Sacred Citadel

However, through a fondness for the side-scrolling beat-'em-up genre, Southend Interactive has concocted a fun arcade PSN snack, which is even tastier in local and online three-player co-op.

Sacred Citadel is a good title, even though it left us a little dubious in terms of the storyline, as the wanting to propose itself as a "prelude" to the future Sacred 3 has proved rather inconclusive.

Sacred Citadel is a modern and compelling brawler, that ultimately turns up to be one of the most faithful game in its genre. SouthEnd managed to capture part of the magic of the good ol' Golden Axe, but there's some problem that keeps the game away from a must-buy status.

The easy move set, complemented by the addition of a dodge roll; combined with the Action RPG elements and encased by really good local and online ease of entry make for a truly fun title to keep any player busy for at least an afternoon.

Despite the short playing time, Sacred Citadel is a pretty fun side-scrolling hack and slash RPG, pleasant to play especially with some friends. It is the perfect game for the fan of the Golden Axe or Final Fight era.

There's nothing outstanding but there's nothing wrong either. If you're going to play with some friends, this beat 'em up offers some hours of fun.

A good looking and side scrolling beat'em up that lets you take on wave after wave of enemies as a warrior, ranger, shaman or mage. Too bad the characters feel to similar to warrant multiple playthroughs. [May 2013, p.97]

Sacred Citadel is a decent 2D action platformer, with good RPG elements. It pails in comparison with the likes of Golden Axe, Castle Crashers, Konami's X-Men, Streets of Rage, and others, but it is some cheap fun.

Deep Silver and Southend Interactive pay homage to the beat 'em up games of the 80s with a good action title that possesses the charm of an older game. Even though not being as good as the real oldies, it's role-playing mechanics make for a better experience.

Sacred Citadel is the prequel to Sacred 3 and, judging by its parts, should be a great game. However, it doesn't completely succeed. The fighting system is fun, but the amount of combo's is lacking. The game lacks challenge and the story originality. Thus, unfortunately, Sacred Citadel isn't more than the sum of its parts. If you absolutely want to get it, play it in co-op.

Sacred Citadel is a visually impressive but a very bland fighter, that brings few new ideas to the table in terms of design and gameplay. Only for hard-core nostalgics of the “golden age” of arcades.

In a point somewhere between the masterpiece D&D: Tower of Doom and the nightmarish Double Dragon 2: Wander of the Dragons is where we could situate this Sacred Citadel, a spin off that will be preparing the way for its older brother Sacred 3. Visually vibrant and colourful in a comic-esque style, it's a shame that its walkthrough seems like a rollercoaster, with great, funny playable action parts and others boring or insanely harder. Give it a try if King of Dragons means something for you. Definitely get it if you planned to play it in coop with a couple of friends, the greatest element of the whole game and its reason to be.

An uninspiring and repetitive button masher. [July 2013, p.77]

Only look into this one if you’re a big fan of the Sacred series and have similarly minded friends. [August2013, p76]