A world to which it is always pleasant to return | SACRED

Every time I find myself in the starting city of the original SACRED, it feels like I’m back home. For me this is a very cozy game. This most likely has to do with the correct combination of blue and green at the starting locations, which in itself is subjective.

A good studio "Ascaron Entertainment" was. It’s a pity it collapsed in 2009. But the guys managed to say their word!

I won’t explain the basics of fun building construction here for neophytes. Or talk about things that have already been chewed and chewed a hundred times, such as analysis of game classes and plot analysis. But rather, I’ll do some reflection and try to give my perspective of what SACRED so captivated me at the time. And it still doesn’t let go. Who knows, maybe with my input you will look at it with a fresh look and emphasize previously unnoticed details. Well, or you decide to touch this creation of a German game developer, if you haven’t done so before.

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How SACRED has been perceived by me in the past.

My warm relationship with SACRED is largely due to the context of the time when I met him. It was the summer of 2005, and you could still hear the rumble from the end of the Hobbit movie tour of Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings brand successfully made money, so various adaptations of similar works were being prepared. In bookstores, the shelves were occupied by volumes with the “Forgotten Realms” logo on the cover, which I, when I was a schoolboy, actively read.

In short, Western European fantasy was all around, Western European fantasy was held in high esteem.

At that time, for me, the standard of the role-playing genre was DIABLO 2 (I had never heard of FALLOUT with BALDURS GATE), but due to its “darkness” it did not fit well into the atmosphere of heroic fantasy, which I loved so much. There was no subgenre division into action-rpg, hack`n`slash-rpg for me. And I thought: “How nice it would be to have a game with similar gameplay, but in a setting like Fairun!»

Illustration from the cover of one of the books on the “Forgotten Realms” universe. Posted by Todd Lockwood.

Well, you understand that sooner or later, it was destined for us to meet SACRED. Whether it’s long or short, its pirated copy finally reached me. Then, of course, I, as a bona fide user, purchased a license for myself using my parent’s money.

I launch the game, which means I find myself in one of the most atmospheric main menu screens! The background track – Daemons of Ancaria – sounded mysterious and threatened with danger in the adventure that was just getting ready to start.

Further – more! I move on to the selection of characters, and I see there something that responds positively to fantasy clichés in my heart:

There was also an addon for SACRED – UNDERWORLD – adding various new content. Including two new heroes: a self-propelled artillery unit, which they decided to call a gnome, and a bald, horned-winged woman. Not for everybody, so to speak.

Without hesitation, I chose an archer, because not so long ago I completed DIABLO 2 for the Amazon with a friend. I decided, so to speak, to enter a new river with someone potentially familiar. That means the download is complete and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Isometric all around, like in our beloved D2, only it looks better and better! Well, for me personally it’s better. Holy shit, the picture is so detailed! At first I didn’t even notice that the environment was two-dimensional. Here even arrows stick into enemies and do not disappear! All items of equipment are displayed on the character in accordance with their model in the inventory. Even wearing amulets and rings can be seen!

In short, I had a culture shock against the backdrop of this “new game experience”.

And then I defeated the mini-boss, ran to the first settlement, some dialogues appeared, you can talk to almost every npc, a bunch of side quests, the main quest that drives you to the next city. And then they tell you that you can buy a horse and ride it. And fight on horseback. And shoot arrows on horseback. And then I pressed the “M” key, opened the map and realized: that’s it, I’m staying here to live!

A sea of ​​bugs and broken saves didn’t stop me. The quality of the release version of SACRED was frankly crappy, but we had to play what we could get our hands on. And we didn’t complain too much.

Often such games forced us to experience disgusting moments. One of these happened to me towards the end of my playthrough. The heroes were preparing to storm the castle in the capital. It was necessary to meet them at the secret headquarters, the path to which was blocked by bars. When I went down to her for the first time, everything worked fine. The grid allowed you to interact with yourself. When I came to her for the second time, she simply wasn’t there. That is, the cursor was hovered over the passage location, reporting that there was an interactive object there, but no manipulations were performed with it. There was an invisible wall at the passage site! And I just couldn’t get over it! I had to start the game again. I didn’t see any other way out then.

