SACRATA Playtest – When Diablo Meets Vampire Survivors, Loot Happens

I’m not a fan of playtests. Not because they might be full of bugs or anything nefarious, but because of the time commitment. I get the code, play the game, and it ends, or I jump back in to help with my write-up, only for access to be revoked. Luckily, I grabbed SACRATA with plenty of time.

That’s also given me a reasonable amount of time for the superlatives to settle and my childlike enthusiasm to wane. As I’ve said in a recent review, I’m a bit of a rollercoaster at first; mind-blown with amazing graphics, or frustrated with counterintuitive controls, only to thoroughly enjoy it later on and vice versa.

My immediate impressions of SACRATA (yes, SHOUTY CAPS) were: Wow! Diablo meets Vampire Survivors! The graphics were impressive, and even when the dust settled and I was a little more objective about it, I was already balls-deep in addictive gameplay.

More Than Just Another Survivor

A rogue-like with the Survivors style of play, you play as a buxom goddess who shakes her rack and elementals at the Darkfallen to steal their shit. Cue your Spotify playlist to Notorious B.I.G. and chant, gimme the loot.

Spawning in a series of relatively similar scenarios, an increasing number of hordes and enemy types will swarm you, so it’s a case of sticking it out for as long as possible, defeating the bosses, then doing it again on a more difficult level or trying a new stage.

I believe there were either three or four stages in the SACRATA playtest for the ‘story’ to end. There wasn’t a story, but gameplay could continue, just no more in terms of narrative. There wasn’t one (or needed for a playtest).

Currencies, Cleavage, and Character Progression

Rather than ramble about Survivors mechanics, as SACRATA follows this to a T (or S), what makes this unique is the depth of character development. Between runs, there’s a rather large hub with lots of things for all the family.

As it’s a playtest, I’ve already forgotten the terminology, but you essentially have multiple currencies to spend. Gold for a merchant to buy equippable gear, bloodfruit for raising permanent stats, additional facilities within the hub, a new bikini to show off your cleavage, plus materials to craft in the forge.

To top that, there are also class progressions to further tune your playstyle. There seems like a lot to take on board, and bizarrely, it works rather well without any complexities. Gear doesn’t change your appearance, though it can significantly change your chances.

Unassigned Controllers and Baffling Text

Again, playtest, so let’s wind this down with a couple of points noted which will seem irrelevant by the time SACRATA is done. There’s still a mishmash of Chinese throughout the UI. Not knowing any Chinese other than Fong Sai-Yuk, Temu and Egg Foo Yung, this made no sense. Fortunately, wanton destruction is universal.

Secondly, my controller could not be used. This was rubbish, as playing on WASD works, though not the same as a controller and limits it to autoaiming throughout. I suspect this will be fixed in the final build.

Make A Wish(list)?

Other than that, with the enthusiasm supposedly hitting its peak, then reality kicking in, I still really liked SACRATA. The heroes are clearly marketed at virgins, but overall, the presentation and design are really cool.

Gameplay is familiar and easy to pick up, and, as mentioned in all these rogue-like commentaries, it needs the loop/hook. The standout here is character development, and if it goes the way it’s going, this one is almost certainly a wishlist title.