Line #115 VideoGame/Sacred


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sacred.jpg]]
2	''Sacred'' is a 2004 HackAndSlash game in the vein of ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'', developed by Ascaron Entertainment and published by Encore. It follows a hero(ine) as (s)he goes on a quest to defeat some giant demon, destroy the necromancer Shaddar, and save the lands of Ancaria by collecting the five elements. You probably won't notice that much, as you'll be a bit busy using the spells to destroy your enemies. There are six classes in the original (Gladiator, Seraphim, Vampiress, Battle Mage, Wood Elf and Dark Elf) with two more added by an expansion pack (Dwarf and Daemon). Each class has its own special abilities learned from runes found around the game world.
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4	An expansion for the first game, ''Sacred Underworld'', was released in August 2005, and takes place shortly after the events of the main game. Both Shadarr and the Shakkara Demon have been defeated, but this victory did not come without a price. Prince Valor is dead, leaving Ancaria without a ruler. To make matters worse, a dark wizard named Anducar has rallied the demons of the Underworld (''Sacred'''s equivalent of Hell) under his banner with the intention of invading and conquering Ancaria. With the help of Valor's lover and widow, Vilya, the heroes of Sacred must venture into the Underworld and defeat Anducar before his demonic legions destroy the world. Joining them are two new classes: the Daemoness, a female Demon who was betrayed by Anducar and now seeks vengeance, and the last of the Dwarves.
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6	The game has a high level of customization, with the item manufacturing and skill systems allowing for many different paths for a character to explore.
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8	A loose {{Prequel}} set 2000 years before the original game, ''VideoGame/Sacred2FallenAngel'', was released in November 2008 for PC, Xbox 360, and [=PlayStation=] 3.
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10	A {{Spinoff}}, ''Sacred Citadel'', was developed by Creator/SouthendInteractive, published by Creator/DeepSilver, and released on April 17, 2013. It is a BeatEmUp [[SideView Sidescroller]] with ''Sacred''-level of customization and loot drops. It served as a prequel for the next main game, ''VideoGame/Sacred3'', which was developed by Keen Games and released on August 1, 2014.
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12	!!The first game and ''Underworld'' provide examples of the following tropes:
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14	* AbandonedMine: The Gnarlstat mines were populated by Dwarves before being massacred by the Dark Elves, who built their lair near the ruins and called it Zhurag-Nar.
15	* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: ''216''.
16	* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The sewers under Braverock Castle. Bandits, monsters and even a secret vampire cult hide in multiple levels of tunnels. Have we mentioned that the castle is built over an ancient Dark Elven bastion called Mhurag-Nar whose basement is still intact?
17	* ActionGirl: The Seraphim, the Wood Elf, the Vampiress, the Daemoness, the High Elf and the Dryad.
18	* ActorAllusion: In the German original, the Gladiator is voiced by Bruce Willis' dubbing actor. He even quotes a line from ''Die Hard''.
19	* AerithAndBob: You can find names like Victor next to more exotic ones like Vilya.
20	* AfterTheEnd: The original game, since it takes place [[{{Retcon}} two thousand years after the sequel.]]
21	* AllThereInTheManual: the game's many lore books explain a lot of the background, including theories on the origins of the Seraphim, history, political details, how Anducar became lord of the Underworld, what is it you're actually fighting there, or the fact that the "Underworld" regions, despite having a day/night cycle, are supposed to all be underground.
22	* AlternateWorldMap: ''Underworld'' discovers [[http://www.maplib.net/fullmap.php?id=3457&lat=-52.97&lng=34.95&z=9 unexplored lands]].
23	* AnimateDead: The Vampiress can rise corpses as her minions for a time.
24	* ApatheticCitizens: The player character is asked to do all sort of tasks in the town, ranging from bringing a chicken back to his owner, to killing a monster which lives near some ruins.
25	--->'''Daemoness''': What do you do when there isn't a hero around?
26	* TheAtoner: The Vampiress, the Dark Elf and the Daemoness (considerably less than the others; the Vampiress and Dark Elf ''start'' the game in this mode. The Daemoness [[BloodKnight very much]] does ''[[EnemyMine not]]'').
