning there wasn't much money involved buying this so I cant base my review on its worth of money.

    So lets start with the gameplay. Its different compared to the first. I like the perk system and I also love the campaign. it requires to think different and place certain towers in a different way where they are most useful. I do hope that the tower limit will go up at some point but haven't seen it yet. 15 towers max is a bit of a disappointment especially in bigger maps. Also BOSS spawns!! This makes it a whole lotta more interesting and harder. What I do miss is that I need to take a good look how to build.. in sanctum 1 it took me quite some time to actually get the best maze. with sanctum 2 it feels kind of being hinted where to place what.

    The Graphics are "good" as what I would expect from coffee stain studios. Nothing special but nothing bad either.

    I do miss a few things from sanctum 1. So that's the reason why I give it a 7. If I can upgrade my guns, make slow plates on the ground instead of turrets and place more then 15 towers then yea it would get an 8 or a 9.    … Expand
  21. suneater
    Jun 30, 2013
    5
    A complete 180 in game design for the worse. The original Sanctum was a great change of pace for tower defense games, putting you into the battlefield with upgradable weapons (a tower defense with shooting). Sanctum 2 takes the original's premise too far in the opposite direction in terms of game balance. Sadly, all the towers are too weak and this has become a first person shooter withA complete 180 in game design for the worse. The original Sanctum was a great change of pace for tower defense games, putting you into the battlefield with upgradable weapons (a tower defense with shooting). Sanctum 2 takes the original's premise too far in the opposite direction in terms of game balance. Sadly, all the towers are too weak and this has become a first person shooter with towers. With very limited resources and base blocks, you will be building or upgrading on average one tower per wave with mazes only becoming effective near the end of the map. Even when you do finally make a great maze that is somewhat defensible, many of the bosses can smash their way through your base blocks, destroying your towers and creating a free path for enemies. The worst part is the difficulty curve; the early levels are tutorial-esque cakewalks which quickly drop off into frustrating trial-and-error tests of endurance.

    The map design has improved significantly, including 16 levels with improved music and sound providing great atmosphere. While the drawn slideshow cutscenes are entertaining and provide some pretense for the missions, the story and characters are never really fleshed out. Sanctum 2 combines sub-par FPS elements with sub-par RPG elements and sub-par TD elements to create... a surprisingly mediocre game. This could've been a fantastic co-op game if they just built on the original's game design instead of going for the CoD/console audience.    … Expand
  22. Psycho11edge
    Feb 17, 2014
    9
    Let me start off with a little something. I see a lot of people complaining about the differences between Sanctum 1 and Sanctum 2. I've played both of them, as well as Super Sanctum TD, and I have enjoyed all of them. I'm not going to argue with people who complain the game isn't exactly like the first one, as that is a legitimate concern. Imagine playing Halo 1 and 2, but instead you getLet me start off with a little something. I see a lot of people complaining about the differences between Sanctum 1 and Sanctum 2. I've played both of them, as well as Super Sanctum TD, and I have enjoyed all of them. I'm not going to argue with people who complain the game isn't exactly like the first one, as that is a legitimate concern. Imagine playing Halo 1 and 2, but instead you get Halo 3: ODST. I can understand that. But at the same time, if that does happen, take the new game on it's own freaking merits. I wouldn't give ODST a 0 because it's not like 1 and 2. I'd rate it on it's own. Rating a game on it's predecessors is okay, but at the same time, to weight the whole score on them is a mistake. Be comparative, but don't be unfair.

    Sanctum 2 is, even when compared to its previous installment, a great game. It's a lot of fun, just like Sanctum 1. There are a lot of changes, so I'd suggest a little personal research before making your final decision if you are a veteran of the first one, as they are quite extensive, but not necessarily bad. Some features were taken out and some more were added. But I would still recommend checking it out in any case. It takes a genre I am not that great at (TD) and adds in aspects of something I am good at (FPS), and allows me to supplement the TD aspects with my FPS capabilities, and in the process, produces a nice, but not impossible challenge, and a lot of fun. If possible, I would also suggest getting the DLC as well. One of the few games I would ever recommend getting DLC for.

    Also, a lot of the reviews from people on here seem to contain false information, such as resource amounts, tower caps, multiplayer experiences and so on, as if they played the tutorial level and nothing else. Not saying they are all wrong, but I've seen quite a few negative reviews with numbers and info I know to be absolutely wrong from playing constantly with friends recently.    … Expand
  23. Akanzeru
    Oct 12, 2013
    9
    Great graphics, great gun play, beautiful art style, challenging levels. Would strongly recommend it for fans of Tower Defense games and FPS games. The game makes you think, you need to do so much more than left clicking in order to beat the more challenging levels, and there are plenty levels like that.
  24. MiBz0r
    Oct 30, 2013
    10
    Well thought out and implemented sequel, doesn't just take new textures and add them to an old engine, OK the switch from Single Player & CO-OP to just CO-OP is a little bit off a loss but this game is an extremely worthy sequel.
  25. juanker
    Nov 26, 2013
    8
    Sanctum 2 is really nice mix of styles. FPS and Tower Defense mix very effectively in this good game that will hook you if you are a fan of these genres. Not exactly a masterpiece, but a very enjoyable game that is worth its price. although some people that played the first one find this one much worst, I can almost assure you that this game will be a fun way to spent at least 15-20 hoursSanctum 2 is really nice mix of styles. FPS and Tower Defense mix very effectively in this good game that will hook you if you are a fan of these genres. Not exactly a masterpiece, but a very enjoyable game that is worth its price. although some people that played the first one find this one much worst, I can almost assure you that this game will be a fun way to spent at least 15-20 hours of your time, no matter what you expect of it.

    Good game 76/100    … Expand
  26. shearpierce
    Dec 7, 2013
    10
    I picked up this game for cheap not really expecting much more than something to do while I was bored. This turned out to be one of the most enthralling game experiences (especially co-op with friends) that I have ever experienced. If you have friends who like the first person defense shooter strategy genre of games, then this will give you hours of fun. I played it for a solid 4 hoursI picked up this game for cheap not really expecting much more than something to do while I was bored. This turned out to be one of the most enthralling game experiences (especially co-op with friends) that I have ever experienced. If you have friends who like the first person defense shooter strategy genre of games, then this will give you hours of fun. I played it for a solid 4 hours straight with my friend last night and I couldn't wait to play it again today. This game might not be for everyone, but I absolutely loved it.… Expand
  27. D333
    Dec 14, 2013
    10
    I don't see another game that combines shooter and tower defence.
    I think that very cool game: it's have good graphics, well story, single player and perfect multiplayer. And what else is needed for a good game?
    Especcialy pleassure play with friends!!!
  28. rileyhull01
    Jan 26, 2014
    10
    Very good hybrid. BEST GAME EVER! Not much more to say its a fps tower defence game. Pure genius and runs good graphics on bad computers. Some monsters get annoying but the quality of the game makes up for it
  29. iDuxx
    Jan 29, 2014
    9
    It´s a great mixture of FPS and Tower Defense. You have unlockable weapons and towers which gives you a good longtime-motivation. You can play 4 characters (with the 4€ DLC 5) and a lot of maps. The only negative thing is the Matchmaking, somtimes you have a very bad Ping.
  30. Cwestern
    Feb 13, 2014
    9
    Please, please, PLEASE DISREGARD THE REVIEWS of the whiny users who were horribly surprised that this is actually a DIFFERENT GAME than the original sanctum. They were obviously hooked on the original (which was an awesome game) and expected more of the same. YES, THIS GAME IS DIFFERENT. However, the developers capitalized on many of the unique features that made the first one great.Please, please, PLEASE DISREGARD THE REVIEWS of the whiny users who were horribly surprised that this is actually a DIFFERENT GAME than the original sanctum. They were obviously hooked on the original (which was an awesome game) and expected more of the same. YES, THIS GAME IS DIFFERENT. However, the developers capitalized on many of the unique features that made the first one great. While there is more FPS qualities in this game, the people who dislike that seem to forget that about 70-80% of all kill and damage are still attributed to towers. While the character's shooting plays a crucial role in surviving each wave, the towers and strategy are equally if not more important. IF YOU WANT A TOWER DEFENSE GAME, THEN GO AND BUY ONE. This game is a tower-defense, first-person shooter HYBRID. To me, it feels even more balanced than the original game. Additionally, the developers have fixed many of the issues that users didn't like, including expanding the tower cap to 15 and removing the location-based resource drops. This game loses one point because some of the bosses are a little overpowered, and some can even destroy your defenses. However, I loved this game, and it is totally worth buying. (Pro tip: if you turn the gamma way up, the colors become much more vivid and the whole thing looks awesome).… Expand
  31. MaxGayLord
    May 16, 2013
    10
    Sanctum 2 is a brilliant game, and an amazing sequel. Coffee Stain Studios did a bang up job of fixing the bugs and various mechanical issues that plagued the first game. The ladder especially applies to how they game the player a more active role when it comes to defending the core.

    The low scores this game is receiving is a shame, and the asswipes responsible need to get a life. I    Sanctum 2 is a brilliant game, and an amazing sequel. Coffee Stain Studios did a bang up job of fixing the bugs and various mechanical issues that plagued the first game. The ladder especially applies to how they game the player a more active role when it comes to defending the core.

    The low scores this game is receiving is a shame, and the asswipes responsible need to get a life. I feel that the current scoring of 4.5 does not accurately reflect the game. These reviewers are not being fair to others or to the developers by giving such a bias and deluded opinion.    … Expand
  32. WulfCola
    May 16, 2013
    10
    At last the FPS nostalgics are always about, and it's an improvement. Not as bad as it first sounds, but also not as good as they thought when they released it, or they wouldn't have, I hope
  33. Zpaceship
    May 18, 2013
    10
    Sanctum 2 is bigger prettier and more intense than predecessor and while it is still a FPS TD it is rather different feel to how the game plays mostly because creeps attack you.

    Sanctum 2 is not just a expanded version of original Sanctum. Its a different game in many aspects. Its obvious that many critics here haven't really played the game but are just nagging with low scores because    Sanctum 2 is bigger prettier and more intense than predecessor and while it is still a FPS TD it is rather different feel to how the game plays mostly because creeps attack you.