It frustrated me greatly. Tens of hours https://lowdeposit-casinos.co.uk/review/madcasino/ were wasted on nothing! But, fortunately, in the second run the necessary scripts magically worked, and SACRED and I tested each other’s strength. I really didn’t want to deny being in his world because of some stupid grid.

Just so you understand: before this I played all sorts of TMNT hyperstone heist, Streets of Rage and Warlock on SEGA. Yes, I was familiar with GTA Vice City, the degree of freedom in which the tower was torn down, but since everyone from my circle touched it in one way or another, the flair of unimaginable novelty quickly faded. And GOTHIC and MORROWIND appeared to me a little later. This is why SACRED has become a kind of window into the world of fantasy escapism.

The world of SACRED and its stories.

I can’t say that during my first playthrough (and subsequent ones too), I was somehow captivated by the plot. Although conceptually it is quite interesting: state. a coup in the fairy-tale kingdom-state of Ancaria against the backdrop of a growing zombie apocalypse. At least this is not something you see every day. For me, the small-town problems of ordinary people played a big role in SACRED. And the story of Megalkarwen and Laurelinade seemed like a drama-drama. What can I do, I am an impressionable person, and even more so at a younger age!

The merit here is not the plots themselves, as such, but rather the world in which they unfold. The word “realistic”, when applied to it, will probably sound too vulgar. I will say that it turned out to be “recognizable”. Like on the level of common fantasy tropes, where:

a treacherous traitor fails to come to the rescue of the good guys’ army, causing a key battle to be lost;

And in the same way it is recognizable in individual details:

well, nature, which even now feels alive, without a bunch of different additional animations, special effects and pandemonium.

The secondary nature of the world is noticeable, but it is compensated by the way this very world talks about itself. Namely: through dialogues with ordinary people who react in accordance with the rapidly changing political situation in the country. From their tales, for example, about a mysterious village in the east, lost in time. You can even go looking for her if you want.

Townspeople can indicate which neighboring settlements to go to and who to talk to in order to receive a task. Through tasks, new facts are revealed about the world and the region in which you find yourself. Additional quests complete the facade of the main story, better revealing the conflict, adding details to it. That is, the fight against the usurper is carried out not only through the battle of armies, but also through espionage. Individual representatives of seemingly clearly evil factions may have their own motives and goals, in the achievement of which you can help. And ordinary people are trying to maintain their usual way of life, in the midst of the ongoing global chaos.

By the end of the walkthrough, your map will be dotted with icons of completed tasks. This makes it possible to track the progress of an open world adventure. Already on the threshold of the arena with the final boss, you can look at the path traveled and remember that here I saved the local blacksmith, who gave me the first top sword as a reward. Here I brought the escaped gargoyle to its owner. And here, in general, he practically married the dragon and the princess, who opened the hunting season for him!

True, it often happens that quests lack an interesting ending, but make allowances for the fact that this is not a plot-oriented action-rpg, and such shortcomings should still be treated leniently.

While traveling through the wilderness you will come across various interesting places. Moreover, they are not marked on the map with question marks or anything like that. Having a set of knowledge about the world, you can fit it into a certain context, relying on your imagination. And this, I think, should also be considered part of the game.

I’ll explain now. In the forest in the northwest there is a tower and the ruins of a stone building next to it. There is no information about who owned all this stuff. But if you go inside the tower, you will see that it is quite lived-in. So someone was here recently. Okay, let’s poke around and maybe we’ll find out something. Yeah! Some kind of altar. There’s a sacrifice on the altar. It is likely that the inhabitant of the tower was a disgraced sorcerer. These occur periodically in this region.

Well, apparently, he expressed a desire to call someone. Or move somewhere through a portal. In the world of Ancaria, the line between the worlds is quite thin, so such practices are quite common here, although often illegal. Sit now and think what could happen next. Maybe the sorceress was devoured right here! Maybe a huge paw appeared from the portal and dragged him to the other side! Or maybe he managed to subjugate the evil demon, and the two of them went to drink poo and buns. Who knows.