27	* AxCrazy: The Vampiress was one before biting a Seraphim, whose blood made her retrieve part of her humanity.
28	* BackpackCannon: The Dwarf has one.
29	* BackToBackBadasses: Laurelinad and Maegalcarwen during their chase.
30	* BattleCouple: The Dark Elf and the Wood Elf.
31	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Subverted in some instances. The characters show blood and wounds if they are hit unarmored.
32	* {{BFG}}: A skill for the Seraphim (a summoned staff that fires lightning bolts).
33	* BigBad: The game has two. First is [[spoiler:the Sakkara Demon that was summoned in the intro]], and then it's [[spoiler:Shaddar, the NotQuiteDead evil wizard who summoned the Demon in the first place.]] ''Underworld'' has Anducar.
34	* BigBadWannabe: [=DeMordrey=], who uses the chaos created by the real BigBad to claim the throne of Ancaria.
35	* BigCreepyCrawlies: ''Underworld'' adds several of these, including titanic flies, giant hornets, giant mire worms, giant insect larvae (that look more like millipedes), and monster resembling giant woodlice and giant quadruped locusts.
36	* BittersweetEnding:
37	** First game: [[spoiler:Shaddar is banished to Hell and his plan is foiled, but King Valor is dead.]]
38	** ''Underworld''. [[spoiler:Anducar and his demonic hordes are defeated, but Vilya dies tragically after [[BreakTheCutie being completely broken in every possible way]]. On the plus side, the ending cinematic shows her soul reuniting with the soul of her beloved Valor.]]
39	* BlackMage: The Battle Mage.
40	* BlatantLies: During combar, several characters will shout: "Come back, I won't hurt you... Okay, I lied."
41	* BoisterousBruiser: The Dwarf and slightly less the Gladiator.
42	* BottomlessMagazines: The Dwarf cannon never runs out of ammunition.
43	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The player characters will sometimes complain to/about the player for letting the game idle. Also doubles as ContinueYourMissionDammit. Not to mention certain EnemyChatter.
44	* BreakTheCutie: Vilya in ''Underworld''.
45	* BurnTheWitch: Baron [=DeMordrey=] and his inquisitors regularly burn witches and mages.
46	* CameBackWrong: The Garema were a race of Japanese-style green-skinned pygmies who dwelled in the southern jungle and battled the Dryads before being anhiliated. The Dryads pitied on them and embalmed the fallen Garema, who would eventually return as the even more vicious undead Nuk-nuks.
47	* CrateExpectations
48	* DamageIncreasingDebuff: Many spells.
49	* DamageOverTime: Poison damage.
50	* DarkerAndEdgier: The whole story of the expansion. It is entirely set in the [[{{Hell}} Underworld]].
51	* DarkIsNotEvil: Vampiress, Daemoness[[note]]by technicality; unlike the others she couldn't care less about acting like a better person, she's in it for revenge against Anducar and the chance to kill things[[/note]] and Dark Elf also qualify.
52	* DaywalkingVampire: The Vampiress can freely walk around in sunlight while in her human form. Even if she is in vampire form during day, she is [[WeakenedByTheLight just mildly damaged]].
53	* DeadpanSnarker: The Battle Mage has some snarky dialogue.
54	* DegradedBoss: the Sakkara Demon is the ultimate threat in the Ancaria campaign, and becomes a regular mob in Underworld. [[VillainDecay A favourite target for farming, actually]].
55	* DemonSlaying: There are demons among the enemies of this game. One of them is particularly big.
56	* DoingInTheWizard: In ''Sacred'', some in-game books explain that Seraphim and dragons are genetically related and tell some religious legends about their origin, claiming Seraphim were created by the goddess Sofia to fight the Worganar demons. Later, in a special quest, a Seraphim is cornered in the desert by demons and cultists and dies muttering "it's all lies", leaving you a lightsaber and a book. The book contains a [[http://forum.sacred2.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6392&d=1092069059 strange text]] about the origin of the Seraphim which uncannily fits the first source... [[ScienceFantasy replacing holy magic with sci-fi technology]]. Whether this book is canon or just EasterEgg material is open to debate.
