19. Sacred. 19. Sacred. 25 best hack'n'slash hames of all time (2023)

19. Sacred

The beginning of the first decade of the 21st century was a time when the majority of hack'n'slash fans were still playing Diablo II, and more or less successful creations imitating Blizzard's productions appeared in the genre from time to time. That's when the German Ascaron decided to take chopping and slashing in a new direction - moving them out from dark swamps, dungeons, and hellish depths and bringing adventures to green meadows, forests, villages, and towns. In other words, introduce the hack'n'slash genre to an open world. However, the vast and diverse land of Ancaria wasn't the only thing Sacred, released in 2004, had to offer.

The game attracted with its fabulous visuals, beautifully drawn locations, lots of randomly generated junk to collect, and character development mechanics different from those in Diablo. For dessert, I'll mention the distinctive "martial arts" that were acquired as items, in runes. Sacred to this day stands as a great game, regardless of the fact that this title has a good sequel. Both of these positions, despite sharing many solutions, differ drastically in terms of control, style, and the setting - even though in both cases, the adventure takes place in a land called Ancaria.