    Sanctum 2 is not just a expanded version of original Sanctum. Its a different game in many aspects. Its obvious that many critics here haven't really played the game but are just nagging with low scores because S2 isn't what they expected.

    Another issue some are wining about are resource issues which have been substantially improved in just the first patch. now it is 15 towers and resources are shared in multiplayer.

    GG    … Expand
  34. TheLeapist
    May 24, 2013
    9
    Ignore the negative reviews. Virtually every single last complaint they have has been fixed in the last two major patches! And the game has been out less than 10 days! Imagine all they can accomplish to perfect this already amazing game in the months to follow.
  35. Sneaktastic
    May 29, 2013
    7
    Tower defense first person shooter-Extremely challenging-So so on the co op-For consoles there is no split screen so beware-Changed multiplayer to have 4 different characters and changed the way you collect
    the supplies to make it so only 1 person can grab the supplies in each wave
    Get this game if- 1.You love tower defense games 2.You love challenges 3.You love co op games Do not    Tower defense first person shooter-Extremely challenging-So so on the co op-For consoles there is no split screen so beware-Changed multiplayer to have 4 different characters and changed the way you collect
    the supplies to make it so only 1 person can grab the supplies in each wave
    Get this game if-
    1.You love tower defense games
    2.You love challenges
    3.You love co op games
    Do not get this game if-
    1.You do not like the changes made to the co op
    2.You only play single player
    3.You do not like tower defense games    … Expand
  36. CaptainCornhole
    May 16, 2013
    10
    Sanctum 2 is a very worthy sequel, the limitations on maze building I feel ultimately benefit this game. It creates a focus on strategy and is a way to immerse the player in the action. In Sanctum 1 the enemies would just ignore you, and you could level up your maze to the extent that all you had to do was sit back and watch. That doesn't make for good gameplay. Thankfully that is allSanctum 2 is a very worthy sequel, the limitations on maze building I feel ultimately benefit this game. It creates a focus on strategy and is a way to immerse the player in the action. In Sanctum 1 the enemies would just ignore you, and you could level up your maze to the extent that all you had to do was sit back and watch. That doesn't make for good gameplay. Thankfully that is all fixed in Sanctum 2. My only complaints are Skyes redesign and the lack of a reload animation.… Expand
  37. whytoo
    May 16, 2013
    10
    Compared to Sanctum 1 this focuses a bit more on the shooter part than the tower defense part, it actually seems a bit more balanced between the two. Most of the new changes are nice (characters, weapons, leveling), others need a little work (timed build phase, resource management). Still a fun hybrid of First Person Shooter and Tower Defense.

    Seems like a lot of people who think it    Compared to Sanctum 1 this focuses a bit more on the shooter part than the tower defense part, it actually seems a bit more balanced between the two. Most of the new changes are nice (characters, weapons, leveling), others need a little work (timed build phase, resource management). Still a fun hybrid of First Person Shooter and Tower Defense.

    Seems like a lot of people who think it sucks just wanted an updated Sanctum 1 and didn't bother to look into the game before buying it. The resources and tower limit were both known about before release. You now have to think more about the placement of your towers and when to upgrade them. I agree the resources only going to one person is something that needs to be changed.

    Would probably give this an 8-9, but giving it a 10 just to offset some of the people that somehow think Sanctum 2 is now a CoD clone.    … Expand
  38. Hernan_The_Bar
    May 16, 2013
    8
    Sanctum 2 has problems. When it hits the target (shooting mechanics, customization, art style) it's fantastic. But when it misses (tower limit, resource system, lack of nodes, terrible bosses-can-destroy-defenses) it something stinky. Still, despite the DLC gouging, CSS patched Sanctum 1 from something mediocre to something memorable. Let's hope they do the same and completely disregardSanctum 2 has problems. When it hits the target (shooting mechanics, customization, art style) it's fantastic. But when it misses (tower limit, resource system, lack of nodes, terrible bosses-can-destroy-defenses) it something stinky. Still, despite the DLC gouging, CSS patched Sanctum 1 from something mediocre to something memorable. Let's hope they do the same and completely disregard the horribly underpowered Xbox when they update the game.… Expand
  39. LinaInverse
    May 16, 2013
    9
    better graphics, better pacing, better towers, better strategy, better everything except the god awful resource system

    fix that and the game would be a solid 8 (only rating this high because of all the negativity)
  40. forighnmovie
    May 16, 2013
    10
    Despite the changes, Sanctum 2 is much better game than the first one. People seem to forget that original was broken in many more ways than one--Dungeon Defenders did everything Sanctum 1 did and it did it better. Sanctum 2 carves a place in gaming, and even though it's different from the original, it's far more original.
  41. mrbigtime
    May 16, 2013
    10
    Look at those low scores those kids are giving. Unbelievable and unfair. Metacritic should use an age restriction to their system. Unfair, unrealistic scores are giving bad score to these guys. Yeah game is different than the first one as this is SANCTUM THE SECOND. is it hard to understand? Ofcourse there will be different factors. what you expect? if you dont love it dont give it too lowLook at those low scores those kids are giving. Unbelievable and unfair. Metacritic should use an age restriction to their system. Unfair, unrealistic scores are giving bad score to these guys. Yeah game is different than the first one as this is SANCTUM THE SECOND. is it hard to understand? Ofcourse there will be different factors. what you expect? if you dont love it dont give it too low score. a 6 or 7 should do it just fine. This game is good for itself. There is a DEMO, go try it before buying. dont put lame scores over here.… Expand
  42. whitefur22
    Jun 4, 2013
    3
    I feel this game could have been better. First I don't see the TD aspect anymore. My guns are MUCH better than my towers anyway, so i never used the towers at all. 4-Player Horde Shooters are not very difficult to find (COD: Zombies, TF2: MvM, ME3: Multiplayer, etc.) and this fails to compete with those. I know a lot of people might say OMG AAA GAMES BUT THIS IS INDIE!!!! but that's notI feel this game could have been better. First I don't see the TD aspect anymore. My guns are MUCH better than my towers anyway, so i never used the towers at all. 4-Player Horde Shooters are not very difficult to find (COD: Zombies, TF2: MvM, ME3: Multiplayer, etc.) and this fails to compete with those. I know a lot of people might say OMG AAA GAMES BUT THIS IS INDIE!!!! but that's not the point, the point is the game is bad compared to sanctum 1. I have never played Co-Op (Single Player seems impossible on easy) but i feel co-op player would miss out on certain weapons due to class restrictions (New to Sanctum). If your fine with Shooing with buddies, this game might be something to look at. If you want TD and a shooter though, look to sanctum 1 because this does not deliver that.

    ~An    … Expand
  43. CaptainOkatta
    May 18, 2013
    10
    Although I initially found the game to be a downgrade from the original, I then realized some of the nice changes. The 'perks' system allows for more playtime with a specific weapon set, as well as allowing the player to grow on a certain set. The smaller maps allow for more condensed and quick matches, and are a blast in co-op. However the running back for resources can be tedious, itAlthough I initially found the game to be a downgrade from the original, I then realized some of the nice changes. The 'perks' system allows for more playtime with a specific weapon set, as well as allowing the player to grow on a certain set. The smaller maps allow for more condensed and quick matches, and are a blast in co-op. However the running back for resources can be tedious, it doesn't truly detract from the experience as a whole.… Expand
  44. Advy
    May 27, 2013
    10
    Sanctum 2 is a somewhat huge leap from its' predecessor. Adding co-op to the list of having fun plus all the other tweaks make this a must-have for td/fps lovers. I agree with many other reviewers on the fact that this game is heavy on co-op playing instead of single player. Nevertheless, even solo, this game is a beauty and will keep you occupied for much longer than the original one.Sanctum 2 is a somewhat huge leap from its' predecessor. Adding co-op to the list of having fun plus all the other tweaks make this a must-have for td/fps lovers. I agree with many other reviewers on the fact that this game is heavy on co-op playing instead of single player. Nevertheless, even solo, this game is a beauty and will keep you occupied for much longer than the original one. Dozen thumbs up I'll be waiting for Sanctum 3.… Expand
  45. Renagod
    May 20, 2013
    8
    Hello there, now I'd like to, let u know something about myself, i have bias, i loved sanctum 1 so when i heard sanctum 2 was coming out i was tripping balls, and i preordered it....sigh, however on the release date i regretted it immensely. I felt Sanctum 2 was a big let down in this hybrid fps-tower genere. THE resources weren't shared. This led to just throw a hissy fit, onHello there, now I'd like to, let u know something about myself, i have bias, i loved sanctum 1 so when i heard sanctum 2 was coming out i was tripping balls, and i preordered it....sigh, however on the release date i regretted it immensely. I felt Sanctum 2 was a big let down in this hybrid fps-tower genere. THE resources weren't shared. This led to just throw a hissy fit, on Facebook,-embarrassingly i know. I was shouting to the heavens what have you done with my beloved sanctum foolish developers. Then the patch came out and fixed a lot of the big issues i had with a problem with granted there are several glaring issues, perhaps to cater to people less new to the Sanctum, which isn't an excuse people have intelligence, I would suggest to look at what made sanctum a good game .

    Here are the current flaws i have with it, to many guns have bad recoil, tone it down a bit.
    Two weapon limit cap, i want more options not less in this kind of game. I want to be able to play with my options, I find this inexcusable, for the pc version.
    Small map designs, smaller map hud.
    My biggest one is of course finding people i wish either a we can find a lobby listing the amount of people in the game or joining a game with a lot of people This is for me what make sanctum shine

    The pros
    Variety of weapons to chose from
    Class and level up system (pro or con depending on where you stand on this )
    You actually get to fight enemies, here is the thing me and my good friend from san fran abused the crap out of the towers, the floor tiles- everything. However, we felt empty inside because we couldn't fire any bullets because the towers had killed them for us. Also at one point our weapons just became useless, so we had to rely on the towers towards late game anyways.

    15 tower cap limit, which i find adds for more strategic placement vs, random placement
    more variety of aliens to fondle, with your guns :0
    You can actually die-yay for ze deaths

    In short if you can look past these flaws then sanctum may be the game for you.    … Expand
  46. Dilicorn_Niles
    Jun 10, 2013
    10
    I'm a happy owner of both Coffee Stain Studios games... wait, there's actually three of them, and I have them all. And I played them all as well, so now I gonna tell what I think about it.

