Sacred 2: Fallen Angel - hands-on

“Everyone loves the tiger,” complains the man showing me the opening levels. “You shouldn’t have made the fur look so nice,” we answered – this is some of the shiniest, furriest fur you’ll see. Moreover, the interesting classes of the first game have been built on; the first game had Vampiress and Seraphim, now we have Shadow Knights and the quirky Temple Guardian. The Guardian in particular seems excellent – he was technically under wraps, but from what we could get people to say, he sounds arcane, mechanical and gruesome.

Multiplayer was important in the first game – four-player co-op, and 16-man servers – and they’re building heavily on that in the sequel; with a dip-in approach that edges the game towards an MMO. The point is to make it easy enough to allow quick and fluid link-ups. It’ll be released on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, so ease of multiplayer connection will be a priority.

One thing the first game wasn’t lacking was size and variety. What are on display now are the distinct environments we’d expect, from spider-infested woodlands, to canyons and towns. Importantly, the whole online area is geared toward PvP, so using our freshly-learned area-of-effect ice spells on a group of spiders, we managed to accidentally kill a fellow adventurer. That’s another new feature for Sacred 2: you can follow light or dark quest paths, depending on your starting race. This also gives you your PvP factions in multiplayer, and in the single-player, it increases replayability.

This is all encouraging – improvements are definitely being made. However, the main part of the first game that was repeatedly dragged into the garden and duffed up was the storyline. If you’re the kind of person who thought the coolest thing about Final Fantasy VII was realising that the Mimic spell could let you endlessly chain the Knights of the Round summon, then the storyline might not be so important to you. If, however, the moment of Aeris’ death was the moment that you knew you had to play this game to the end, just to get your revenge on that bastard – you’ll want some emotional investment in your characters.

Latest in RPG
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
Reclaiming their crown, pacifist Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 player beats the whole RPG as "Merciful Henry": 1,741 strikes blocked, 472 knockouts, and zero kills
Top-down screenshot of Monsterpatch, showing a grid-based town with Pokemon-like creatures, GBC graphics and vegetations sprinkled about.
This cozy RPG promises a Pokemon and Stardew Valley mashup with "limitless customization," 208 monsters, and more, so no wonder its Kickstarter was funded in just 16 minutes
Dragon Age: The Veilguard art showing the RPG's companions grouped together
Dragon Age: The Veilguard director is leading an unannounced game for Wizards of the Coast, which recently hinted at more Baldur's Gate
A large, muscly bloke eating noodles at a bar while two people point pistols at him from behind in Cyberpunk 2077.
The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 developer enters into partnership with Pokemon Go owner to create a new game "set within one of CD Projekt's IPs"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
The Witcher 4 and Naughty Dog's Intergalactic are reportedly skipping 2026 and won't be ready until at least the year after
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Latest in Features
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
Helldivers 2 Borderline Justice Warbond helldiver using hoverpack to shoot down with hunting rifle
Talking points from the Game Developers Conference 2025 and how they could impact the future of gaming
Flexispot E7 Plus with plant, monitor, soundbar, and controller on top next to white wall lighting.
Gaming desks vs regular desks: which surface should you buy?
Google Pixel 9a smartphones on a beige background
One Google Pixel 9a feature could make it a better gaming phone than most budget mainstream models
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"