57	* DrivenToMadness: [[spoiler:Vilya]] in ''Underworld''.
58	* DualWielding: Some characters can have this ability.
59	* DubNameChange: In the Spanish and Italian versions, the prince Valor becomes the prince Vorian, Alcalata becomes Angalydd and Anducar becomes Handukar.
60	* EasterEgg: [[RuleOfFunny For some reason]], Ancaria has [[Series/BabylonFive a Shadow Vessel]], [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Camp Crystal Lake]], [[VideoGame/{{Diablo}} Tristram]] and [[Franchise/StarWars lightsabers]].
61	* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: The Vampiress in her vampire form.
62	* EnemyMine: Averted by most orcs. They are fleeing from the undead, but instead of making an alliance with the humans, they try to get them out of the way. However, one orc tribe will help you against the Sakkara demon. Another small tribe will "help" you against the ice-elves (the real challenge here is to keep the orc warriors alive).
63	* EscortMission: Many in all the games. They range from surprisingly easy to [[ThatOneSideQuest hair-tearingly difficult]].
64	* EternalEquinox
65	* FantasticRacism: Commander Romata (the man who officially starts the main quest regardless of character) is openly leery and suspicious of the Dark Elf and Daemoness, and the Dwarf will occasionally scornfully remark how much of Ancaria's architecture pales in comparison to his people's. Most of the civilian populace, of course, hates orcs and makes no effort to understand their situation.
66	* FauxActionGirl: The Seraphim are an entire race of those. Having supposedly defeated the most dangerous demon prince, they were tasked with guarding the four elements of Ancaria, which they promptly lost to the Dark Elves. They launched a full-force war to get the elements back, which they lost, and would have been completely wiped out if an intervention of the Dwarf army hadn't saved them. Even then, they didn't recover all of the elements, and "only a handful" of the Seraphim survived. These survivors retreated to the Icecreek monastery, a giant fortress with enormous walls, and then the monastery was sacked by ice giants, killing everyone and destroying everything. Random pesants on the street will even remark on the Seraphim being useless, and the few individual Seraphim we meet or read about in lore books fare just as bad.
67	* TheFundamentalist: The ice-elves are descended from elves who helped the Seraphim against the forces of evil. Nowadays they consider everyone, even Seraphim, to be corrupted and in need of killing.
68	* {{Fireballs}}: The Battle Mage has a fireball spell.
69	* GetOnTheBoat: You need to get a boat in the southern pier to go to the Mal-Orc-A island.
70	* GiantSpider: Ranging from the Tarantula Gravis (about the size of a rabbit) to the Tarantula Mortis (about the size of a small house).
71	* GratuitousGerman: The Goblins occasionally shout (hard to understand) German phrases. Mostly a side effect of sloppy localization, though -- the game was developed in Germany.
72	--->'''Goblin Shaman''' (untranslated): Schlagt ihm den Kopf ab, ich brauch 'nen neuen Aschenbecher. (Chop off his head, I need a new ashtray.)
73	** The name for the Orcish god Stampfa (Stompa) was not translated for some reason.
74	* GraveHumor: ''Oh yes''. The game has literally hundreds of gravestones with famous quotes, pop culture references or just plain funny stuff.
75	* GridInventory: A ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}''-like version.
76	* GuideDangIt: The method to get the best reward from ''Underworld'''s "Book of Wisdom" quest is never hinted at, and was in fact discovered by accident. It requires [[spoiler:killing all three of the book's guardians at ''exactly'' the same moment.]]
77	* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: Most of the female characters definitely avert this, but in the Dark Elf/Wood Elf team, he slices and she shoots.
78	* HardModePerks: Like in ''Diablo'', higher difficulty means better drop. Also, experience bonus.
79	%%* HeelFaceTurn:
80	%%** [[spoiler:Shaddar]] in ''Underworld''.
