Sacred Citadel

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 20
  3. Negative: 5 out of 20

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  1. bushkill
    Apr 18, 2013
    7
    Sacred Citadel:

    Upon first discovery of this game my enthusiasm ran high. A new, side-scrolling hack and slash RPG with loot elements? Fresh, crisp looking graphics with a customizable character? It's a Sacred Game and Deep Silver has a hand in it?? yes. I was excited. As a pretty big fan of side scrolling brawlers going as far back as; Streets of Rage (2 especially), Battletoads,    Sacred Citadel:

    Upon first discovery of this game my enthusiasm ran high. A new, side-scrolling hack and slash RPG with loot elements? Fresh, crisp looking graphics with a customizable character? It's a Sacred Game and Deep Silver has a hand in it?? yes. I was excited.
    As a pretty big fan of side scrolling brawlers going as far back as; Streets of Rage (2 especially), Battletoads, Golden Axe, etc.. and the Sacred series in general.. the merge sounded like... pure. journalistic. dynamite. Side Scrolling Sacred I thought.
    And if I remember correctly Deep Silver was also involved with Risen which was a great Gothic "sequel" so it's all on point!

    Well I was mistaken. Sorry but it just ain't worth the money for the Microsoft Points.

    Graphics: Cartoony graphics are great and all. But for me they just are not cutting it with Sacred Citadel. I would have loved to see realistic graphics over this menagerie of broad strokes, smooth edged, just downright bland graphical style lacking much of anything for the eye to lock on to. Sacred Citadel does have the look of a pretty painting at times however.

    Streets of Rage was cartoonish. Yet it was drawn with a certain amount of realism. The characters in Streets of Rage, all the way back then, also felt like they had... weight. Yes, weight. In Sacred Citadel it feels as though when your character runs, they are floating on the game world but not standing in it. Dust clouds were added at your feet with some scarce footsteps but it ain't enough.
    Except for when out of combat where the game goes just straight up 2D and you jump chasms or up cliff faces, boxes, and the like. Things handle fine there.

    Combat: Mash X,Y and occasionally B. Things light on fire and freeze, or turn green. All pretty effects but just really being splashed around, busying up the screen. Though that isn't necessarily all bad. Some decently cool looking weapons for your char and the big enemies really are what's good.

    Oh and the loot? Well yes, as enemies are killed they drop new swords, axes, etc. to slay foes.
    Meh. It's a bunch of crap where the armor doesn't even change the appearance of the character? Just some numbers that i figure you can grind for to raise. Could have been left out altogether. Same as the crystals which have a time limit; further adding to needless micro management. However the idea of filling my defense and magic char stats as my Mage levels up, growing in power, is satisfying.

    The story, whatever it is, was implemented in such a style that it was placed there to be skipped. All I can figure is sometimes it's there to stop the flow of game, making the game take slightly longer to beat, and being a good "tap A" workout routine.

    Sound: Some old school gamer sounding riffs for chopping to, and some transient laid back melody to shop to in town. Sound effects are standard. Sound acting that is very easily skippable. It's a perfect blend of mediocrity. OK title screen tune as well.

    Multiplayer: Yes it's there and should be mandatory with any game of the genre!! I'm glad the multiplayer is here, really I am, but if they put this game out without multiplayer I wouldn't touch it.
    Bastion...smh. Torchlight... smh. Deathspank?! ....local co-op crap.

    Finally then, with the underlying fact of the 1200 microsoft point price tag and the horrible xbox feature that without an internet connection all I can play is the demo, I'd say..
    Save that scratch$$!!™
    Unless maybe you got 2 other people willing to buy the game as well and can synchronize times to play through together....

    It just ain't worth the points...    … Expand
  2. lpgabriel
    Apr 18, 2013
    8
    Sacred Citadel is a pretty decent beat 'em up, and one of the best of its genre in XBLA.

    Graphics and animations are well crafted and cool to watch. Story is silly but still funny, although it seems to have little to do with the other Sacred games. Gameplay is pretty solid, there are plenty of combos to unlock during the game, all of them mixing the X and Y buttons, these make up    Sacred Citadel is a pretty decent beat 'em up, and one of the best of its genre in XBLA.

    Graphics and animations are well crafted and cool to watch.

    Story is silly but still funny, although it seems to have little to do with the other Sacred games.

    Gameplay is pretty solid, there are plenty of combos to unlock during the game, all of them mixing the X and Y buttons, these make up for the basic 3-hit combo that the players are forced to use early in the game, making things less repetitive and more dynamic. Also, the evade/roll is one of the most useful moves in the game, especially during boss fights.

    The loot system is great too, letting you choose which weapon to replace on the fly, using the bumper buttons, helps keeping the fast pace of the game.

    There's an item shop, which helps those players who let their co-op partners pick up all the good items first (believe me, this happens quite a lot, especially if you're playing with strangers).

    Overall, this game is a great addition to the XBLA library, specially the beat 'em up one, which have failed to provide good games since the 2010's awesome Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
    If you are a fan of beat 'em ups, rpg elements and looting like Castle Crashers, go buy this one!!    … Expand
  3. TheQuietGamer
    Feb 13, 2016
    7
    Another departure for the Sacred series. However fans might find this easier to forgive than they did Sacred 3. This is quite clearly a side entry in the series. If you're looking for plot, then look elsewhere. This prequel plot to Sacred 3 doesn't really do much outside of delivering some really bad jokes.