    For first, I'm not a big fan of TD, just because I'm pretty bad with strategies. I've been not very happy then one my friend decided to gift me first Sanctum to play together. Still, I don't really    I'm a happy owner of both Coffee Stain Studios games... wait, there's actually three of them, and I have them all. And I played them all as well, so now I gonna tell what I think about it.

    For first, I'm not a big fan of TD, just because I'm pretty bad with strategies. I've been not very happy then one my friend decided to gift me first Sanctum to play together. Still, I don't really regret his decision after just a few hours of him building and me shooting, I found that Sanctum is actually a pretty lot of fun. I have nice memories about time I spend on that game in company with my friend.

    And then, for all the sudden, while we waited, first news about Sanctum 2 showed up! I've got not much wonders about what it can become, but I've been sure that I gonna take a loot of good time with my friend again, playing the new game. I was wrong.

    The thing here, I think I'm now even more a fan of Sanctum 2 than my friend. This game became so amazing, I didn't even expected that. Even if there's no more slow field or towers that increases the power of every shot that goes through(I mean the ones that increases power of even players shots, they did amazing work in previous game), if I can't power up weapons anymore, it became the coolest thing I ever saw. New tower system are much easier for me to understand, new leveling system endlessly pushes me forward to get new perks, weapons and towers, while if I play with my friend, we can actually talk about tactics much more now, like what tower any of us going to take, what positions we must choose to shoot off enemies and how we gonna make the maze to apply maximum possible damage on enemies.

    That thing became so awesome, and if I didn't finished it already, I still amazed and wonders what awaits me on the next stage. Storyline showed awesomely as well it's the best way to show what happens between fight, giving the player pages of greatly made comics. Only thing that it's can be kinda boring or not too funny to team up with random peoples... but it's actually doesn't makes a lot of problems for me as long as I have someone to play with.

    Nicely done, Coffee Stain Studio. Can't wait for DLCs already.

    Oh, and little notice for peoples complaining about Sanctum 2. Someone already pointed at it it's completely different game. It's not original Sanctum, it's not even close and it shouldn't. Because this difference, all the changes in balance are actually the thing that must be here. It's fine to play both alone and with your friend, even 4 towers is more than enough to make a good defence line, if you know what to do. So please, don't tell things like "New Sanctum is the bad game". It's a great game, there's just actually no good way to make everyone happy then not everyone happy with some changes.    … Expand
  47. DudasDrakaan
    May 31, 2013
    9
    I was slow to really like Sanctum 2, but after playing it for awhile, I have come to really warm up. At first multiplayer was crap because only 1 person would have resources. This has since been fixed. Thought many players are still bad at the game, it is much better than it was at release. Recommend people who left the game to try it again.

    Graphics are phenomenal. Beautiful.    I was slow to really like Sanctum 2, but after playing it for awhile, I have come to really warm up. At first multiplayer was crap because only 1 person would have resources. This has since been fixed. Thought many players are still bad at the game, it is much better than it was at release. Recommend people who left the game to try it again.

    Graphics are phenomenal. Beautiful. Impressive environments. Lots of secrets that make it satisfying for me.

    Combat is satisfying and the creatures' ability to fight back seems to be a nice change to the game (IMO).

    Nice variety of towers. Nice effects from them as well. Maps have a big variety as well.

    Biggest negative is that I don't know how replayable the game will be after you've beaten everything. So far, however, I've loved it for the majority of the time. Some maps are dreadful mostly maps that do not allow you to maze; though most maps do.    … Expand
  48. BrotBaum
    Jun 22, 2013
    9
    At first glance it seemed like a big failure compared to the first Sanctum, but after all these patches it's a really good game now. I recommend it to everyone who liked Sanctum.

    I really like the fact that it's not that 'noob friendly' anymore, for example the enemies will attack and kill you now. But the biggest change is the weapon recoil. Doesn't feel like an dumb FPS anymore where    At first glance it seemed like a big failure compared to the first Sanctum, but after all these patches it's a really good game now. I recommend it to everyone who liked Sanctum.

    I really like the fact that it's not that 'noob friendly' anymore, for example the enemies will attack and kill you now. But the biggest change is the weapon recoil. Doesn't feel like an dumb FPS anymore where you just have to hold the left mouse button in order to hit everything. But there's an easy mode for those who think it's too hard now.

    There are a lot of things that have improved in Sanctum 2, so definitely give it a try if you liked Sanctum     … Expand
  49. Transient
    May 18, 2013
    0
    A hugely disappointing FPS/Tower Defense game which decided to remove the Tower Defense focus of the first game and focus instead on the FPS mode, which was definitely the weaker area. The mechanics and engine don't make for a fun FPS experience, so restricting and abandoning the TD component seems... unusual. In the end, it can't do FPS to match other FPSes, and the TD part comes offA hugely disappointing FPS/Tower Defense game which decided to remove the Tower Defense focus of the first game and focus instead on the FPS mode, which was definitely the weaker area. The mechanics and engine don't make for a fun FPS experience, so restricting and abandoning the TD component seems... unusual. In the end, it can't do FPS to match other FPSes, and the TD part comes off like a gimmick. Really disappointing if you enjoyed the original or if you enjoy TD games at all. Imagine Orcs Must Die in first-person with sluggish, unresponsive weapons and mobility, fewer traps, and no humour. It's not just a let-down, it's a stinker in its own right.… Expand
  50. CJx101
    May 17, 2013
    8
    They fixed a lot of the issues. The devs responded well and therefore they earn my respect. As a game in its current state I think it's much better. My friends and I have been enjoying it a lot more. Props to the devs for such a speedy and efficient update.
  51. FattyMooMooMan
    May 17, 2013
    7
    I gave this game a poor review score initially as the first release was so dumbed down as a tower defence game and the devs made some awful design choices with their product alienating many of the sanctum 1 fans, myself included these changes included tower limitations, no resource sharing and underpowered towers amongst other things. I had no intention of playing the game in that stateI gave this game a poor review score initially as the first release was so dumbed down as a tower defence game and the devs made some awful design choices with their product alienating many of the sanctum 1 fans, myself included these changes included tower limitations, no resource sharing and underpowered towers amongst other things. I had no intention of playing the game in that state and it was no fun to me at all hence the low score.

    However since the recent outcry from many of the fans the devs have actually listened (this is unusual these days with most devs and does command a lot of respect) and made changes improving the game and are looking towards making future changes in support of their product. With the new shared resources (this was a major issue before) and increase in towers the game is moving in the right direction and becoming a much better game for it. As such I am submitting this new score based on where I see the game going, I still do not believe it will be the best TD out there and will appeal more for its fps side (hopefully the devs will prove me wrong) but it is certainly not the waste of money it was in its initial form and is becoming much more enjoyable to play.    … Expand
  52. oldbrokenlink
    May 24, 2013
    0
    I'm giving it a 0 because the developers changed the game from a primarily a tower defense game with elements of a first person shooter to a first person shooter with elements of a tower defense game and frankly it's not what I was expecting when I pre-ordered it, worse the developers basically don't care. They all but told one customer that posted about this to go play Sanctum 1 insteadI'm giving it a 0 because the developers changed the game from a primarily a tower defense game with elements of a first person shooter to a first person shooter with elements of a tower defense game and frankly it's not what I was expecting when I pre-ordered it, worse the developers basically don't care. They all but told one customer that posted about this to go play Sanctum 1 instead and then they did some quick patches which really doesn't fix the issue to try to defuse the issue. So if you are looking for a td/fps this is not the game for you because the td elements have been greatly reduced and if your looking for fps/td then this also may not be the game for you because the fps elements are very basic. There is not even a health bar and you cannot do things like upgrade or mod your weapons. Sadly the game doesn't know what it wants to be and tries to be all things, but ends up not being all that good. Finally, its a bit of a unbalanced mess on some maps they give you an excess of blocks to place, more than you can ever use, but not enough turrets, which makes no sense and on some maps they don't give you enough blocks to use, not even 25% of what you need, and because the map is so large the fix number of turrets just cant cover the map, so it becomes a nightmare. If you want a great td/shooter try Sanctum 1 or even games like Dungeon Defenders and Orcs Must Die 2, but not this game.… Expand
  53. Lolbbqcabbage
    May 16, 2013
    6
    While Sanctum 2 does a few things right, such as improved graphics and interesting unlock system. I feel it's a completely different monster to the first. The first Sanctum was a TOWER DEFENSE with FPS elements added to you. Sanctum 2 feels primarily FPS with a torn up tower defense thrown ontop, despite the fact guns are no longer upgradable which was a feature I enjoyed in the firstWhile Sanctum 2 does a few things right, such as improved graphics and interesting unlock system. I feel it's a completely different monster to the first. The first Sanctum was a TOWER DEFENSE with FPS elements added to you. Sanctum 2 feels primarily FPS with a torn up tower defense thrown ontop, despite the fact guns are no longer upgradable which was a feature I enjoyed in the first

    Sanctum 1 allowed for an enjoyable Co-op and Single player experience, where as Sanctum 2 feels like it's forced to be played Co-op as enemies will try to attack you, some with weak spots on their back turning to attack you, making it hard to do damage. It seems it was made for one to distract and the other to shoot the weakspots. Then again Co-op it's self is rather hindered, since Sanctum 2 offers rather limit resources so often players in the game may have conflicting maze designs or tower placements, so sometimes you have to allocate who gets what each round. Sanctum 2 is also setup for griefing, you could get a player that just hogs everything then refuse to build etc.

    Also Sanctum 2 has torn up the tower defense side of things, by adding some rounds with timers. I understand that it makes players think fast, but in a game that boasts to be tower defense, allowing time for players to plan their mazes etc is a part of that. By adding limit resources and tower limits most of the time you are unable to get a decent maze going along with the fact there is a 10 tower limit and towers no longer upgrade to level 5, but instead 3.

    Sanctum 2 is not a bad game by all means, I think it just has missed some of the magic the first had. If you're a huge fan of the first, then you may want to give it a miss or pick it up on steam sale. If you're a first time Sanctum player, give it a crack you may enjoy it.