81	%%** Technically the Daemoness, who is betrayed by ''Underworld'''s BigBad and exiled to Ancaria. Same with the Vampiress and her regained humanity.
82	* HeroicFantasy: The game takes place in a world called Ancaria.
83	* HitAndRunTactics: Running away is a recommendable tactic when the player finds gigantic melees. In some places, it's more than recommendable.
84	%%* HolyHandGrenade: Seraphim's powers.
85	%%* HospitalityForHeroes: The reward for some of the quests.
86	* HumanSacrifice: The Dark Elves commonly sacrifice whoever they can get their hands on. And they drink their blood as passage rite.
87	* IHateYouVampireDad: The Vampiress towards the [[VampireMonarch vampire queen]] who turned her into a monster.
88	* ImperfectRitual: Shaddar attempts to summon a sakkara demon and bring it under his control, but one of his minions messes up while drawing the pentagram on the floor. As a result, the ritual summons a sakkara which is obviously ''not'' under Shaddar's control, and rather annoyed at being removed from its natural habitat...
89	* ImpossibleItemDrop: A little goblin dropping a giant axe isn't something you see every day.
90	* InexplicableTreasureChests: A quest comprise a drunken soldier named Avengarius giving you a treasure map which leads you to a cave with a well-filled treasure chest. The soldier mentions the treasure as the pay of his old legion, but neither he or you know how did it end in the cave.
91	** And you have the [[TotalPartyKill infamous quest]] to Azkabragh...
92	* InLoveWithTheMark: The Dark Elf (the killer) and the Wood Elf (the mark).
93	* InTheHood: The Battle Mage wears a robe with a hood.
94	* InUniverseGameClock: Ancaria has a normal day/night cycle. It normally affects only visibility, although the sunlight causes damage to the Vampiress if she is in her vampire form.
95	* InvadingRefugees: A horde of orcs invading the human kingdoms? Bad. A horde of undead heralding the arrival of a powerful demon to Ancaria, displacing the orcs from their homeland in the process? Worse.
96	* ItRunsInTheFamily:
97	** According to ''2'', the [=DeMordrey=] line has been doing the "SmugSnake EvilOverlord" routine for over '''2000 years'''.
98	** The first game has a sidequest given by two cousins of [=DeMordrey=], who eventually turn to be traitors.
99	* KleptomaniacHero: You can steal a lot of items in chests and barrels located inside houses and even stores. Their dwellers won't react if you do so in front of them.
100	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: We never found where the Dwarf comes from, as he doesn't remember it. He seems to know Gnarlstat and the Dwarven Ruins, but his past isn't revealed.
101	* LastOfHisKind: The Dwarf claims to be the last dwarf alive.
102	* LavaAddsAwesome: The Ascaron's Call tavern has a lava pit in its hall. Yes, ''a tavern''. Don't ask.
103	* LeftJustifiedFantasyMap: Somehow averted. [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080810102628/sacred-game/images/7/70/Fullmapzb5.jpg Ancaria]] has the ocean in the underside and not in the left, although the coast ascends to the left.
104	* LevelGrinding: Not so much as in other HackAndSlash games, because most of the monsters are generated with a level relative to yours. However, that doesn't mean that you don't grind. Rune Grinding is important for your skills.
105	* LostTechnology: The Dwarven ruins in ''Underworld''.
106	* MagicKnight: The Seraphim most prominently, but the Battle Mage also qualifies.
107	* MindRape: In ''Underworld'', [[spoiler:Anducar does this to Vilya throughout the game, ultimately driving her insane.]]
108	* MoneySpider: All the enemies drop gold.
109	* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: The three heroes from AlwaysChaoticEvil races qualify - The Dark Elf assassin turns on his own people after falling in love with one of his targets, the Vampiress awakens to the cause of good after drinking Seraphim blood, and the Daemoness assists the forces of good while on her quest for revenge against Anducar. There's also a Dark Elf priestess who will help you until you finish the quest she gives you.
