Disclaimer: Let me preface this review by saying that I only played the demo and it is possible, though unlikely, that the full version can provide more entertainment.
I downloaded the Sacred Citadel and thought it would be a fairly enjoyable experience. I mean: it has magic, various weapons, four characters to choose from, exhilarating game play, and a compelling story. Well, maybe three out of five isn’t bad right? Sure, if the three were actually any good.
Cool story bro, don’t tell it again – 3/10
Well, the story isn’t that bad, just kind of average. Maybe below average, actually. The Ashen Empire seeks to destroy the Citadel, which apparently has no defense except for the cloister gates because everyone there traded in weapons for prayer. Not a smart move, but okay, I’ll roll with it. What does the Ashen Empire do in response to this? Do they build catapults or battering rams? Maybe create explosives or chemicals? Or perhaps even study some ancient magic, this game has magic, right? If you said any of those answers, then you’re completely wrong. No, their plan was to create a monstrosity out of one of their own people whose only purpose in life was to break the gates of the Citadel, which they named Gatebreaker. Too bad he isn’t strong enough to break the gates. You had one job, Gatebreaker, one job. Naturally, he seeks out more power in the form of two artifacts. He enlists the help of the orc-like Grimmocs who also were made in the same lab the Gatebreaker was. The four heroes of the story sit in a tavern oblivious to what’s going on until the town is attacked. I think that’s all you need to hear.
Repetitive game play is repetitive – 4/10
This sums up the game very well.
Do you like moving around and clicking arrow keys? Well, I hope that’s all you like because that’s all you get. Combat consists of using the left arrow to do basic melee attacks, up arrow for secondary, class-specific attacks, and right arrow for power attacks. There are four characters to choose from: Warrior, Ranger, Mage, and Shaman. Every character starts with swords and can equip melee weapons, but each has a signature secondary attack. The Warrior uses a hammer, the Ranger shoots with bow, while the Mage and Shaman use different elements of magic. This all sounds good, but the effects and animation are fairly simple and get boring, fast.
It’s a side scrolling game, but you can move up and down the battlefield in addition to right and left. This seems to present more problems than it’s worth as now it is possible to completely miss enemies, which presents a real problem for the Ranger class. There are potions to recover health, increase damage, or fill you power meter. These potions, as well as food, weapons, and armor, can be dropped from enemies. They can also be bought in town.
Mismatched controls abound – 4/10
One of the biggest problems I had with the controls came from some of the menus and ending screens. Sometimes it tells you to press “X,” “A,” or “B” with the color and look from an Xbox 360 controller. Other times it tells you to press keys on the keyboard. My only guess is that this is also on the 360 and something got messed up between the version. If it ended there, then no problem I guess, but it doesn’t. In game it tells you to doge by showing a picture of a key with an up arrow on it next to the letter “L.” The key is also small so I thought maybe it mean the “L” key and maybe the up key? No, what it actually means is press the left shift button. This can be avoided by looking at the controls before playing or even changing them, but honestly the in-game prompts just feel like poor design.
He looks tough right? He’s a pansy.
Friends can join your pity party
I won’t actually give the multiplayer a score, since it is not available in the demo. I will however, give a brief scenario of what I envision it to be like.
Player 1: I’ll be the mage and you be the ranger.
Player 2: Okay, let’s start… Cool I can shoot arrows.
Player 1: This magic owns. I’m killing everything.
Player 2: Yeah, I see that, um… these arrows seem pretty worthless.
Player 1: Don’t worry, I’m sure it will get better. Here, let me just attack the boss a few times and you can finish, oops I killed him.
Player 2: … I should go.
Sounds like fun, right?
Like watching a bad re-run, 5/10
Well, I suppose with four characters the game has potential replay value, but I’m not sure if that’s reason enough to play it more than once. Although, I could only a play the demo, a game should make me wish I could play more, not wish that I’d played less. Regardless, having four characters to choose from does give the game a bit longer life, though I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.
Overall, 4/10
There were some lackluster aspects in this game, but it wasn’t terrible. It’s just… extraordinarily ordinary. You can download the demo for free from Steam, so you can try it for yourself. There are many options available in the full game that’s not in the demo, but based on what I’ve seen, I don’t think it’s worth it.
