Sanctum 2 is a strategy/FPS hybrid game with tower defense tied in, complimented by its exciting and catchy sci-fi soundtrack and cool environments.

In Sanctum 2, there are four characters to choose from, unlike the original Sanctum with just one. You may play as Skye Autumn, a soldier who specializes in using her assault rifle, Sweet Autumn, Skye's little sister who specializes in her missile-launching REX weapon, SiMo, a robot who specializes in its sniper rifle, and a soldier named Haigan Hawkins, who uses a shotgun. The four characters have different specialties in their passive abilities, as well.

As you level up in Sanctum 2, you will gain the ability to use different perks, that give your character different boosts and buffs that can help make certain tasks easier, make combat more effective, and give the Lumes a harder time at trying to win. Eventually, when you reach the maximum level for your character, you can use any weapon that you want with any character. There is also a system called "Feats of Strength" that allows you to make levels harder, but in return, provides you with more experience.

In Sanctum 2, just like the original Sanctum, you must defend The Core, the power source for all of your towers and for your entire base. Aliens of different forms will come and attempt to attack you, your friends, and your Core on the way. Each enemy has different strategies for attacking, and each type has different weak spots, where hits will do more damage than the hits would on the other parts of their bodies. Some of these enemies are airborne and will attack from above, and some will attack ground-level. There are also numerous bosses in Sanctum 2, and many of them can destroy your towers, leaving you to rely on your weapons and hope for the best.

There are four chapters in Sanctum 2, each with four different maps, in the base game. Each one will have different amounts of space for your tower bases, and you can arrange them however you like depending on the availability of the tiles. You and your friends must attempt to build a maze to make it so that the aliens, known as the Lumes, will have the hardest time possible attempting their reach to your Core. You must use your resources to build new towers and upgrade old towers.

Sanctum 2's environments are pretty cool, and the graphics are very nice. The soundtrack, composed by Leonard Hummer, is exciting, sci-fi, suitable for the game, and very enjoyable to listen to on its own. The gameplay is fun, and there's plenty of fun to be had with both Sanctum 2 and the original.

Overall, Sanctum 2 is a fun game to play with friends, or in single-player alike, and the variation in the enemies, weapons, and towers is pretty cool. It can certainly be a difficult game at times, but it's still quite fun overall. I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys strategy games, FPS games, and tower defense games, as well as those who like sci-fi themes, and anyone who enjoyed the original Sanctum. I wish it were a little bit less difficult solo, but I still enjoyed it overall!

Reviewed on Mar 29, 2024


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