110	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The [=DeMordrey=] family name will inspire definite caution all by itself, even before you learn (from lorebooks) that the current baron is Vladimir [=DeMordrey=] and that his female relative who married into the royal family, was Moridya [=DeMordrey=]. This is in fact almost literally true, as the devs seem to have used the [=DeMordrey=] name as a shorthand for "the bad guys" in very many sidequests.
111	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Before the story of the game, the Vampiress was a female human warrior who found a [[AssholeVictim confined]] [[VampireMonarch vampire queen]] in the Mhurag-Nar dungeons and spared her life out of mercy, but the vampire betrayed her and turned her into a one of her race. [[spoiler:Later the Vampiress find her in the Braverock Castle sewers and [[TheDogBitesBack takes the opportunity to retaliate]].]]
112	* NoNameGiven: The heroes are only referred by their nature title. Laurelinad (the Dark Elf) and Maegalcarwen (the Wood Elf) are the exception. Also, a grave mentions a Gladiator named Hendrikus conversing with a Battle Mage.
113	* NonHumanUndead: Undead cows, undead horses, undead goblins, undead trolls, [[DracoLich an undead dragon]]...
114	* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:Shaddar]].
115	* NotSoExtinct: Played with the Dwarves. Although absent from ''2'', they appeared and laboured for Anducar to build his fortress in the Depths of Death, then he annihilated them. Some Dwarves eventually made it to the upper world where they came to rescue the Seraphim from the Dark Elven. But then the Dark Elven massacred the Dwarves... except one.
116	* NoWomansLand: Ancaria has strong overtones of this. While the player can take on the role of a badass woman[[note]]though it has to be said that none of the playable female characters are "normal" women, they are all outsiders to Ancarian society one way or another[[/note]] who joins the military, becomes a hero and is (eventually) treated seriously and praised for her deeds, the world in general is rife with sexual violence (numerous quests are based on abduction and abuse of various women, with only the protagonist meting out any kind of justice[[note]]In fact, the only time a witness tries to alert the authorities that a woman was abducted by a cult, he rushes to find the guard captain, but the captain is not at his post and all the witness can do is stand there. The player gets a separate quest to rescue a young woman in the same general region. Better hope it's the same one...[[/note]] ) with most women, both noble and commoner, being more or less downtrodden housewives in need of rescue from male violence. One girl says that if the player hadn't helped her get her cows back, her master "would have sold her as a whore in town" (legal status of slavery in Ancaria is unclear) and there are several cages holding only scantily-clad women on a town square in the country capital. There are no women whatsoever in any military or police forces, no women town leaders, and no women giving out quests of political or non-personal importance except for Teleri, who is a rape victim of no official standing despite being "an agent of the king." The only woman in the entire game that is in any position of power is Vilya, but it's underlined very strongly that she's an exception. Interestingly, the game averts MonogenderMonsters, giving the player hundreds of female mooks to kill, all of them bandits and criminals. Perhaps the world they live in drives them to a life of crime.
117	* ObviouslyEvil: Baron [=DeMordrey=] lives in a big castle always circled by crows and uses a red and black emblem with a sword and something that looks like two horns. His servants are usually soldiers who abduct and abuse young women or just murder the poor for fun, and inhabitants of the slums in his castle are legally prohibited from exiting their district, even to get medicine.
118	* OneManArmy: the hero has to slay loads and loads of enemies in their path.
119	* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Seraphim are a holy order formed by human-like female angels who wear [[ChainmailBikini revealing suits]] and kick ass aplenty. Following a sidequest about a Seraphim who was researching their history reveals a document detailing their creation. [[spoiler:They are half-human, or half-elven[[note]] the document in question describes Seraphim as the result of ''DNA morphing of Dragon Battle Lizards with female '''Elifa''' slaves''[[/note]] hybrids, enhanced with cybernetics created by a space empire. The energy beam from the sky is, in fact, a KillSat still hanging in orbit fully functional after several thousand years]].
120	* OurElvesAreDifferent: Just about all the common varieties of fantasy elves make an appearance in one game or another.
121	* OurDemonsAreDifferent: The Daemon player class in the expansion. Could also be a case of MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch.