    But that is just my opinion, take it as a grain of salt.    … Expand
  54. MathewRD
    May 15, 2013
    0
    What good is a game that was a sequel to a Tower Defense game with FPS features, that's a FPS with Tower Defense features? Hell, this game will restrict your ability to create only to certain areas, and it's a pretty sad tower defense when you're only allowed 10 towers at any given time, even in co-op. This game went from Tower Defense to Call of Duty pretty quickly. Everything wasWhat good is a game that was a sequel to a Tower Defense game with FPS features, that's a FPS with Tower Defense features? Hell, this game will restrict your ability to create only to certain areas, and it's a pretty sad tower defense when you're only allowed 10 towers at any given time, even in co-op. This game went from Tower Defense to Call of Duty pretty quickly. Everything was downgraded. You can no longer hold 4 guns, but 2. You can only build 10 towers. The game even supplies you with pre-existing towers.

    If this game were its own game, it'd probably be fine. But trying to be a successor to such an amazing game is an insult.    … Expand
  55. FerretWitASpork
    May 15, 2013
    0
    Hey all. So last weekend was a free weekend for Sanctum 1 because of the release today. I decided to give it a shot, downloaded it.. and absolutely loved it! I've logged about 12 hours in the game since Saturday. I was sold! I pre ordered Sanctum 2.. and even bought Sanctum 1 to support the devs (and to satisfy my new addiction for 1 more day until Sanctum 2).

    Now I'm greeted by this...    Hey all. So last weekend was a free weekend for Sanctum 1 because of the release today. I decided to give it a shot, downloaded it.. and absolutely loved it! I've logged about 12 hours in the game since Saturday. I was sold! I pre ordered Sanctum 2.. and even bought Sanctum 1 to support the devs (and to satisfy my new addiction for 1 more day until Sanctum 2).

    Now I'm greeted by this... Nothing like Sanctum 1.. the game I fell in love with just a few days ago... the amazing game that was used as false advertising to lure me into paying for Sanctum 2.

    Like I said I've only got 12 hours logged so I'm sure there are other fans that can go into better detail.. and I haven't even logged an hour into Sanctum 2 yet because I was so disappointed.. so maybe I missed some things but here's my thoughts on it:

    * Having to run back to the core to get resources every round is absolutely unnecessary and unfun.

    * Having to RACE the other players in multiplayer to get resources is unfun and creates a terrible social atmosphere.

    * Having a separate pool for nodes and turrets discourages mazing and kills the strategy portion of the game

    * Having a round-start timer makes me feel pressured, and lessens strategy involved.

    * The turret limit is WAYY too low and just kills the tower defence part of this game. Some players like to focus on upgrading a few towers, some players prefer to spam low-medium level towers.. You're limiting play styles and that's never good.

    I'm sure there's more but as I said I haven't played much.. too discouraged.. This game is a failure in game design... but brilliant in it's marketing of getting me hooked on the first game and then giving us this sequel.

    I hope the developers fix what's needed to make this the amazing sequel that it could be but right now I'll be requesting a refund on the basis that the free weekend was false advertising.    … Expand
  56. Rocharox
    May 18, 2013
    10
    Fun to play, addicting and fresh; FP TD with the cheesiness to make it fun, but not overloaded on it. great game! didn't play the first one but this game sure made my day. Also cheep too!! 8)
  57. Ironkidz
    May 15, 2013
    2
    AFTER ALL THAT WAITING.. ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS "WHAT A COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY"! This game holds nothing true to the original sanctum.... they took all that was good and destroyed it. It feels terrible to control and is sloppy in execution. Looks pretty, but the size of the towers, behavior of the enemies, and performance of the weapons, is just terrible. DO NOT BUY IF YOU LIKE SANCTUM 1!!
  58. Shrugnick
    May 16, 2013
    4
    The game feels like "Sanctum-lite". Yes, the graphics are better and it is nice to have a selection of "classes" to choose from between the characters. I also like how you can see over the walls and you don't get trapped in the maze you make but can easily vault over the blocks or shoot over them. I also like the idea of the perks (even if a lot of them are useless). But other than that IThe game feels like "Sanctum-lite". Yes, the graphics are better and it is nice to have a selection of "classes" to choose from between the characters. I also like how you can see over the walls and you don't get trapped in the maze you make but can easily vault over the blocks or shoot over them. I also like the idea of the perks (even if a lot of them are useless). But other than that I do not see much that was better than the first game and many things are actually worse.

    For one, you are limited to 10 towers in all the levels I have played, which is a far cry from the first in which you were limited only by your design.

    You can't ever swap your primary weapon. Like the look of your toon and like their ability? Too bad, you are stuck with their primary weapon. But you can change the secondary as you unlock them, which is nice. Oh, and no weapon upgrades of any sort either. That was removed as well.

    Only 1 person can pick up the tower blocks or money. Let me tell you how much of a bad idea this is for playing PUG on multiplayer. Hell, it is a pain sometimes when you are with your friends. I can't fathom the reason for this change as if you aren't the person who picks up the resources you just sit there and get bored while they plot it out without you. I can't stress enough of how much this is a terrible idea because it takes 75% of the team out of the building phase to do nothing more than twiddle thumbs.

    The levels are EASY and there are far fewer mobs than in any of the previous game's levels. There are some waves that are challenging, but then you get two or three waves of 2 soakers (which as the name implies are nothing more than bullet sponges) or a handful of mobs. *yawn*

    You are also limited in the number of blocks you can put down, starting with maybe 4-10 in the first wave and then a handful every wave after. The maps also seem smaller, but that could just be me.

    I see where they were going with this and I get that they wanted to make this more of a shooter, but that is not what made the first Sanctum so special and fun. The FPS gameplay is not fun enough to have the majority of the mechanics lean on it, and taking away the very thing that made it a tower defense game. Now it is more like a second-rate FPS with some turrets you can place. Really disappointing and all it did was make me want to buy and play the first one again.    … Expand
  59. RPNerd
    Jun 17, 2013
    4
    Sanctum 2 is by no means an improvement from the first. It feels like smart, balanced, challenging Sanctum devolved into something stupid and often annoying. Not a single mechanic in Sanctum was actually improved in Sanctum 2, and most of those mechanics are arguably, no ARE worse than the original's. The only exception is the implementation of a new CoD-like crosshair with the ability toSanctum 2 is by no means an improvement from the first. It feels like smart, balanced, challenging Sanctum devolved into something stupid and often annoying. Not a single mechanic in Sanctum was actually improved in Sanctum 2, and most of those mechanics are arguably, no ARE worse than the original's. The only exception is the implementation of a new CoD-like crosshair with the ability to aim-down-sight, which some people may or may not like.… Expand
  60. Kaona
    Aug 4, 2013
    3
    While the game has vastly improved its graphics over its predecessor, the gameplay seems to have suffered greatly on it. While I do not expect being exactly the same game, the lack of upgrades to weapons and extremely limited resource pool used for building/upgrades hinders customization greatly.
  61. Jeshua
    Jul 7, 2013
    1
    Really, really over-hyped. Everything that the 1st Sanctum did right, the developers did wrong on it's sequel. Beautiful graphics and style, but you get that from the prequel; The gameplay now is just another washed down, uninspired FPS fare.
  62. MeCritic
    Jun 9, 2013
    9
    I have played the original Sanctum since December of 2011, approximately eight months after its release and before anyone really knew of it's still discrete existence. I still think Sanctum 2 is a step up from Sanctum. At Sanctum 2's release, they did have many issues. Co-op really sucked, and still does. The towers are limited, taking away much of the TDF aspect of the game. The story isI have played the original Sanctum since December of 2011, approximately eight months after its release and before anyone really knew of it's still discrete existence. I still think Sanctum 2 is a step up from Sanctum. At Sanctum 2's release, they did have many issues. Co-op really sucked, and still does. The towers are limited, taking away much of the TDF aspect of the game. The story is kinda weak and necessary. The characters aren't necessary, but do add a nice touch to the game. And the FPS part is, and always have been better. I don't know why I like Sanctum 2 better than Sanctum. I just do. It IS more of an FPS than a TDF now, but that's still no real reason to hate it. It is fun. Though, I do recommend you play Sanctum before Sanctum 2. Just so you can experience it like most other people did.… Expand
  63. Xelluse
    Jul 23, 2014
    10
    First of all - If you like Sanctum 1 you will like it too (for me as minimum), it's same game with amazing improvements (characters, weapons, towers, maps, modern FPS RPG style atc...) + good story line for game this type, it becomes more active in Character gameplay and didn't lost "Sancum"s deep Tactical gameplay.
    Second, if you don't know what I'm talking about - it's the FPS tower    First of all - If you like Sanctum 1 you will like it too (for me as minimum), it's same game with amazing improvements (characters, weapons, towers, maps, modern FPS RPG style atc...) + good story line for game this type, it becomes more active in Character gameplay and didn't lost "Sancum"s deep Tactical gameplay.
    Second, if you don't know what I'm talking about - it's the FPS tower defence, where you must make tactical decisions, build towers and also need to shoot enemies, it's amazing and deep Tactical game with FPS elements, where wins smart choice and teamplay, RPG style character improvements gives this game more strategic/tactical freedom (what skill to take, or what tower-weapons).
    Shortly - it's amazing game with quite cheap price for it, Really, 100% Recommend...    … Expand
  64. Malcolmtel
    May 15, 2013
    2
    Sanctum 2 does not play ANYTHING like the original Sanctum does.

    Infuriating aspects of Sanctum 2 include, but are not limited to: Non-upgradeable weapons You create towers unless you have tower bases in stock, as opposed to being able to create them out of resources You have to go to the core to obtain your resources and tower bases (which are separate) What the hell were the    Sanctum 2 does not play ANYTHING like the original Sanctum does.

