Sacrifice

Sacrifice is a real-time strategy game developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Interplay Entertainment in 2000 for Windows. The game breaks from genre conventions by placing players directly on the battlefield as a powerful wizard, tasked with summoning and commanding creature armies to defeat rival deities. Resources, in the form of souls, can be recovered from fallen units, encouraging aggressive play and reducing the economic punishment typical of RTS titles. The single-player campaign offers branching paths as the wizard serves different gods, each with unique personalities, spells, and unit rosters. With 41 missions across five gods and a final common mission, the game boasts high replayability. Sacrifice is noted for its bizarre, fantastical art style, humorous spell effects like the infamous Bovine Intervention, and a distinctive blend of third-person action and tactical command. Its multiplayer component supports internet play, though the community has always been small. The game received critical acclaim for its innovation but suffered from technical issues and limited post-launch support.