Salt and Sanctuary

Salt and Sanctuary is an amazing game that is well paced and has layers of gameplay that slowly unfold the more you play. This game is recommended even if you are shy of the difficulty of the Souls series and is throughly rewarding.

Overall, despite some minor flaws in the game's layout and presentation, Salt and Sanctuary is one of the early contenders for indie game of the year in a field that already has some stiff competition in titles like Firewatch. Ska Studios' loving send-up of From Software is the finest 2D action RPG that's been released in some time, and is a must play for gamers who enjoy the kind of sadistic game...

You could call Salt and Sanctuary a 2D mashup of Dark Souls and Castlevania, and you'd be right. But such a simple pronouncement would be a disservice to the tremendous amount of thought that's gone into Salt and Sanctuary, whether it's in the graphic style that evokes horror through the style of comic strips or in the intricate web of dungeons and castles serves as it map.

Salt and Sanctuary isn’t the most original game in the world, but Ska Studio’s take on a 2D Souls game has enough going for it to stand on its own two legs. It’s held back somewhat by occasionally cheap difficulty spikes, performance issues, and a bizarre tendency for things to appear too tiny or dark to be perceived when in portable mode, but none of that should deter you from picking the game up...

Give me shelter

Despite Salt and Sanctuary‘s issues, it remains an enjoyable and rather addictive adventure overall. The fusion of solid platforming, engaging combat and deep character development creates an experience that feels somewhat fresh despite its roots in tried and tested genres, which is quite an achievement. Fans of its clear inspirations, Dark Souls and Castlevania, will undoubtedly be the ones mostl...

If you want a 2D Dark Souls it’s hard to imagine From Software doing much better than this, even if it has too few original ideas of its own.

That’s not to say that all Souls fans will be immediately drawn in, and by the same token, those who have a hard time seeing their appeal may easily fall in love with Salt and Sanctuary. For all the similarities we’ve drawn between the two, the 2D style of combat is enough of a differentiating factor to give this game legs. With these it manages to sprint well ahead, feeling more like a full-bodie...

All in all, Salt and Sanctuary was a challenging and interesting experience through an atmospheric world, full of dreadful monsters, and labyrinthine levels. If that sort of challenge is what you are looking for in a 2D platformer than Salt and Sanctuary might be the game for you.

Salt and Sanctuary takes the Souls-like formula to 2D and almost perfectly executes upon it. While it may not win points for originality, Ska Studios has done a fantastic job of transitioning the Souls style of combat into 2D while simultaneously mixing in elements of platforming and level design found in Metroidvania games. If you still haven't given one of these kinds of games a shot yet, Salt a...

All told, Salt and Sanctuary is just about what you’d expect it to be: it’s more or less a 2D Dark Souls, but with a little more emphasis on less. Salt and Sanctuary does an admirable job of hitting all the right beats that it needs to provide a challenging and fun action adventure that will no doubt provide a solid bang for your buck, but it doesn’t do a whole lot to stand on its own two legs; th...

I wasn't bothered or distracted by Salt and Sanctuary's uncanny resemblance to the Souls games during my playthrough, because I was too busy gleefully exploring, or locking my controller in a vise grip while trying not to die. There's nothing crass about how those elements have been adapted, because they have also been celebrated, resulting in a stellar adventure with enough moments of surprise an...