    Infuriating aspects of Sanctum 2 include, but are not limited to:
    Non-upgradeable weapons
    You create towers unless you have tower bases in stock, as opposed to being able to create them out of resources
    You have to go to the core to obtain your resources and tower bases (which are separate)

    What the hell were the developers thinking? This could have been a lot better if the game had resembled the original Sanctum in the first place. In fact, why even come out with a new Sanctum title? The original was pretty much perfect, then THIS came along.    … Expand
  65. Perdurab0
    May 15, 2013
    1
    Not a good or interesting or innovative TD or FPS game. It's like they took the best elements of the original game, hid them somewhere, and made this unappealing mess with the leftovers. I'm starting to suspect Molyneux was involved, him or some other clown.
  66. Pat
    May 16, 2013
    2
    If you enjoyed the first game, you will hate this one. Everything is limited. They seemingly tried to make coop as boring as possible as only one person gets to build. Huge maps that you will only ever fill up about 1/5th of. Just an all around boring experience with no strategy involved. Another shoot everything in the face game. Snoozeville
  67. gibsonje
    May 15, 2013
    0
    Everything is a downgrade from Sanctum 1. This game basically takes the towers/building out of the equation. Multiplayer is impossible with shared resources. The UI is not intuitive in the least bit. Definitely designed for consoles then sloppily ported to PC.
  68. thevoiceofgod
    May 16, 2013
    2
    ok, sanctum 1 was awesome, this game is not like sanctum 1. this is 85%FPS and 15%TD.

    you have limited resources and they only drop for one person per round, you tower sections are lacking a little as well. you have a hidden timer for building in between rounds, you have a hidden upgrade cost for towers and you can only build 10 towers. basically, this game is a bad FPS. what you end    ok, sanctum 1 was awesome, this game is not like sanctum 1. this is 85%FPS and 15%TD.

    you have limited resources and they only drop for one person per round, you tower sections are lacking a little as well. you have a hidden timer for building in between rounds, you have a hidden upgrade cost for towers and you can only build 10 towers.

    basically, this game is a bad FPS. what you end up doing, is building a tunnel and blasting your gun into it. the only tower that helps is the slow tower.

    i dearly hope they patch this, or create a Tower Defense mode, because right now, it is just a waste of my time and money.

    R.I.P. Sanctum series.

    -Neil    … Expand
  69. Behemoth1993
    May 16, 2013
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is going to be a fair review and i am going to give it straight. As a plyer of the first sanctum (to me the greatest tower deffense game ever besides vectoid td), I hate this game. As a game of its own however it is ok.
    The reasons why i hate it are the same reasons why i think its ok for a new gamer to the series or to td games. These reasons can be summed up to LIMITATIONS. The first game had very few limitations and a very simple stlye of play and this game has the opposite. Now you die first off which makes trying to stop a horde hard as (tourettes guy quote), the limit on towers is facking otrocious, enemies now hit you and you take damage and chase after you which is retarded, you can't upgrade your guns, you now have to pick up the recources instead of getting them, your limited to how many of the bases you can place a wave, your credits are severly lowered, the maps are small and the control feels so stiff and akward, and overall its not pleasant to shooty your guns with such a kick back, enemies are even stronger and there weakpoints are severly hard to hit, and the game to me is just a total up compared to the predecessor.

    Some of the things are coll like the new bases which alo you to do dignal designs which would be awesome if sanctum 2 was like sanctum 1. The guns look nicer, again would be better if sanctum 2 was like the first game, the graphics are nice as hell wich again if 2 was like 1 would be better, and the idea of pers was a great additon which would have worked wonderfully if the game was more like the first sanctum, but sadly it is not.

    For sanctum players i would say get this when it goes on salke dont waste the 15 because if your like me youll just be oissed of because your expectations wont be met, for new players i would say if you got dispensable money and want a mediocre sequal to an amazing game then waste it, but i think far cry 3 blood dragon is a way better deal and HOLY HELL IS IT AWESOME. Overall it sucks but isnt un playable but santum one lpayers just buy the dlc and say no to this till its on sale for a dollar which wont be long with the way this is going.

    Also i add this as a big you to pc devs who decide to go to console to make a profit instead of catering to those who built you up. Cofdfestain it isnt cool what you did You destroyed your baby and made a horrible sequal and tailored it to consoles so that you can make a buck and look what happens the game blows. Your as bad as slender the arrival, or the new sim city. Ok im sorry your game isnt that bad but still thats where your headed.    … Expand
  70. KaXaSA
    May 20, 2013
    10
    I usually don't use metacrit but the amount of kids giving ridiculous low scores to this game simply isn't fair with the game/ devs. If you actually take a look at the kind of player that is complaining about this game in the steam forums you will note that they didn't even play the game for more than half an hour.

    Even here they are complaining about how you actually have to use your    I usually don't use metacrit but the amount of kids giving ridiculous low scores to this game simply isn't fair with the game/ devs. If you actually take a look at the kind of player that is complaining about this game in the steam forums you will note that they didn't even play the game for more than half an hour.

    Even here they are complaining about how you actually have to use your gun... well guess what? this is a FPS TD Hybrid if you tou sucks at FPS games dislike the genre then this obviously isn't a game you will enjoy.

    Check the demo and (or) watch some youtube review/ let's play... it totally worth the money, ignore any review with a score below 6 because they are bull****.    … Expand
  71. Piles
    Jul 23, 2013
    0
    I played through all of Sanctum. I loved it. I dreamed of a follow-on game to take me further. I only play single player I simply don't care for co-op modes in games. (Yes, I'm over 12 years old, and I have a real life.)

    If you are looking for a follow-up to the original RUN AWAY NOW! RUN! RUN FAST AND VERY FAR AWAY! Don't read the critics reviews. They will never give a    I played through all of Sanctum. I loved it. I dreamed of a follow-on game to take me further. I only play single player I simply don't care for co-op modes in games. (Yes, I'm over 12 years old, and I have a real life.)

    If you are looking for a follow-up to the original RUN AWAY NOW! RUN! RUN FAST AND VERY FAR AWAY!

    Don't read the critics reviews. They will never give a negative review unless everyone else is also. They are a pack of social hangers on just like the jocks and cheer leaders in school. They will laugh at all of the same jokes and snub anyone that threatens their chances of getting into the "inner circle". THEY CAN'T BE TRUSTED.

    Trust the actual players. The reviews are in. Solidly mixed with an equal number of "HATE IT" versus "LOVE IT" scores. Do you see that in the Critic scores? NO!

    Okay, back to my review. If you *LOVED* the original you will *HATE* this bastardized sequel. Trust me.    … Expand
  72. zBedlam
    May 15, 2013
    0
    If you are expecting a TD game with FPS elements do not buy, the TD section of this game is a step down from Sanctum 1 in every way. There are two reasons I'm giving this a 0.

    1) False advertising, I was lead to believe this would be a TD game of some sort and is "building upon the success of the original game" which is blatantly false. 10 tower max and resource supply drops in a TD    If you are expecting a TD game with FPS elements do not buy, the TD section of this game is a step down from Sanctum 1 in every way. There are two reasons I'm giving this a 0.

    1) False advertising, I was lead to believe this would be a TD game of some sort and is "building upon the success of the original game" which is blatantly false. 10 tower max and resource supply drops in a TD game really?

    2) After playing tutorial for 5 minutes I started feeling sick and had a migraine for about 4 hours, I'm not the kind of guy that gets motion sick normally either so this game does something really odd.    … Expand
  73. crimsonuk
    May 15, 2013
    1
    Not much to say about this game bad design they had the ideas but decide to get rid of all the good aspects of the first game and spunk out a fps game that the towers are nearly to the point of do nothing

    they say it makes the game harder ive tried it u can win just by using a shotgun and walls the game requires nothing but a hardon for fps games. i like both fps games and tower    Not much to say about this game bad design they had the ideas but decide to get rid of all the good aspects of the first game and spunk out a fps game that the towers are nearly to the point of do nothing

    they say it makes the game harder ive tried it u can win just by using a shotgun and walls the game requires nothing but a hardon for fps games.

    i like both fps games and tower defence game but there was no real TD in this game

    not worth the money i would pay a dollar for it ive i could pay what its worth    … Expand
  74. Kraks
    May 16, 2013
    0
    Beyond the name, this game has almost nothing to do with the first Sanctum. Whereas the first game had a limitless time to plan out defenses and limitless combination, this one has a timed (short) building phase, a limit of 10 towers, and the resources, well that's the real kicker.

    In the first game, resources were awarded to everyone automatically at the end of a round, beginning of a    Beyond the name, this game has almost nothing to do with the first Sanctum. Whereas the first game had a limitless time to plan out defenses and limitless combination, this one has a timed (short) building phase, a limit of 10 towers, and the resources, well that's the real kicker.

    In the first game, resources were awarded to everyone automatically at the end of a round, beginning of a build phase. So, you just worked your butt off killing of this invasion, now you can immediately take the time to start planning out for the next wave. That was Sanctum 1. In part 2, you now have to return to the "Core" (which isn't exactly close all the time, oh yeah, and there is no more teleportation to make it fast), then collect the resources. Does everyone get to in co-op mode? Nope, just 1 person. So you get 1 gopher and several people that do nothing but play an FPS. There is no tower defense portion of the game to them at all.

    They sacrificed an amazing game so they could port this one to consoles, it seems. Gone are almost all of the elements that made the first so unique: teleportation, limitless planning/building phases, resources for all, and a great balance of just about 50/50 TD/FPS. Now, it is 10/90, with a very heavy emphasis on FPS. Even worse, now you can no longer upgrade your weapons, they "reload" at a much more annoying rate, and they are all pretty much new weapons from the ground up.

    Do yourself a favor and play the first Sanctum. It truly was a unique experience that should be enjoyed by all. I grabbed it after Steam had it for free for the weekend. It impressed me so much that I hurriedly preordered Sanctum 2. I wish I hadn't done that.    … Expand
  75. Sno
    Jun 27, 2013
    10
    A fantastic tower defence fps game. Hours of fun, well designed maps and an interesting story make for an awesome game. Almost everything that was wrong with the first Sanctum has been fixed in this version. Great job coffee stain studios!
  76. NC37
    May 16, 2013
    2
    It'll have you for the first hour or so, the gameplay isn't bad. I can understand why some people like it. But then you realize what is missing. This is not a TD game, it is a FPS with 10 towers. It is a far cry from the glory it was in the original Sanctum. Not only is the TD aspect messed up badly, the game is like a bad port of a console title with the server list gone from the originalIt'll have you for the first hour or so, the gameplay isn't bad. I can understand why some people like it. But then you realize what is missing. This is not a TD game, it is a FPS with 10 towers. It is a far cry from the glory it was in the original Sanctum. Not only is the TD aspect messed up badly, the game is like a bad port of a console title with the server list gone from the original and now all the multiplayer done via a simplified matchmaking list. It is clear the devs no longer care about the fans that put them where they are today. Do yourself a favor...tell them no by not buying this tripe. This game has no longevity compared to the original. Once you beat it, you'll never want to play it again.

