14 DAY TRIAL // Sacred 3 has just come out, and the Internet has gone up in flames. The game is nothing like the continuation of the classic action role-playing game series that fans were expecting.
This is probably why publisher Deep Silver have shown some reticence to provide gameplay footage from the game that resembles Gauntlet more than the original Sacred, to the fans’ dismay.
Although the game might not actually be as bad as the Steam reviews would have you think (our review is underway), the fact of the matter is that it’s called Sacred 3 and it’s got nothing to do with developer Ascaron’s first two games, which is a pretty dodgy move.
Publisher Deep Silver did nothing to warn potential buyers what exactly they were buying into, in spite of the fact that the customers delivered on the publisher’s expectation to pay with real money, and not in goats or with Monopoly cash.
However enticing poetic justice might sound, the truth is that many players were duped and now pretty much everyone lost faith in the Sacred franchise.
So, since this clearly isn’t Sacred 3, you might be wandering what the original crew that created the Sacred series is up to. The answer is pretty simple: they’re hammering away, attempting to bring forth a buoyant future for the fans of the original games: Unbended.
Unbended is the ray of hope that Sacred fans have been waiting for, a classic action role-playing game created by the original team at Ascaron, featuring all the mechanics and action that consecrated the first two games.
For now, the developers are in the pre-production phase, trying to get all the details right and figuring out exactly what they are setting out to make, with a crowdfunding campaign to come at a later date, once the core principles of Unbended are set in stone.
For now, what is certain is that Unbended will be played in the traditional isometric perspective, using a platform-independent modern engine, and that the game’s world will be huge, with seamless transitions, just like in Sacred 1 and 2.
The game will feature fast-travel options for easier navigation through its massive world, and will include both cooperative and competitive multiplayer, as well as hardcore mode.
There will be a focus on boss runs, with the goal of finding rare loot, and the gear system will be very complex, with a lot of randomization.
Furthermore, there will be no opposite genders, classes will be either male or female, just like in Diablo 3 or Path of Exile, and characters will have different skill sets while mounted, for equestrian combat.
The game has six characters planned, which will be a mix of traditional characters that action role-playing game enthusiasts expect from such a title, and some innovative ideas that the team is experimenting with, and each of the six classes will start in a separate area of the world, with each character following his own storyline.
Unbended is even planned to feature music created by the man who composed the soundtrack of Sacred Underworld, Matthias Steinwach.
The game is still quite early in development, but if you want to lend a helping hand, the devs are currently accepting donations on the Undended website.
They plan to release the game independently, and want to get on Steam Early Access and to give their backers alpha access as soon as it’s available, but they warn gamers not to expect anything until late 2015.
So have no fear, Sacred 3 will get here, eventually.