    However if you are looking for a good arcade style, side-scrolling brawler with    Another departure for the Sacred series. However fans might find this easier to forgive than they did Sacred 3. This is quite clearly a side entry in the series. If you're looking for plot, then look elsewhere. This prequel plot to Sacred 3 doesn't really do much outside of delivering some really bad jokes.

    However if you are looking for a good arcade style, side-scrolling brawler with co-op options then look no further. "Citadel" proves to be an enjoyable, if very brief, experience. It definitely captures the feel of those old-school classics like X-Men: The Arcade Game and The Simpsons. Those who grew up during that era might catch themselves trying to put a quarter into their 360.

    Modern flourishes set it apart from those games of yesteryear. The combat is definitely familiar to the genre, but the RPG mechanics of the main games in the Sacred series give it an identity of it's own. Leveling up your character and skills is pretty simplified. There are only four areas to invest in, and they don't get complex at all. It's the loot system that really taps into the series RPG origins. As you play you'll come across better weapons and armor. It's entertaining to watch yourself grow into an unstoppable killing machine that can blow through levels that tested you before.

    As far as the difficulty goes it's not really a tough game. I breezed though it in a few hours on my own, only struggling against the final boss. It's a short game anyway, so getting some friends together is likely to make the entire experience go by even faster. But if you don't play with friends you'll be missing out on the best way to experience the game. The co-op is a blast.

    On an odd note though the game is limited to only three players. Not really a big deal, but baffling considering there are four character classes to choose from. Three is kind of an odd number to choose anyway considering how four-player co-op is kind of the norm nowadays. It's even more so with the fact that there's an extra character that nobody will be using.

    Despite it's brief length and almost complete lack of challenge there is plenty to keep you coming back. Maxing out your characters is satisfying, there are plenty of achievements to collect, and honestly the gameplay is just solid enough to warrant some returns with your buddies. The price to content ratio might not make this game worth it to everyone, but to those who like arcady, side-scrolling brawlers are sure to be entertained for at least a little while.

    Because of that I give the game a 7.5/10    … Expand
  4. Robbert24
    Feb 14, 2016
    7
    While i certainly played better games,there is something addictive about it this game. the co-op ensures some nice local multiplayer fun,and makes it a lot more worthwhile. furthermore,while not being the greatest and best looking 2,5D game i've ever seen it still looks very decent and the cartoonish look works very well for this game. and now for the bad.. the gameplay is pretty shallowWhile i certainly played better games,there is something addictive about it this game. the co-op ensures some nice local multiplayer fun,and makes it a lot more worthwhile. furthermore,while not being the greatest and best looking 2,5D game i've ever seen it still looks very decent and the cartoonish look works very well for this game. and now for the bad.. the gameplay is pretty shallow and there are some cheap exploits in the move-sets of all the characters,there is no real redeeming quality to replaying the game and the entire thing can probaly be finished in about 6 or 8 hours. the characters all seem to kind of play the same way,and the story is pretty much non-existint. if your looking for some quick old-school arcade fun,pick this one up. if you are more into games with depth and layered game-play,maybe sit this one out.… Expand
  5. Broyax
    Jan 6, 2017
    0
    Déjà que les précédents "Sacred" sont de sacrées merdes, voilà-t-y pas que la petite dernière "création" ravalée au rang de daubasse indé de très bas étage se révèle encore pire que tout ce qu'on a croisé comme horreurs auparavant ! Sacrément moche, oui il sera difficile de faire plus moche dans le genre, c'est un fait ; dans le genre purgatif, c'est aussi un sérieux client ce SacredDéjà que les précédents "Sacred" sont de sacrées merdes, voilà-t-y pas que la petite dernière "création" ravalée au rang de daubasse indé de très bas étage se révèle encore pire que tout ce qu'on a croisé comme horreurs auparavant ! Sacrément moche, oui il sera difficile de faire plus moche dans le genre, c'est un fait ; dans le genre purgatif, c'est aussi un sérieux client ce Sacred puisqu'il vous les brise en moins d'une minute chrono et qu'on s'y fait chier comme un hamster mort dans sa cage. Un non-jeu abominablement révulsif, sans doute con-çu par le diable.… Expand
  6. CloudStrife05
    Aug 23, 2021
    6
    I know I beat the game but remember very little about it which is never good. I remember the first level but thats about it because it's a straight beat em up game. I love beat em up games but this one did not stand out to me apparently.

Awards & Rankings

64
#64 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Jul 23, 2013
    60
    Colourful but uninspired. [Aug 2013, p.87]
  2. Gamereactor Sweden
    Jun 10, 2013
    60
    Sacred Citadel offers decent entertainment for a few hours, especially with some retro loving friends as company. But this really isn't a game that lasts, unfortunately.
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  3. XGN
    Jun 9, 2013
    65
    There are a lot of things just not good enough in Sacred Citadel. The humor is terrible, and the enemies lack variety. But if you are planning a game night with some friends, there is still some fun to be had with this game. Plug some extra controllers in, switch your brain of and start mashing buttons.
    Read full review
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