    I feel bad for the console players who will be facing this horror. Coffee Stain...the good days are over, it is time they got bought up by EA and appropriately mothballed forever.    … Expand
  77. blizzard5314
    May 22, 2013
    0
    Had this gone by a name other than Sanctum, I could just complain about the clunky controls, obnoxious gameplay mechanics, and its unnecessary attempt to adhere to pop shooters and move on, but this is Sanctum 2. It's terrible. If you want a tower defense/fps hybrid, go for the first one. If you want a mouthful of giraffe spunk (I don't), then here it is.
  78. Dovahbear
    May 21, 2013
    0
    I can only describe this game with single word. TERRIBLE!
    This game is just pure downgrade of original Sanctum. I was totally happy when I didn't pre-ordered this of It looks like Halo mixed with Call of Duty and poor TD. And the most enjoyable thing was looking at the intro of the game.
    Reviewers I see you didn't played original game so you are reviewing it as you are eating for first    I can only describe this game with single word. TERRIBLE!
    This game is just pure downgrade of original Sanctum. I was totally happy when I didn't pre-ordered this of It looks like Halo mixed with Call of Duty and poor TD. And the most enjoyable thing was looking at the intro of the game.
    Reviewers I see you didn't played original game so you are reviewing it as you are eating for first meat but it's terrible and you never tasted better meat.    … Expand
  79. Fubar72
    May 16, 2013
    4
    "If you are looking for a good tower defence game with FPS elements or a good sequel to the original Sanctum then save your money you won't find it here.

    The devs saw fit to create a very poor FPS game with watered down tower defence elements. Amongst the problems you have a limit of 10 towers max per map, resources that aren't shared amongst players and open to ninjas on mp games,    "If you are looking for a good tower defence game with FPS elements or a good sequel to the original Sanctum then save your money you won't find it here.

    The devs saw fit to create a very poor FPS game with watered down tower defence elements. Amongst the problems you have a limit of 10 towers max per map, resources that aren't shared amongst players and open to ninjas on mp games, towers that do pitiful damage, short matches with small waves and timers on some of the build phases (no pause now).

    The reviewer from IGN who wrote that this improves on sanctum 1 in every way needs to be fired because it could not be further from the truth.

    The only reason I gave this a 3 is because of the few steps they do take in the right direction such as new characters, perks and graphics. The rest of the game is a major downgrade from its predecessor."

    That's EXACTLY it.    … Expand
  80. baevar
    Sep 7, 2013
    10
    Haven't even played this game yet, leaving it a 10 to counter all of the whiny little b1tch reviews I see here that are giving the game a 0 or 1 just because it's not like Sanctum 1. If you are giving games a 0 or 1 because it wasn't what you expected, without reviewing it on its own merits, delete your metacritic account right now. You don't deserve the privelige. The rest of us useHaven't even played this game yet, leaving it a 10 to counter all of the whiny little b1tch reviews I see here that are giving the game a 0 or 1 just because it's not like Sanctum 1. If you are giving games a 0 or 1 because it wasn't what you expected, without reviewing it on its own merits, delete your metacritic account right now. You don't deserve the privelige. The rest of us use this as a resource, not as an outlet for our nerd rage and feeling of entitlement. If you can't give an honest review of the game and put your preformed expectations aside, you literally aren't mature or intelligent enough to be using metacritic and are skewing the score the game deserves because of your entitlement and 'but mommy told me i'm a snowflake attitude', It's obviously not really a 0, that would be War Z or something...your 0 bring downs the honest 6's 7 and 8's more because of the heavy weight a 0 has. To wit, three 8's and a 0 drag the game down to a 6 average, when really the average player says it's an 8, and the whiny little b1tches says it's a 0.… Expand
  81. therewillbelols
    May 16, 2013
    0
    I am a big fan of tower defense games. I have played every possible tower defense games in Warcraft 3, Starcraft I+II, flash, and some TD phone games. This game has very little content when it comes to tower defense.

    Sanctum 1 was great. You could specialize in mazeing and tower defenses, in weaponry and build support towers to maximize your damage output, or a combination of the two.    I am a big fan of tower defense games. I have played every possible tower defense games in Warcraft 3, Starcraft I+II, flash, and some TD phone games. This game has very little content when it comes to tower defense.

    Sanctum 1 was great. You could specialize in mazeing and tower defenses, in weaponry and build support towers to maximize your damage output, or a combination of the two. Upgradable weapons, towers, support stuff. The maps were big enough for the player to build a huge variety of mazes.

    Sanctum 2 is ultra horrible. You don't really have a lot of options when it comes to mazeing because the building arenas are very very small. I cannot stress how small the maps are. In fact, they are so small, they have to limit the number of rounds to 6-7 because by then, you could basically fill in the entire building area. The only mazes you can build are linear ones; left to right or up to down, and by no means are they considered complex. Weapons are no longer upgradable. Buildings can only reach level 3. There are no more slowing fields or amplifying fields. The number of buildable towers has dropped to like 3.

    The one thing that's different is that the monsters will now chase the players; However, you can abuse this and just kite the monsters around offensive towers. In fact, it's best not to maze at all. I focused on building a trap with a high dps killzone instead of a maze and trying to shoot them.

    Don't waste your money on this game. The developers are just trying to make money off the fans of Sanctum I.    … Expand
  82. Aeruja
    Apr 11, 2014
    0
    Having bought this game on a 85% off sale on steam in January, and now another 90% off sale today, is a clear sign of how bad this sequel really is. I have not played this game once I had read the reviews, that's how bad it was. And now I think I'll only play it if I'm really bored out of my mind. What was brandished as a TD/FPS hybrid game, is now really just a FPS game with a few drones.Having bought this game on a 85% off sale on steam in January, and now another 90% off sale today, is a clear sign of how bad this sequel really is. I have not played this game once I had read the reviews, that's how bad it was. And now I think I'll only play it if I'm really bored out of my mind. What was brandished as a TD/FPS hybrid game, is now really just a FPS game with a few drones. There is no passive strategy, just mindless shooting at hordes. If you wanted something like that, you might as well play left 4 dead 2. A TD game *must* incorporate passive strategy at its core or else it's not. I was not entirely pleased with Sanctum 1 to begin with seeing how much they valued the FPS aspect, Sanctum 2 just confirms my displeasure.

    I orginally stayed away from titles like Orcs Must Die because I really do prefer cleaner and sleeker graphics, but if there's nothing else out there that resembles a decent TD or TD/FPS, they may as well take my business, too.    … Expand
  83. Ferrante
    Nov 25, 2013
    3
    There are too many TD games out there. Why would I care about this one? because it says Sanctum in its title. And Sanctum was great. But this game is a different game. It could be named Tower X or anything else. It is not made for Sanctum I fans, it has good things, like story, 4 characters, progress, and so, but the gameplay is awful.
    In the other hand, if you have never played Sanctum    There are too many TD games out there. Why would I care about this one? because it says Sanctum in its title. And Sanctum was great. But this game is a different game. It could be named Tower X or anything else. It is not made for Sanctum I fans, it has good things, like story, 4 characters, progress, and so, but the gameplay is awful.
    In the other hand, if you have never played Sanctum I, this is just another TD approaching and not a good one. This game is not worth it for itself and It is not worth it for a Sanctum sequel.    … Expand
  84. Destructo
    Jan 24, 2014
    2
    A polished sanctum which has lost a lot of it's original charm.

    Character choices, cartoons and the fun graphics have clearly had a lot of work which are nice touches.

    However after playing for several hours my friends and I decided we would put this one on the shelf and dust down the original.

    On the plus side the original Sanctum is now cheaper than ever.
  85. kmorash43
    Jun 5, 2013
    8
    Sanctum 2 is a great predecessor of the original FPS tower defense game. What the first Sanctum lacked is made up for in this new sequel. The story can be played solo or in a 4 player co-op mode. However, you will not find yourself getting to far without some friends. Within the game you can choose up to 4 different characters and each character has a unique primary weapon (assault rifle,Sanctum 2 is a great predecessor of the original FPS tower defense game. What the first Sanctum lacked is made up for in this new sequel. The story can be played solo or in a 4 player co-op mode. However, you will not find yourself getting to far without some friends. Within the game you can choose up to 4 different characters and each character has a unique primary weapon (assault rifle, rocket launcher, sniper rifle and shotgun). Each primary weapon also has a secondary function. Ex. The Rocket Launcher can be fired in single fire or it can lock on 3 times and launch a barrage of missiles on the enemies. The use of these secondary functions can save your ass. Also, each player can have access to one secondary weapon and as you level up you unlock more. Each character also has the ability to hold a certain amount of towers so it is key to choose towers that are most effective together. As you level up you have access to more tower slots. Finally, you have your perks. Each perk does something different for example: If you land on an enemy you do 4000 damage. As you continue to level you unlock more perks and perk slots.

    This is a great improvement from the original sanctum and gives you a lot more variety throughout the game. Enemies are not moronic now and will not ignore you. If you are in their way they will move you so be wary. Some of the levels within the game can be beaten in single player however I strongly recommend you play in a group since you will most likely will not be able to get through every level on your own. Once again, this game focuses a lot on co-op so for those of you who like to do things solo...well sorry.

    Whilst the game is fun there are not many big parties out there to find so it is best you find some people to get on with. I find this frustrating for every time I go to find a match it will just throw me in a random game with 1 person who hasn't this slightest clue what he is doing. Another downside to this game is that you are only limited to 15 towers on the maps. With the size of some of the maps that is really not a lot. Especially if the enemies are coming from 2 or 3 directions. Also, the amount of funds and walls you get after each wave is not nearly enough to have any affect on the enemy waves. What does make up for this game is the FPS aspect and the load set builds. You will not find yourself just standing around as your towers decimate enemies. You will always be upfront blowing some weird alien into a million pieces. This makes the frustration seem just a little better.

    Overall I think this is a great game to play and experience for both the FPS and the strategy aspects.    … Expand
  86. d3rp
    Dec 24, 2013
    1
    I have played this game for a bit, and I must say that the feeling is just awful. The character controller is bad, the weapons feeling is bad, the tower defense aspect is bad, the sounds are bad, well, just everything is bad.