Entertaining yourself with such a narrative through the environment was exciting both in childhood and now. What happened at that creepy tree?? Who lived in a forest hut next to a cave? Where could the destroyed portal lead?? What was this city like before the undead took over?? And so on. By coming up with answers to these questions, you shape the story of your own adventure. With memorable places and emotions associated with them. The magic of Ancaria is precisely that you yourself complete this magical country in your head, becoming part of this world. His co-author, if you like. And this, neither more nor less, is a strong personal connection.

And this world is spacious! It is represented by a set of regions with different climates and atmospheres, but a single artistic design. It’s funny how the game doesn’t push you forward, forcing you to cut through hordes of enemies. Not the most typical hack`n`slash-rpg solution, right?? Instead, you are given the opportunity to stand and look around. You are a researcher here! True, discoveries for the sake of discoveries are an incentive, frankly speaking, not for everyone. But it also has its right to exist. There are many places where they don’t take you, you might not have been here, run past, ignored. Which, in turn, encourages repeat playthroughs.

Remote regions literally hide treasures. But be prepared to meet those who guard them.

Most of Ancaria is inhabited by people. They have filled the entire central part of the map and are already sweeping the thresholds of the outskirts, cutting down elven forests, erecting forts in the lands of orcs and establishing wine capitals in the middle of the swamps. And the most popular activities among the human population are banditry and desertion. Such marginalized people generally make up the majority of the country’s population, otherwise how else can one justify SUCH number of mobs belonging to these groups?

It’s funny, but almost all the playable characters come from those very outskirts. I would also replace the gladiator with some hefty goblinoid or minotaur. So that there really is a complete set of outsiders!

The civilized remainder of the population can boast of the detailed design of the interiors of their dwellings. This forms the necessary idea about their life and what things are used in this world. And the settlements themselves are organized within the framework of, quite literally, human logic. Let’s say if there is a tavern or inn, then next to it there will be a stable. The central part of the settlement is somehow beautifully decorated with statues, monuments, the paths around are paved. It is clear that people here, in principle, could live. The more authenticity in the little things, the better. And this already makes it easier to draw the necessary parallels with our reality.

Interior example.

Example of village organization.

In general, for me personally, SACRED looks like the work of a creative union of the following fantasy artists: Todd Lockwood, Larry Elmore, and to some extent John Howe. The first two are most likely known to us from the illustrations for the covers of literary works in the Forgotten Realms universe.

Some Lockwood characters.

. and Elmore look like.

. completely finished prototypes.

. heroes for SACRED.

And the third is a concept designer who worked with Peter Jacksen on The Lord of the Rings. Let us remember the context of that time, which was mentioned at the beginning. So, I can only speculate, but Askaron’s artists are clearly anointed with only idols. Okay, then not yet Askaronoskie, but Ikarionovskie. Apparently, it’s worth clarifying here.

Tell me this is concept art from some region of Ancaria and I will believe it. Illustration by: John Howe.

Predecessors of SACRED.

Initially, SACRED was not SACRED at all, but a game with a different plot, in a different world, and with a different pace of gameplay, albeit of a similar type. It was called ARMALION: Realms of Arcania. It was developed by Ikarion Software from approximately 2000 to 2002, until the studio closed. Most of the Icarions moved to Ascaron, taking with them developments from the unreleased game. These are the ones that served as the basis for SACRED.

If you look at the screenshots and demonstration of the gameplay of Realms of Arcania, you can immediately guess the Ankarian landscapes. Only the predecessor plays slower, and maybe looks darker. But there are also horses, familiar opponents, elements of locations. In general, the base of ready-made materials for SACRED was royal. And thus, he adopted Armalion’s visual style.

This video could easily be mistaken for an early SACRED gameplay trailer if you’ve never heard of ARMALION.

Here I’ll delve a little deeper into the tabletop role-playing topic. Realms of Arcania was to be set in Aventuria, the first world "Das Schwarze Auge" – the German analogue of D&D. This world is closer to "realistic fantasy" than "high fantasy" like Tolkien’s Middle-earth, and emphasizes the validity of much of the setting. For example, in such a world there cannot be an abundance of dragons, because they simply will not find food for themselves. And this approach is practiced down to the smallest details.

I think you understand which way the wind is blowing? If you, like me, liked the down-to-earth setting of the original SACRED, then we have Armalion’s legacy to thank for that.