122	* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: An almost SteamPunk technologically advanced but otherwise stereotypical version.
123	* OurGargoylesRock: Artificial monsters created by attaching evil spirits to stone statues.
124	* OurGhostsAreDifferent: ''Sacred'' ghosts range from traditional human spirits to bizarre, ghoul-like entities.
125	* OurGiantsAreBigger: Ancaria has a race of gigantic, mostly blue-skinned humanoids that roam the snows. They are nastier enough to assault the Seraphim monastery. Interestingly, the trolls from ''2'' are identical to those giants, while the troll race in ''Sacred'' is a [[OurTrollsAreDifferent completely different one]].
126	* OurOrcsAreDifferent: More like the Blizzard variation.
127	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Although not very common in Ancaria. In three games, only two vampires have appeared in the story [[spoiler:and the second one was responsible for the creation of the first one]].
128	* PhysicalHell: A quest leads you to the orcish underworld, which seems to be a deep cave system.
129	* PredatorPreyFriendship: A side quest requires you to play matchmaker for a dragon and a dragon hunter.
130	* ReligionOfEvil: The Sakkara Cult. The relions of the Dark Elves and Ice Elves also qualify.
131	* LaResistance: The Crown soldiers after the [=DeMordrey=] takeover.
132	* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Wilbur and Reginald Treville.]]
133	* SavingTheWorld: Of course.
134	* ScienceFantasy: [[ArmCannon Blaster-armed]] alien {{Cyborg}}s masquerading as angels rubbing shoulders with the StandardFantasyRaces.
135	* SelfDeprecation: "It is forbidden to call the Gladiator Barbarian" - written on a gravestone (''Sacred'' 's Gladiator is a knockoff of ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'''s Barbarian).
136	* SequenceBreaking: In the game, when starting a new game after finishing the single player campaign, the player has access to all the portals that were activated over the course of the previous playthrough, which gives premature access to various regions and occasional side effects. Areas can be accessed out of order through the teleportation and flying abilities of some character classes.
137	* ShoutOut: Has [[ShoutOut/{{Sacred}} its own page.]]
138	* SmugSnake: Baron [=DeMordrey=].
139	* TheSneakyGuy: Rocheford, in Gladiator's campaign.
140	* StarCrossedLovers: Laurelinad the Dark Elf and Maegalcarwen the Wood Elf. [[spoiler:At the end of the game, the player-controlled dark elf can find Maegalcarwen set to being sacrificed again in Zhurag-Nar. Most of the time she dies before you can rescue her, but if you are skillful, you can kill the captors fast enough to save the wood elf. She has no dialogue box, however.]]
141	* {{Stripperiffic}}: The Seraphim wears a bikini-like underwear as her default attire, and while some types of armor cover it up, others leave her fighting in the bikini. And stockings. And high heels.
142	* TakenForGranite: One of the Battle Mage's spells.
143	* TakeThatAudience: When starting the game, the loading bar may read "Checking User IQ".
144	* TakeYourTime: Played mostly straight aside from certain sidequests.
145	* TheTeamBenefactor: Commander Romata.
146	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks:
147	** The Gladiator can throw his weapon at the opponent. [[AwesomeYetImpractical Naturally, he loses it.]]
148	** The Seraphim has a [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang boomerang version]] of it, in which the weapon returns to her hands.
149	* TimedMission: The game has some. Thankfully, the time limits are (mostly) fairly reasonable.
150	* TransformationIsAFreeAction: Subverted with the Vampiress transformation. Your enemies can attack you while she is turning into a vampire.
151	* UniversalPoison
152	* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:The hero to Shareefa a.k.a. Shaddar.]]
153	* UrbanSegregation: The Crow's Rock Castle has a hideous slum district.
154	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Part of the Vampiress and Daemon's power set.
155	* WeBuyAnything: The shopkeepers buy you anything.
156	* WhatDoesThisButtonDo: Written on one of the funny gravestones (as part of the "Famous Last Words" series).
157	* WideOpenSandbox

Context VideoGame / Sacred