    Maybe it's because I am also playing Orc Must Die 2 at the same time, which is a very dynamic and polished game, but this just look like a dull game made by    I have played this game for a bit, and I must say that the feeling is just awful. The character controller is bad, the weapons feeling is bad, the tower defense aspect is bad, the sounds are bad, well, just everything is bad.

    Maybe it's because I am also playing Orc Must Die 2 at the same time, which is a very dynamic and polished game, but this just look like a dull game made by students with 0 budget.    … Expand
  87. crimeodile
    Sep 6, 2014
    5
    As a game, it does alright. As a sequel to Sanctum, it leaves much to be desired. I really enjoyed Sanctum for what it was, it definitely wasn't perfect but it was good and had lot's of potential. Really the game isn't bad, it's just not good. If you can pick it up on sale 50% off I'd say grab it, otherwise just pass on this one. As consumers, we vote with money and we shouldn'tAs a game, it does alright. As a sequel to Sanctum, it leaves much to be desired. I really enjoyed Sanctum for what it was, it definitely wasn't perfect but it was good and had lot's of potential. Really the game isn't bad, it's just not good. If you can pick it up on sale 50% off I'd say grab it, otherwise just pass on this one. As consumers, we vote with money and we shouldn't support developers that add new features at the expense of removing old GOOD features without good reason.… Expand
  88. BenHazelden
    Oct 13, 2014
    7
    Sanctum 2 is an all-round fun FPS and tower defense game, with difficult enemy encounters and dazzling game-play, even if a little lacking.
    7/10 - Ben Hazelden
  89. Bjornishigi
    Dec 31, 2013
    9
    Sanctum 2 dials in on the fps side of the equation in this hybrid tower defense game and as far as I'm concerned it's awesome. Fans of the original lost some of the detail with map building and customization but I am hoping that future installments will again expand on this aspect of the game. There is a lot of game here though and you will get deep into it trying to find the optimumSanctum 2 dials in on the fps side of the equation in this hybrid tower defense game and as far as I'm concerned it's awesome. Fans of the original lost some of the detail with map building and customization but I am hoping that future installments will again expand on this aspect of the game. There is a lot of game here though and you will get deep into it trying to find the optimum floorplan/character loadout to complete challenges. I have just as much fun playing solo as multiplayer, not sure what people are complaining about here. As far as I know you can complete all the maps solo if you are good enough and have unlocked the top tier stuff. I was able to solo all of the original game content so far. There is plenty of replayability with higher difficulty settings and survival mode. Sanctum 2 is a lot of fun and if you pass it up you'll be missing out on some of the best gaming to be had.… Expand
  90. Klewer
    Dec 22, 2013
    6
    Moving in a slightly different direction to the first Sanctum 2 adds a little more polish while focusing on Co-Op than actual Single Player.

    Moving away from immediately having access to most weapons and all towers you now must unlock them, which means you now have limited tactics available at certain stages and the game feels poorer for it. Still if a fan of the first worth a look.
  91. AbyssionGaming
    Jul 24, 2013
    7
    Like its previous title, Sanctum 2 is an entertaining blend of first-person shooting and tower-defense-style strategy. Instead of passively watching your towers do all the dirty work, you are allowed descend into the action and distribute carnage alongside them. Both games execute this concept almost flawlessly, however Sanctum 2 has far more content than its small-scale predecessor. ThisLike its previous title, Sanctum 2 is an entertaining blend of first-person shooting and tower-defense-style strategy. Instead of passively watching your towers do all the dirty work, you are allowed descend into the action and distribute carnage alongside them. Both games execute this concept almost flawlessly, however Sanctum 2 has far more content than its small-scale predecessor. This is the fully featured, fully realized game this series needed, and offers lots of content to enjoy whether you’re a strategy fan first and shooter fan second, or vice versa. With 16 levels, 8 weapons, and 4 different character classes to choose from, there is a lot more to do right out of the box compare to the first title. with additional DLC being announced and there’s a Season Pass available that gets you all the future expansion packs at a reduced price.

    Multiplayer has been completely overhauled as well. It is now easier to drop in or out of multiplayer matches, and you can now specify who exactly is allowed to join your ongoing game. It also scales rather nicely, with each additional player adding even more resources to the pool but also increasing the overall challenge. This way, the game’s difficulty is well-balanced. There is an easy mode, but it skews the game balance a little too much in your favor and is not entirely recommended.

    Resources have also received a sort of overhaul. The game sort of just drops a set amount of supply for you to utilize, breaking up barricades and towers into separate categories. Credits, however are no longer a shared currency required for building barricades and towers. Instead you just get a certain amount of tower credits, and a certain allotment of barricades at the end of each round. Although It may not seem like that much, but taking away the decision of spending money on barricades really does make the game better, as you’re free to spend more thought on strategy instead of playing accountant on the battlefield. This is also mainly because on the field, weapon upgrades have been given the boot. In the first Sanctum you had towers, barricades, and weapon upgrades that you had to spend credits on. All of these things operated on the same currency, meaning that you could spend wrong and die. This would happen often. Though the field upgrades are gone, you can still tweak and improve your weapons through the smart use of loadout perks that can affect the behavior and damage of your guns. These perks however can also affect yourself, or your towers; but with the removal of upgrades, it would be smart to use the perk slots for more offensive purposes.

    Other improvements in the game are minor tweaks and additions that keep things refreshing and new in smart ways. You’ve got AI squad buddies that will assist you now. While they can take about as much damage as a dandelion, they still try. Weapon damages are tweaked, enemy damage values and health have been tweaked. Bosses have been added and maps are varied and consistently intelligently challenging. To top it all off, the game looks gorgeous and is really brought to life by its high gloss neon art style. A style that has clearly taken cues from ’80s futurism, and the Anime from that era.

    Sanctum 2 is a brilliant representation of a game that was developed with an open ear. When Sanctum was released in 2011, it was a great idea that wasn’t without flaws in the structure of its design. Here, Coffee Stain Studios have taken the time to improve upon every flaw, and produced an indie gem polished in the fire of scrutiny. While Sanctum 2 is still a challenging game, it’s tough in smart substantive ways that add up. Opting for this instead of the punitive approach that Sanctum was built on has made for a far superior product in the form of Sanctum 2.    … Expand
  92. Frast2013X
    Aug 2, 2013
    7
    Kontynuacja jednej z najciekawszych gier tower-defense powraca, z nowymi rzeczami, polepszonymi elementami i podobnymi błędami co jedynka. Twórcy nie poszli na łatwiznę biorąc stary silnik, odrobinę go polepszając i wydając grę jak zwykłe DLC. Nie, Sanctum 2 to porządna kontynuacja. Nowy silnik nie jest idealny, ale wygląda ładnie, twórcy dodali i polepszyli elementy tower-defense. Gra sięKontynuacja jednej z najciekawszych gier tower-defense powraca, z nowymi rzeczami, polepszonymi elementami i podobnymi błędami co jedynka. Twórcy nie poszli na łatwiznę biorąc stary silnik, odrobinę go polepszając i wydając grę jak zwykłe DLC. Nie, Sanctum 2 to porządna kontynuacja. Nowy silnik nie jest idealny, ale wygląda ładnie, twórcy dodali i polepszyli elementy tower-defense. Gra się o wiele przyjemniej niż w jedynkę, sam Sanctum to jedna z nie wielu gier tower-defense w którą gra się przyjemnie nawet samemu. Jest mi jednak smutno, ponieważ gra która kładzie duży nacisk na coopa, jest w nim po prostu słaba. Coop jest tutaj(zresztą, podobnie jak w jedynce) trochę bezsensowny. Kiedy jedna osoba odwala budowanie, reszta nie musi robić nic, co prawda gdy zaczyna się już obrabianie jest ciekawiej, ale to nie to czego oczekiwałem po 2.Myślę też że twórcy mogli nową część o wiele lepiej dopracować. Sanctum 2 jest pełne bugów. Nie raz blokowałem się w niektórych miejscach mapy i przez to przegrywałem. Sanctum 2 to dobra gra, ale oczekiwałem od niej, trochę więcej. Moja ocena 7/10… Expand
  93. SirCoolo
    Oct 5, 2013
    6
    I give the game a 6 out of ten because while it is a nice refresh of the original, it has some bad changes/features that make Sanctum 1 more enjoyable. Unlike the original, which had a nice balance of TD and FPS that lent a bit more to the TD side, where you could make great mazes and if done well, not even touch your trigger, I found many of the maps had very small buildable areas andI give the game a 6 out of ten because while it is a nice refresh of the original, it has some bad changes/features that make Sanctum 1 more enjoyable. Unlike the original, which had a nice balance of TD and FPS that lent a bit more to the TD side, where you could make great mazes and if done well, not even touch your trigger, I found many of the maps had very small buildable areas and lots of open space that was unusable, making your towers only a small distraction, and mazes too short too be of use. I find that the weakspots are not as obvious and are harder to hit than the original, and some of the enemy's (Floater) attacks were overpowered or kept you out of range. I haven't played much multiplayer, but from what I have played it seems pretty normal, but from what I have read, the resource pickups are a bit annoying, especially if playing with people you don't know/trolls who can sit at the core, not helping, and taking all of the resources.
    Back to the FPS part of the game, unlike the previous in which you could upgrade your weapon range, ammo, damage and abilitys, Sanctum 2 relys on choosing completely different guns that do not progress through the round as the waves get harder. I like to use the rex and tesla, but I cant use my rex against swarms of flying enemys with 6 individual flak missiles, I have to hope that my 3 and the very small amount of towers can destroy them. That also leads me into the fact you can only have 2 weapons on you, and you can only choose the second one, which is only a sidearm (Unless you change class, which is annoying, what if I want a rex and double jumps?) I find that the armored enemys are a bit strong, but have found how to deal with them, but for new players they may be very hard to defeat, and the floater's shockwave thing makes it very difficult to hit it's weakspot, and impossible with short range weapons such as the shotgun. Unlike in 1, you can no longer get ingame info about the enemys, such as speed, description and weakspot, which is no good at all. Now when you die you have to wait an obscene amount of time to respawn (A full ten seconds), while many games get respawn times right (Going up as you get better) and even when you do manage to respawn, the lack of televators means you have to run from the spawn to the enemys and lose even more time, and if you were fighting off some enemys on one side of the map and some start getting to the core from somewhere else, you cant teleport to the closet televator, you have to hope that your legs are fast enough and your stamina is high enough to get you there before you lose. The game is more Co-Op centered, despite the rescource problem, as some of the enemys have weakspots on their backs, but they turn around to fight you, thus protecting their back, so that you need another player as a distraction. There is a 15 tower limit, although I have found it is too hard to get more than 4-5 per games because of the lack of money. The limit isn't 15 towers per person though, it is 15 towers in total. The small amount of different towers a player can use per game (3 or 4 I think) means you can't really play very well on singleplayer because you need other players to have other towers.
    Finally, now that I have gotten through all of the bads, I can get to the goods.
    The game is quite aesthetically pleasing and the comics between levels are a nice little extra that can make waiting for it to load a better experience and the music is amazing! The flying enemys are a lot easy to kill as they no longer fly out of range of everything but the rex and towers and the level up system is very nice, although not perfect. I enjoy having perks, and being able to change myself to fit the needs of a difficult level and I love that the enemys now attack the player and do damage. The minimap is nice, but I often get disorientated (Although I don't really know why.) The fact that the enemys now physically attack the core rather than exploding on it and doing tonnes of damage is also very nice. The possibility to upgrade towers even when you don't have enough for a full upgrade is also nice, allowing you to dump leftover resources into upgrades, rather than waiting till the next round.

    Overall, I don't really think the game is worth more than the Original and I think it needs a major update that addresses at least some of these issues to be worth buying. The game as stated in another review is mainly a downgrade from the original, although the newer graphics, music and progression system is nice.    … Expand
  94. dyspeptic
    Aug 27, 2014
    7
    Last Played: Aug 2014

    PROS: + Looks spacey/sci-fi-ish + Many guns are satisfying, and you feel like you are really contributing + Teammates can significantly help CONS: - Teammates can significantly hinder – Some levels have lots of holes that you can get stuck in SUMMARY: Sanctum 2 focuses heavily on team-based play with all the evils that entails (network connections, chatty    Last Played: Aug 2014

    PROS: + Looks spacey/sci-fi-ish + Many guns are satisfying, and you feel like you are really contributing + Teammates can significantly help

    CONS: - Teammates can significantly hinder – Some levels have lots of holes that you can get stuck in

    SUMMARY: Sanctum 2 focuses heavily on team-based play with all the evils that entails (network connections, chatty players, poor players, etc.) so you should know about these in advance and they’ll get no further mention here. What this game does well is deliver a shooter that feels futuristic and spacey, as well as delivering some strategy. Not too much strategy, since you ultimately still just have to put bullets into something until it dies, however weapon and tower selection can make or break a level when you are playing solo. This reflects just how important these choices are, in combination with the layout you select to obstruct your enemies-spacing them out is as important as choosing the right guns (which vary from level to level in a very positive twist). I personally failed a mission 10+ times with random jump-ins before I buckled down and beat it solo (“canopy”, in case you are interested) by choosing a smarter layout than was possible when sharing resources.
    Which brings me to my main complaint: the game is not very balanced between single/co-op modes. If you play with good players it is really easy, while if you play with poor players it is impossible (solo is middling difficulty). This is because there are the same number of enemies with the same amount of health, but depending on the number of players you’ll have more resources and more “moving turrets” (though the resources can be wasted and the moving turrets can get in the way). It would have made sense to me that when more players enter a map the creatures have more health to deliver a multiplayer challenge, but I guess that was a design choice. My other main complaint is that some (not all levels) are riddled with traps-holes that are covered with a solid plane but that you can still accidentally jump into. This is a problem because getting out is way harder than getting in. Sometimes the only way out is the “suicide” menu option so you can respawn outside the hole. I realize that it is hard to find all these spaces before release, but continuing support should be addressing them, and they make the game feel a bit incomplete. Fairly minor gripe though. Main thing that keeps me from playing is dread of annoying drop-ins (note: it is possible to lock your game so no one can join but the lure of potentially good players to make it easier is hard to resist).    … Expand
  95. Firegoomba
    May 3, 2014
    10
    Definitely a fun game. There are so many different weapons, towers and maps that you have a lot to try out. If you don't want to play the game normally, you can still mess around with the sandbox mode or try an additional challenge by playing with the feats of strength. Also, you can play with up to 3 other people, so this game is really worth the money.
  96. Gorem
    Nov 25, 2015
    5
    They took sanctum in such a weird direction I think it would have been better to call this a whole new game just to separate it. Sanctum one was much more suited for solo play, and was a solo game that you could play with friends, and have a lot of fun in it. Sanctum 2 suddenly got massive changes with how guns work and how resources work and how the enemy works, ect.

    You can't use all    They took sanctum in such a weird direction I think it would have been better to call this a whole new game just to separate it. Sanctum one was much more suited for solo play, and was a solo game that you could play with friends, and have a lot of fun in it. Sanctum 2 suddenly got massive changes with how guns work and how resources work and how the enemy works, ect.

    You can't use all gun types, which sucks, since they are locked to the character you pick. So you can't assault rifle and snipe anymore.

    mobs with weak spots behind them forever face you, meaning that in solo play, you can never hit their weak spots.

    Small maps and a turret limit only hinder the game.

    It truly is a game that is completely different then the first. But you will have some fun in it. The only main problem is if fans of Sanctum one go to it thinking it'd be the same game type, when it isn't, is what has hurt this game behind the scenes.    … Expand
  97. blutank24
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    [Posted December 9, 2013]
    Pros: Incredibly unique concept and done near-perfect, wide range of customizable features, refreshingly new style of game, overall visual quality
    Cons: Lack of diversity for enemies, tower building only from first person When I first heard about Sanctum and what the gameplay is like my initial reaction was “Yes! Yes! Yes!”, never did play Sanctum however    [Posted December 9, 2013]
    Pros: Incredibly unique concept and done near-perfect, wide range of customizable features, refreshingly new style of game, overall visual quality

    Cons: Lack of diversity for enemies, tower building only from first person

    When I first heard about Sanctum and what the gameplay is like my initial reaction was “Yes! Yes! Yes!”, never did play Sanctum however as Sanctum 2 was just being released and whatever people may say about the first I have to say that the 2nd does not disappoint. Sanctum 2 is a unique and refreshingly new concept of mixing the tower defense / tower grid concept with FPS. It’s a bit of RTS as well in that you place your towers with the tower grid and then you play a unit in your own FPS and become a soldier on the ground during the battle.

    There are a few main classes that have set perks and primary weapons, then a list of universal secondary weapons, towers, and passive perks. For sure there are lots of options with towers and perks to adapt to a very wide variety of play-styles. And the multiplayer coop allows for interesting blends of play-styles or an all-out stacking of a set style with synchronizing to get the most out of the various perks.

    Overall it’s a brilliant game, and I for sure recommend it. I think the build phase being only in first person is a mistake however, would have liked the choice to view the grid and place turrets from a bird’s eye of the entire grid instead of having to constantly refer to the mini-map to make sure I’m placing things in the correct square. Also the enemy units are immediately redundant so while there is a huge range of variety on the player side with perks and weapons there is just the same few enemy units (the DLCs seem to address this – as well as add even more weapons and perks!). No difficulty option but the game has five “Feats of Strength” options to make it both harder and give greater rewards, similar to Bastion’s “Idols”.

    All in all the wide range of turret types, weapons, and perks are all blended and balanced nicely to make a very nice RTS / FPS blend that – and I cannot state this enough – was soooo refreshing to play. Indie games like this or something like Frozen Synapse that push the boundaries of the gaming development “norm” will forever be welcome in my gaming libraries, they are fantastic. The RTS to place the walls to funnel enemies into pinch points and U-turns while placing the proper turrets to take advantage of the situation then starting the wave and going into the battle yourself in an FPS with your own highly customized class unit is something that will not get old quickly for me.    … Expand
  98. greendestiny_re
    Jan 31, 2020
    7
    First-person tower defense co-op shooter with Borderlands-like graphics that can also be played solo.

    It's a decent tower defense game but the shooting mechanics are subpar at best—all weapons have tiny magazines that require constant reloading and some feature tremendous knockback that often sent me hurtling through one of the countless gaps in the terrain. It's all manageable while    First-person tower defense co-op shooter with Borderlands-like graphics that can also be played solo.

    It's a decent tower defense game but the shooting mechanics are subpar at best—all weapons have tiny magazines that require constant reloading and some feature tremendous knockback that often sent me hurtling through one of the countless gaps in the terrain. It's all manageable while the map is on relatively flat terrain but it's on quirky terrain that I died dozens of time per map.

    I found the game really easy even on the hardest difficulty, simply maze to the max, find a perch and snipe everything.

    The story is presented through comic panels and barely makes any sense but it's a tower defense game after all: monsters are coming, kill them.

    Playing Sanctum 2 with friends could be fun, I guess.

    -1 for poor shooting mechanics
    -1 for being too easy
    -1 for poor story

    7/10    … Expand
  99. Mermaid_Man
    Jul 14, 2020
    8
    Sanctum deserves more love because of its innovative TD gamepaly mechanics. It merges FPS and TD together, all in one seamless, well put together package. If you like FPS games and old school maze TD, then I recommend it.
  100. aecsuter
    Sep 5, 2022
    2
    A tower defense game to be played co-op, because it's practically unbearable to finish alone. Extremely boring and bland. I don't even recommend it for free.

Awards & Rankings

90
#90 Best PC Game of 2013
75
#75 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Level7.nu
    Sep 10, 2013
    70
    The second entry in the Sanctum series continues exploring the odd mix of tower defense and first person shooter. The mechanics in the sequel are solid if a bit too simple to invite a deeper engagement. Still as a co-op game it excels in places that few games do.
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  2. DarkStation
    Jul 18, 2013
    80
    Sanctum 2 is a good game, especially if you have friends to play it with, but if there is a Sanctum 3 in the future then I hope the developers take a more critical, iterative approach to their craft.
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  3. Gaming Nexus
    Jul 17, 2013
    80
    While the first game was an enjoyable proof of concept, Sanctum 2 is that idea realized. A great experience all around, it brings the best of both the shooter and tower defense worlds together. Try to bring along a couple of friends for the adventure though, as they will make it exponentially more enjoyable.
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